British Vietnamese International School, Ho Chi Minh City recognised as one of world's top 10 schools for innovation

Nord Anglia Education today announced that the British Vietnamese International School, Ho Chi Minh City (BVIS HCMC) has been named in the Top 10 shortlist for the prestigious World’s Best Schools Prize for Innovation. The five World’s Best School Prizes, founded last year by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, Yayasan Hasanah, and the Lemann Foundation, are often cited as the world’s most prestigious education prizes.

The global prize recognises schools ‘breaking from tradition… to beat challenges and accelerate progress to improve education, through “leapfrog” innovation’, with the winner announced in October.

BVIS HCMC’s shortlisting is thanks to its pioneering bilingual phonics programme, which teaches Vietnamese and English using an approach called ‘Learn One, Know Two’. Only available at BVIS HCMC, this unique bilingual programme helps students learn to read in both languages and switch seamlessly between them, creating a foundation to progress to their IGCSE and A-Level exams.

As part of the programme, the school has also established a community partner project this year where Year 5 students visit a local school to help students improve their reading comprehension.

Simon Higham, Principal of the British Vietnamese International School, Ho Chi Minh City, said: “We’re proud of our students, colleagues, and wider school community for becoming a Top 10 school for innovation worldwide. Being shortlisted acknowledges over 10 years of hard work, commitment, and passion to develop our educational offering, which celebrates the difference bilingualism brings children. We believe bilingualism helps develop confident, independent, and happy global citizens who have a sense of belonging towards their national culture, heritage, traditions, and language.”

Shaun Williams, Regional Managing Director of Nord Anglia’s Southeast Asia, Middle East and India region, said: “BVIS HCMC’s curricular innovation in bilingualism is just one example of how the school regularly goes above and beyond for its students and larger community, proving why it’s one of the leading international schools in Vietnam.”

Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, said: “The schools shortlisted for the World’s Best School Prizes, no matter where they can be found or what they teach, all have one thing in common. They all have a strong school culture. Their leaders know how to attract and motivate exceptional educators, inspire change, and build excellent teaching and learning environments.

“I must congratulate the British Vietnamese International School, Ho Chi Minh City on being named in the Top 10 shortlist for the World’s Best School Prizes 2023. Schools across the globe will learn from the story of this trailblazing Vietnamese institution and the culture it has cultivated.”

BVIS HCMC is part of Nord Anglia Education’s family of 80+ premium schools in 33 countries around the world, and it teaches around 1,200 students. The school celebrates exceptional academic results each year, with 58% A*-A grades in A-Levels in the 2021-22 school year. The school’s IGCSE students also achieved 57% A*-A grades in the same year. Graduates are accepted to top 100 universities around the world, with offers for the Class of 2023 including New York University, University of Southern California, University of Toronto, University of Sydney, Cardiff University, and more.