Harrow International School

Community Life at Harrow Hong Kong

Harrow International School Hong Kong draws pupils from more than 36 nationalities, creating a genuinely international community on its nine-acre campus in Tuen Mun. While the school does not publish a breakdown of nationalities, the diversity of its student body is a point of pride—and a deliberate design choice, given the school's commitment to developing globally aware leaders.

Co-Curricular Programme

The Harrow Horizons framework organises co-curricular activity into four domains: Sport, Arts, Service, and Societies. Pupils are expected to participate across all four areas. The range of offerings is extensive:

Sports

• Rugby (boys' and girls', including touch and Sevens formats)
• Football, Netball, Volleyball, Basketball
• Swimming (in the school's indoor 25m pool)
• Cross-Country, Athletics, Badminton, Table Tennis
• Competitive fixtures through the ICCAL league

Music and Arts

• Harrow Singers, Senior Singers, Prep Choir
• Upper School Orchestra, Pop Orchestra, Big Band, Soul Band
• Annual Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols and Spring Concert
• Drama productions including a Year 6 Musical and Year 7 Concert

Societies (30+ clubs)

• Academic: Engineering & Maths Society, Computer Science Society, VEX Robotics Society, ChemPod, Physics Society, Philosophy & Ethics Societies
• Creative: Art Society, Dance Society, Book Club
• Civic: Model United Nations, Debating, Mock Trial Society
• Community: Mother's Choice Charity Society, Tutors for Change (peer tutoring)
• Innovation: Solutions Incubator Society (technology entrepreneurship)
• Identity: Pride (LGBT+) Society
• Publications: Harrovian magazine (literary, scientific, artistic editions)

Service and Leadership

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (Bronze, Silver, and Gold) is available to senior pupils, requiring community service, physical activity, a skill, and an expedition component. The Harrow Horizons leadership programme further develops pupils' capacity to take initiative and serve others.

Parent Community

The school maintains an active parent community and publishes regular communications to keep families engaged. Open Days and admissions events are held annually to welcome prospective families. The multicultural nature of the school means that community events often celebrate the diverse backgrounds of pupils and their families.

Educational Philosophy

Harrow International School Hong Kong is built on the foundational values of Harrow School in London—Honour, Courage, Humility, and Fellowship—which have guided the original institution since 1572. These are not merely decorative mottos; they permeate every aspect of life at the school, from the boarding house culture to the co-curricular programme.

The school's official vision is "to promote Educational Excellence for Life and Leadership through an outstanding education that blends elements from Harrow School with an awareness of the cultural context of Hong Kong." This dual orientation—rooted in British tradition yet aware of its Asian setting—shapes how the school defines success.

Character Before Credentials

Harrow Hong Kong places character development at the centre of its educational model. The school's "Facing Challenges" PSHE programme is designed to build resilience and equip pupils with the mental frameworks to approach any difficulty with confidence. Pastoral care is woven into the daily timetable, not treated as an add-on.

The House System—eight houses in total, four for boys and four for girls at senior level, with a similar structure in Prep—creates a sense of belonging and friendly competition. Houses compete academically, athletically, and culturally, generating lifelong loyalties among alumni.

Holistic Development

The school's Harrow Horizons framework situates academic study within a broader landscape of co-curricular activity. Pupils are expected to engage in sport, music, drama, service, and societies—not as optional extras but as essential components of a Harrow education. The result is a graduate who is academically prepared for top universities and personally equipped for adult leadership.

Cultural Sensitivity

Recognising that its pupil body represents 36+ nationalities, Harrow Hong Kong integrates cross-cultural awareness into its pastoral and academic programmes. Mandarin Chinese is compulsory for all pupils, reflecting the school's acknowledgment of Hong Kong's bilingual reality. The counselling team operates in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin—a deliberate choice that signals respect for the community it serves.

In summary, the philosophy at Harrow Hong Kong can be described as traditional in values, ambitious in outcomes, and genuinely holistic in method—a combination that distinguishes it from purely examination-focused international schools in the region.

Academic Culture at Harrow Hong Kong

Harrow International School Hong Kong offers a full British curriculum from Early Years through to Sixth Form, preparing pupils for IGCSE examinations in Years 10–11 and A-Level qualifications in Years 12–13. There is no IB or AP programme; the school commits fully to the British examination tradition that its parent institution in London has followed for centuries.

Curriculum Structure

The curriculum is divided into clear phases:

• Early Years and Primary (Nursery–Year 5): Broad, play-based and integrated learning aligned with the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1–2 frameworks.
• Prep School (Years 6–8): Subject-specialist teaching begins, with a wide range across humanities, sciences, languages, arts, and sport.
• Senior School (Years 9–11): Pupils follow IGCSE syllabi in a core of English, Mathematics, Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics taught separately), and choose from a range of options including Languages, History, Geography, Art, Drama, Music, and Computer Science.
• Sixth Form (Years 12–13): Fully A-Level, with pupils typically choosing three or four subjects. All major academic disciplines are available.

Exam Results (2025)

Published results for 2025 demonstrate consistently high performance:

A-Level 2025

• A* grades: 33%
• A*/A grades: 70%
• A*/A/B grades: 90%
• 16 pupils earned three or more A* grades

GCSE/IGCSE 2025

• Grade 9 (highest): 59%
• Grades 7–9 (A*/A equivalent): 91%

These figures place Harrow Hong Kong well above global averages and comparable to selective independent schools in the UK.

