Why critical thinking will prepare students for the future

Nord Anglia International School, Hong Kong – part of international schools provider Nord Anglia Education’s global network of 82 schools – follows an education system based partly on the English national curriculum at its three early years, primary and secondary school campuses in Sai Kung, Lam Tin and Kwun Tong respectively, for children aged three to 18.

It provides a unique programme of soft-skills training alongside a broad-based academic curriculum to help students navigate the increasingly complex and unpredictable future.

Kenny Duncan, principal of the school, who was previously an adviser to Britain’s Department of Education, says the role of education is not only to impart knowledge within a finite range of subjects, but to also equip students with qualities that include resilience, curiosity, confidence and empathy.

“Soft skills are those transferable skills that are crucial for coping with whatever the world throws at people,” he says. “We need to prepare children for roles that probably don’t exist yet, for technologies that aren’t present now, but that will be an integrated part of their future.”

Nord Anglia Education’s own research into the most important skills that young people will need for future success reflect these sentiments to build resilience and resourcefulness in younger generations.

The study targeted 18- to 25-year-old Gen Z-ers, the age group graduating from higher education or entering the workplace following the impact brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, amid continuing global uncertainty. According to the research findings, problem-solving and critical thinking, confidence, resilience and well-being were among the top five aptitudes and soft skills cited as necessary by participants.

Part of the preparation for a rapidly evolving future involves Nord Anglia International School, Hong Kong’s “blended curriculum”. Children are offered a combination of the early years foundation stage, up to the age of five, key stages 1 and 2 at primary school from five to 11, and key stages 3 and 4 at secondary school from 11 to 16, leading to the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education between the ages of 14 and 16, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme from 16 to 18.

The school’s academic approach offers students a wealth of knowledge through a wide range of different subjects and options, including art, music, drama, physical education and Chinese – with the offer of French and Spanish – at primary school, and the addition of things including art and design, computing, geography and science at secondary school, where they can curate, and even change their choices themselves.

“Our curriculum is as broad as it can possibly be to remove the barriers to achievement, so that children can be successful in whatever area they feel is important to them,” Duncan says.

Its academic curriculum is complemented by what Duncan calls each student’s “personalised curriculum”, which includes their choice of clubs, extracurricular activities, including drama, dance, debating or choir, day and residential trips and sports such as football, table tennis, swimming and volleyball.

To chart their progress, students have an individual “learner profile”, which records the soft skills they have developed from being part of a team, leading fellow students or contributing to the school community.

Pastoral support, another key focus at the school, is provided from a young age, and tailored to the needs of each student. The children are guided to recognise moments when they are under pressure and develop coping skills as well as the ability to manage disagreements and conflicts in their relationships.

“We can’t clear the way for children so that they never find themselves in those difficult situations,” Duncan says. “But we can enable them to recognise when that happens and what tools to use to be able to cope, and at points when they feel they can’t cope, being able to get alongside them and provide those essential support mechanisms.”

On top of providing developmental counselling to those students and parents who need it, the school also has an extensive network of external partnerships that step in to render their help when necessary.

The school is able to enhance the students’ training in soft skills through special programmes involving international collaboration with the renowned New York performing arts college, Juilliard School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a prestigious research university specialising in technology and innovation, and Unicef, the UN body focused on improving the health and education of children worldwide.

“Juilliard supports us in the writing of our curriculum and trains our teachers in drama, music and dance,” Duncan says. “That enables us to teach in a very sophisticated way and show children that the creative and performing arts are not a single individual series of subjects, but that they blend together.”

An experiential series of programmes created with MIT enables students to tackle real-world challenges in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM).

Innovation centres have been set up at the Hong Kong school’s campus, based on the MIT model, while its teachers visit MIT regularly for training from the university’s leading engineers and scientists. Every spring, students from the school have the chance to visit MIT’s campus to take part in classes and experience student life.


The school’s collaboration with Unicef means students can participate in the annual UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, including reporting on events and sharing their ideas with key policymakers from around the world. Students can also contribute their ideas and proposals towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – targets which include eradicating global poverty and hunger, and providing good health and well-being and quality education for all by 2030.

Nord Anglia International School, Hong Kong is an accredited member of both the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and the British Schools Overseas (BSO) for meeting a strict set of criteria set by both associations to ensure it operates in line with British educational values and standards, from the quality of the curriculum taught to its standards of assessments.

It is part of a network of 82 international schools in 33 countries, with a 75,000-strong community, so its students can gain a global perspective by teaming up with their counterparts abroad while jointly working on projects involving Juilliard, MIT and the UN.

“All of the Nord Anglia Education schools can make bids for social impact projects and get finance and funding to actually develop those projects at a local level,” Duncan says.

Being part of a large global network adds value to the acquisition of soft skills, since students can participate in both regional and global events, involving a variety of activities including science, football and judo competitions, he says.

The benefits of this network also extend beyond a student’s graduation. “Even after students leave, being a member of the Nord Anglia Education alumni allows them to keep in contact with their peers, to feed back into that community and support other students through their experiences,” Duncan says.