Chinese International School

The Hangzhou Year: A Year Abroad Built into the Curriculum

One of the most structurally unusual features of a CIS education is the mandatory Year 10 Hangzhou Programme. Since 2013, every student at CIS has spent their Year 10 (typically age 15–16) at a partner school in Hangzhou, China, rather than on the Braemar Hill campus in Hong Kong.

What Happens in Hangzhou?

The Year 10 programme is described by CIS as personalized, service-focused, and designed to align with the transition into the IB Diploma in Years 12–13. Students engage in project-based learning, community service, and cultural immersion in a fully Mandarin-speaking environment. The experience is structured as a bridge between the MYP and the DP, giving students a year of exploratory, less-examined learning before the intensity of the Diploma.

This structure reflects CIS's founding conviction that bilingual education is not simply about language acquisition — it is about cultural understanding. A student who has spent a year living and studying in mainland China, navigating daily life in Mandarin, emerges with a qualitatively different relationship to Chinese culture than one who has merely studied the language in a classroom.

Why This Is Distinctive

No other international school in Hong Kong has a programme of this nature as a mandatory component of the curriculum. It represents a significant logistical and financial commitment by the school, and a significant commitment by families — who must be willing to have their children live away from home for a full academic year. This makes CIS an unusual choice, but a deliberate one. Families who choose CIS typically do so in part because of this programme, not in spite of it.

Community Beyond Hangzhou

The sense of shared experience created by the Hangzhou year is part of a broader community culture at CIS. The school's alumni body is known for strong connections, partly because the school is small enough (approximately 1,650 students across all 14 year groups) to feel cohesive, and partly because experiences like Hangzhou create lasting bonds. CIS's parent community is described as engaged and international, reflecting the school's student body of over 30 nationalities.

The Bilingual Vision That Defines CIS

Chinese International School was founded in 1983 by educators Nelly Fung, Kin-yue Fu, and Joyce Tai with a bold and specific vision: to create a school at the intersection of Eastern and Western cultures, open to all regardless of nationality, race, or creed. Forty years on, that founding vision remains the central pillar of everything CIS does.

A Philosophy Rooted in Bilingualism

CIS's official mission statement — "We are a community of learners at the confluence of East and West, each empowered by a bilingual, intercultural programme to discover new paths, build bridges, and flourish on a life's journey in pursuit of excellence, commitment to service, and stewardship of our future" — is not merely decorative. It is structurally embedded into the school's curriculum from the earliest years.

In the Primary school (Reception through Year 6), every homeroom is co-taught by two qualified teachers: one native English speaker and one native Mandarin Chinese speaker. This is not a language lesson bolted on to an English curriculum; it is genuine immersive bilingual instruction across all subjects. Both languages are treated as equal media for learning, and students are expected to develop academic fluency in both.

In the Secondary school, Chinese (Mandarin) remains compulsory through at least Year 11, and both English Literature and Chinese Literature are offered at IB Diploma level. The school explicitly describes its goal as producing learners who are not only bilingual but genuinely bicultural — who can navigate both the Chinese and Western intellectual traditions with confidence.

Core Values in Practice

CIS articulates five core values: Compassion, Courage, Respect, Responsibility, and Integrity. These are not abstract slogans. They underpin the school's approach to everything from classroom culture to the distinctive Year 10 Hangzhou programme (see Community insight). The school's child protection framework, zero-tolerance anti-bullying policy, and commitment to service learning (embedded in the IB CAS framework for the Diploma Programme) all flow from these values.

Vision '33

In 2023, CIS launched Vision '33 — a strategic plan orienting the school towards its 50th anniversary in 2033. The three pathways of this vision are: each learner flourishing, new paths discovered, and bridges for good. This framing reflects the school's continuing belief that education should be personally transformative, intellectually adventurous, and oriented towards the common good — not merely preparation for university.

Why This Matters for Families

For families seeking an international school in Hong Kong, CIS's philosophy has a distinctive implication: it is not simply an English-medium school that teaches Chinese as a foreign language. Mandarin proficiency is treated as a core outcome, not an elective. This makes CIS particularly well-suited to families who want their children to be genuinely bilingual and who value an environment that takes Chinese culture seriously as an intellectual tradition.

Academic Culture: Rigour in Two Languages

Chinese International School is an IB World School authorized for all three main programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), and the Diploma Programme (DP). This full-continuum IB pathway is delivered bilingually in English and Mandarin Chinese, making CIS unusual even among elite IB schools globally.

The Primary School: Co-Teaching as a Structural Commitment

In Primary (Reception–Year 6), the co-teaching model is the defining structural feature. Each homeroom has two fully qualified, specialist teachers — one native English speaker, one native Mandarin speaker — who deliver the PYP curriculum together. This is a significant financial and pedagogical investment. Students are not simply exposed to two languages; they learn to think, read, write, and argue in both from the very beginning.

