Playtimes HK Magazine Winter Issue 2018/2019 | Page 49

education
Han Academy
Kate Cunich takes a tour of Han Academy to learn more about the
brand new campus
H
an Academy, which is
located in Wong Chuk
Hang, opened its doors
to primary and secondary
students in August 2017. The
campus is fully operational with all
the necessary facilities to enrich a
child’s learning experience. With three
different types of curriculum, including
Cambridge International, International
Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
and Chinese National Curriculum for
Maths and Chinese, Han Academy
is set apart from other international
schools in Hong Kong.
With a focus on a solid Chinese
foundation, the importance of maths
and science as well as leadership
and community service awareness,
Han Academy aims to nurture young
minds into contributors to society
who understand the importance of
community. Han Academy is aware
of the pressures in Hong Kong on
children to flourish academically and
understands that a balance between
learning and creativity is essential for a
healthy education.
The school follows guidelines
set by International Baccalaureate
Organisation and Cambridge
International Examinations. The school
facilities include 12 classrooms, three
laboratories, two art rooms, a music and
dance studio, library, assembly hall and
indoor playground. The campus covers
2,200 square metres and is spread
across three levels. Each classroom
is equipped with a touch-screen
smartboard and iPads are also used
for class activities including coding,
programming and controlling robots.
While the campus isn’t the largest
you might find in Hong Kong, Han
Academy has made great use of the
space and has not compromised
design in order to accommodate all of
their facilities. The campus has a very
new, colourful and cheerful feel to it
and the students looked engaged and
excited to be learning.
One of the main reasons that parents
decide to send their children to Han
Academy is because of the incredible
teaching staff and low student to
teacher ratio. The teaching staff
includes graduates from top universities
who have worked in prestigious
schools and universities around the
world. Ms XU Li, founder and school
supervisor of Han Academy and one of
the two earliest IB Chinese Examiners
in the world, says, “This might be the
only school founded by a group of
professional teachers. When teaching
in other schools before, we found that
a lot of improvement could be made to
Hong Kong international education.”
The student to teacher ratio is
4:1, which is much lower than most
Hong Kong schools, and proves to be
beneficial to students. With class sizes
of just 12 to 16 students, teachers are
able to spend more time with each
individual student. Parents of students
at Han Academy have commented on
how they find the learning environment
extremely positive and nurturing
while also fostering the importance of
academic excellence.
Han Academy is a bilingual school;
Chinese is fully incorporated into
the students’ day to day learning
and follows the Chinese National
curriculum. While most students who
currently attend Han Academy are
from mainland China, the school is
looking to be more ethnically diverse
and has high hopes that there will be
more students from other countries in
the coming years.
The first graduation year will be in
2020. Han Academy offers a Life Long
Learning Scholarship where the school
will pay university tuition for select
students who are accepted into top
universities. This is to ensure that every
student, no matter what their financial
background, gets a fair chance at
receiving the best education possible.
With plans to expand to a separate
campus in the next three to five years,
Han Academy seems likely to continue
to go from strength to strength in the
coming years.
Winter 2018
47