University Destinations

The school reports that graduates consistently gain places at leading universities worldwide, including:

• Oxford and Cambridge (approximately 5% of the cohort in recent years)
• Russell Group universities in the UK (UCL, LSE, Imperial, Edinburgh, etc.)
• Ivy League and top-20 US universities
• Hong Kong University (HKU) and other leading Asian institutions

Small class sizes (12–24 pupils) and a student-teacher ratio of approximately 11:1 mean that individual academic support is embedded in the school's daily operation, not reserved for those who struggle.

Languages

Mandarin Chinese is compulsory throughout Lower School and continues as a full curriculum subject thereafter. French and Spanish are available as elective foreign languages from Year 7. EAL support is available from Years 1–13 through the dedicated Language and Learning department.

Pastoral Culture and Boarding Life

Harrow International School Hong Kong holds a unique position in Hong Kong's educational landscape: it is the only British-style boarding school in the city. This distinction shapes its pastoral culture profoundly—the school is designed not merely as a place of learning but as a full residential community for roughly half its Upper School population.

The House System

The House system is the organisational backbone of pastoral life at Harrow Hong Kong. There are eight houses in total:

• Years 9–13: Four boys' houses and four girls' houses
• Prep School (Years 6–8): Four boys' houses and three girls' houses

Houses compete in sport, music, drama, academic challenges, and community service. House Tutors provide the first line of pastoral support, monitoring each pupil's wellbeing, progress, and personal development. The system creates strong vertical bonds between year groups and builds a sense of belonging that many alumni cite as a defining feature of their Harrow experience.

Boarding

Boarding is weekly (Sunday evening to Friday), available from Year 6 onward. Boarding houses are gender-segregated, with dedicated facilities for both boys and girls. The annual boarding fee for 2025–26 is HK$130,705, charged in addition to tuition. Approximately 50% of Upper School pupils choose to board.

Boarding at Harrow Hong Kong is designed to mirror, as closely as possible, the full-boarding experience at Harrow School in the UK. Evening activities, house events, and the structured supervision of homework time are all part of the boarding routine.

Wellbeing and Counselling

The school's pastoral infrastructure goes well beyond the House system:

• A UK-trained School Psychologist leads the wellbeing team
• Staff include a full-time counsellor, part-time counsellor, trainee counsellor, youth-wellbeing practitioner, and assistant psychologist
• The team operates in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin
• A 24/7 Health Care Centre with qualified nurses is available on campus

The school publishes formal Anti-Bullying, Child Protection and Safeguarding, and Behaviour policies. A dedicated PSHE programme, Facing Challenges, equips pupils with resilience strategies and problem-solving tools.

Day Pupils

Day pupils are fully integrated into the House system and participate in all House activities. The school day runs from 08:10am registration; Lower School pupils typically finish around 3:30pm and Upper School pupils around 4:30pm, with co-curricular activities extending the day further. A school bus network covers routes from across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.

Admissions Culture at Harrow Hong Kong

Harrow International School Hong Kong is explicitly selective: the school states that it admits pupils who have "the aptitude and ability" to thrive in its rigorous academic and co-curricular environment. Admissions operates on a rolling basis throughout the year, with families typically advised to apply nine to twelve months before their intended entry date.

Assessment by Stage

The assessment process is calibrated to the age and prior education of the applicant:

Early Years (Nursery & Reception — ages 3–5)

• Play-based interview and simple age-appropriate tasks
• Review of most recent kindergarten report
• No formal written examination

Primary (Years 1–5 — ages 5–10)

• Online tests in English, Mathematics, and reasoning
• Short student interview
• Review of school reports

Secondary (Years 6–11 — ages 10–16)

• Written examinations in English (including a writing task), Mathematics, and reasoning
• Personal student interview
• School reports and references

Sixth Form (Year 12 — ages 16–17)

• Written papers in chosen A-Level subjects
• English and Mathematics assessments
• Formal interview

All stages require submission of a birth certificate and recent school reports.

English Proficiency

Because all instruction is in English, English language ability is central to the assessment. The school tests age-appropriate English proficiency at every stage and reserves the right to decline applications where English ability is insufficient to access the curriculum. EAL support is available for successful applicants who need it.

Application Fee

A one-time, non-refundable application fee of HK$1,500 is payable at the time of application.

Capital Levy

Families who do not hold a school debenture certificate are charged an annual Capital Levy of HK$60,000 per pupil, in addition to tuition fees.

Financial Support

The school offers two forms of financial assistance:

• Merit Scholarships: Cover 10% of annual tuition fees. Available across Academic, Arts, Music, Drama, and Sports categories. Multiple scholarships may be combined with bursaries. Renewable annually.
• Means-Tested Bursaries: Available primarily for entry at Year 6 and above. Can cover up to nearly 100% of fees depending on demonstrated financial need. Renewable annually subject to continuing need and satisfactory progress.

Sibling discounts also apply: 5% for a third child, 10% for a fourth child, and 15% for a fifth or subsequent child enrolled simultaneously.