The Secondary School: A Unique Pathway

The secondary pathway at CIS is carefully designed and somewhat unconventional:

• Years 7–9: The IB MYP, which provides interdisciplinary inquiry across eight subject groups, all delivered bilingually.
• Year 10: The CIS–Hangzhou Programme — a mandatory, year-long residential experience at a partner school in Hangzhou, China. Students engage in personalized, project-based, service-oriented learning in a fully Chinese cultural environment. This is perhaps the most distinctive feature of a CIS education.
• Year 11: A CIS-designed bridge year, preparing students for the rigour of the DP, with the school's own examinations.
• Years 12–13: The IB Diploma Programme, with Chinese Language and Literature (or Chinese B) compulsory alongside English Language and Literature. The full range of IB DP subject groups is offered.

Exam Results

CIS does not publish detailed exam statistics on its official website. However, third-party reporting for the Class of 2023 indicates a mean IB Diploma score of approximately 39 out of 45 — significantly above the global IB average of approximately 30. Approximately 49% of candidates scored 40 or above, and 28% earned a Bilingual Diploma (recognition for completing coursework assessed in two languages, a challenging additional credential). These figures, if accurate, place CIS among the highest-performing IB schools in Hong Kong.

University Outcomes

The school reports approximately 100% university placement for graduates. Destinations for the Class of 2023 include Cambridge, Imperial College London, LSE, UCL, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Stanford, HKUST, HKU, and the Universities of British Columbia and Toronto. This breadth of outcomes reflects the school's dual orientation toward both UK and US (and Hong Kong) university systems.

Admissions at CIS: What Families Need to Know

Chinese International School is a selective school, and its admissions process reflects that. Competition for places — particularly at the main Year 7 entry point — is significant, with approximately 50 places available for a cohort that serves the entire 7-year secondary pathway.

The Process (Year 7–13)

1. Application opens: September 1 each year. Applications are submitted online.
2. Information Sessions: Held November through January (approximately October, November, and January dates for each cycle, at the CIS Auditorium). Attendance is strongly encouraged.
3. Written Assessment: Held November through May. The assessment covers English (written), Chinese (written), Mathematics, and logical reasoning. For secondary applicants, the test is approximately three hours in total.
4. Interviews: Short interviews (approximately 15 minutes) in both English and Chinese follow the written assessment.
5. Offer and Deposit: Offers are issued several weeks after the assessment. Upon acceptance, families must pay a non-refundable reservation deposit of HK$150,000 (credited toward tuition and the Capital Levy for the first year). This is a significant financial commitment and effectively functions as an acceptance fee.

What CIS Is Looking For

Applicants must demonstrate strong English proficiency — the school's primary medium of instruction is English, and the standard expected is high. Mandarin Chinese proficiency, while not a prerequisite for admission at all levels, is tested as part of the process. Academic records from previous schools are reviewed.

Financial Aid

CIS offers need-based financial aid for qualifying new students entering Year 8 or above. This is not a merit scholarship programme — it is explicitly needs-based. CIS does not publish details of the value or number of awards, but the programme exists and families can inquire during the admissions process.

Primary Admissions (Reception–Year 6)

Primary admissions follow a similar structure — age-appropriate assessments in English and Mathematics, review of records, and an interview. Applicants for Reception must be at least 4 years old by August 31 of the entry year.

Practical Notes

• A Registration Fee (HK$2,000) and an Assessment Fee (HK$2,500) are charged at application stage.
• A Capital Levy of HK$30,200 per year is charged to all students, in addition to tuition.
• A sibling discount of 5% on tuition is available.
• CIS does not publish an acceptance rate.
• There is no published waitlist policy.

The CIS Campus: One Site, Built Upward

Chinese International School operates from a single campus on Braemar Hill in the North Point district of Hong Kong Island. The campus is built on a steep hillside, with the main buildings arranged around three internal courtyards that open onto panoramic views of the Victoria Harbour and the surrounding hills — a genuinely striking environment for a school.

The Science & Technology Hub

The most significant recent addition to the campus is the Science & Technology Hub (STEM Building), an 11-storey tower designed by Flansburgh Architects and opened in 2017. The building was the product of CIS's 2008 Strategic Vision and contains:

• State-of-the-art science laboratories for chemistry, biology, and physics
• Design studios for digital and product design (IB MYP and DP)
• Two large indoor sports halls, each capable of accommodating 600–700 students, used for basketball, badminton, volleyball, martial arts, and assemblies
• A central library consolidating the school's research resources
• A dining commons (large cafeteria) for lunch service and gatherings
• Collaborative classrooms and conference spaces

Other Facilities

Beyond the STEM building, the campus includes an outdoor athletics field (for football, ultimate frisbee, and track events), a swimming pool (used for physical education and the competitive swim team), a climbing wall (for the rock climbing CCA), an auditorium/theatre for dramatic productions and whole-school assemblies, dedicated arts studios (visual art, music, drama and dance), and campus-wide wifi infrastructure.

Getting to School: The Bus Policy

CIS operates a mandatory school bus service for all students in Years 3–11. This is not optional — families in these year groups are required to use the school bus. Reception–Year 2 and Years 12–13 students may choose between the school bus and parent/guardian transport. Routes cover Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Bus fees are set annually and vary by route distance. The nearest MTR station is North Point/Tin Hau, approximately 15 minutes from the campus on foot, but the bus is by far the most common mode of student transport.