Our Story
Hillside World Academy
Preparing students to be active participants in a lifelong journey of learning
Hillside World Academy (HWA) is a full-length IB International School with Chinese cultural characteristics.
HWA is sponsored by Huijia International School in Beijing, which is owned by Huijia Educational Institution in China. Founded in 1993, Huijia School is one of the first educational institutions in China to introduce the IB curriculum system. In 2006, Huijia School established the Chinese International School in Singapore with the support of the Economic Development Bureau of the Government of Singapore and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Singapore. This is the first international school established outside China by a Chinese educational institution. In 2015, the school moved to a new location and renamed as Hillside World Academy.
Since 2006, the school has always adhered to the ideal of the beginning of the establishment of the school, carried out the purpose of IB education, uphold the fine tradition of Chinese culture, advocate the integration of Chinese and Western culture of the educational concept, play Singapore’s geographical advantages, the use of Huijia Educational Institutions for more than 30 years to organize international education projects experience and it as a comprehensive educational institutions have a variety of educational resources, to provide full range of IB International school from kindergarten to pre-university.
HWA has always been based on the international education in the context of multi-cultural as its own educational characteristics, in the display of the fine traditions of Chinese culture, while emphasizing mutual understanding and respect between different cultures. The school’s faculty and students come from all over the world, and shared values and ideals unite all members of the school into a family of nations full of understanding and love. The school seeks to develop an international consciousness to adapt to the current trend of economic and social development in today’s world by providing students with an international education based on IB standards and imparting knowledge that is in keeping with the current development of science, technology and culture in the world.
We aim to develop principled global citizens with intercultural perspectives and a passion for lifelong learning.
We provide a nurturing environment to encourage
- independent and collaborative learning;
- the formation of international-mindedness;
- principled and responsible acts; and
- holistic development.
Resilience | We adapt in the face of challenges with new skills.
Integrity | We know and act with sound ethical principles.
Internationalism | We practise open-mindedness and show empathy across cultures.
Collaboration | We will work with others for the common good of the community.
Excellence | We passionately strive for continual improvement in the things we do and believe in.
Join us going through a day in the life of a HWA student.
Learning Life Skills
To grow into well-functioning adults, it is critical that youth learn key life skills. Life skills include critical and creative thinking, decision-making, effective communication, as well as skills for developing healthy relationships and a positive self-concepts. Life skills help people make responsible and informed choices and can promote healthy lifestyles as well as career skills. According to WHO, life skills may be defined as “abilities for adaptive and positive behavior, that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life… Every school should enable children and adolescents at all levels to learn critical health and life skills.”
We are HWA
MOREIn its abbreviated form, our newly renamed academy is HWA. This reads and sounds like the character 华, which stands for Chinese in Mandarin, and reflects our emphasis on Chinese language and culture, amid an international, three-programme IB learning environment. While we are proud of our Chinese roots and history, we also maintain a multicultural identity, where a diverse pool of students and teachers hail from East to Central Asia, and from Europe to the Americas.
Our Philosophy
MOREHillside World Academy uses a comprehensive standards-based curriculum in which we teach for understanding. Students understand when they acquire important new knowledge and skills, make meaning of big ideas related to the knowledge and skills, and transfer this learning to new and authentic situations.
The Understanding by IB programme, which seeks to structure teaching for understanding, guides us in the formulation of our written curriculum. We align curriculum, instruction, and assessment to allow students to demonstrate understanding by developing enduring understandings and building on previous learning experiences and previously learned knowledge and skills. Hillside World Academy teachers regularly update and revise curricula to reflect current best practices and research.
At Hillside World Academy, we believe that the purpose of assessment is to promote learning. A robust system of assessment is relevant and accurate, ongoing, informative and timely, and understandable to all. Multiple forms of assessment are used to allow students to demonstrate their understanding; formative assessments are used to guide instruction and student goal-setting while summative assessments summarize the mastery of content, knowledge or skills at a particular point in time.
Student Values
MOREExcellence
We passionately strive for continual improvement in the things we do and believe in.
Respect
Acknowledging other people in our community and be tolerant and accept others as they are or aren’t.
Passion
Developing a passion for life-long learning, intellectual curiosity and achieving success in studies and life.
Teamwork
Working effectively and collaboratively, inspiring and caring for other whilst showing leadership and team spirit.
Confidence
Taking risks, be confident in personal abilities and expressing ourselves in English and mother tongue language.
Integrity
Be honest, responsible, conscientious and honour our words.
Pride
Be proud of multilinguistic and cultural heritages, whilst being confident global citizens.
Embracing Diversity
MORETeachers play a vital role as they shape the student’s world. Educators lead by example, provide guidance and set rules to follow, thus their behavior and habits are modeled by the students.
Meanwhile, we make sure to value every child’s individual special efforts and creative input and create interactive classrooms where students work on projects together, share their different viewpoints and their talents.