What defines the British Vietnamese International School Ho Chi Minh City (BVIS)?

In today’s competitive academic climate, terms, buzzwords, and descriptions are frequently used with little consistency in meaning, making it a challenge to understand, let alone compare, schools in Ho Chi Minh City. But BVIS is truly different. It is not a bilingual school; it’s a British international school with a Vietnamese heart and soul. 

The 1 For Your Child's Global Success via BVIS YouTube.

Categorized by its adherence to England’s National Curriculum, an emphasis on Vietnamese language, culture, and values, and personalized, student-centered learning, it stands out with a mission to nurture confident, globally-minded students who embrace both international success and Vietnamese identity.

One Curriculum: The British National System Enriched by Vietnamese Cultural Context

Not a bilingual school, nor a hybrid institution, BVIS is a premier international school that supplements a British curriculum with attention to Vietnamese language and culture. This is achieved via teaching the National Curriculum for England from Early Years through A Levels. Thus, students of all ages experience rigorous coursework informed by evolving best practices that develop critical thinking skills, independence, and confidence as assessed according to British standards. Graduates achieve the globally recognized IGCSEs and A Levels, which allow them to enter and thrive at the world’s top universities.

Vietnamese fluency in academic settings is established at the beginning.

Meanwhile, students maintain and develop a deep and meaningful connection with Vietnamese language and culture and their place within it. As students advance in their academic careers, and their fluency of academic Vietnamese is established, the use of English language transitions from approximately 50% of classroom use, rising steadily in upper primary and secondary to 93% across the 6th Form. 

“If you value a consistent international curriculum that is delivered in both English and Vietnamese during the primary years — enabling students to build strong foundations in both languages and cultures — or if you're looking for a more specialised, subject-focused pre-university pathway through A Levels in secondary, then BVIS is for you,” BVIS Principal Dee Grimshaw succinctly explained.

Winners of the speech and poetry competition.

BVIS offers a world-class international education while preserving and nurturing a deep connection to Vietnamese identity. The curriculum seamlessly integrates the nation’s intellectual heritage, arts, and inspirational role models. Moreover, school events and activities such as Vietnamese Teachers’ Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Tết, as well as numerous community service initiatives, all focus on cultivating respect, courtesy, and traditional values, helping students grow harmoniously within their families and communities.

International and Vietnamese-themed events are not only a means for deepening cultural experience, but also for having fun.

The impact of the Vietnamese cultural experiences at BVIS reverberates far beyond the classroom, shaping the character and mindset of every student. Children confidently access an international curriculum and engage in events globally, while remaining deeply grounded in family traditions, showing respect and warmth to grandparents and parents. In doing so, students come to understand that Vietnamese identity is not only a cherished foundation but also a source of strength that fuels their aspirations to reach the world.

One Child: Knowing and Treating Each Student as a Unique Individual

For students to achieve BVIS’s high expectations, each must be at the center of specialized learning journeys. There is a strong emphasis on well-being, alongside academic achievement, and a deeply committed community of educators and families who ensure students receive not just a great education, but the right education for them.

Within the large and state-of-the-art campus, passionate teachers from around the world cater to learning objectives and respond to the needs of each student. A plethora of extracurricular activities and student organizations across performing arts, athletics, and community outreach further help students identify and explore their unique interests. 

BVIS teachers bring extensive experience teaching the National Curriculum for England.

Recruited largely from the UK, BVIS’s teachers have the credentials and experience to engender trust alongside opportunities to further develop their abilities to encourage students to explore, think critically, and express themselves confidently. As part of the Nord Anglia group of schools, they receive subject-specific training from leading institutions like MIT, The Juilliard School, and King’s College London, and collaborate closely with sister-school BIS to exchange ideas and knowledge.

Extracurriculars and collaboration opportunities introduce students to the wider world.

“When students come to our school, academic rigour and individual progress is a given,” Grimshaw told Saigoneer. “However, this cannot be fully achieved without the care and attention to building positive student – teacher – parent relationships that we prioritise at BVIS. Our teaching and non-teaching staff really do make the difference, and our focus upon their own professional development and learning is something that has helped us stay ahead of the curve, both now and into the future.”

One World: Ability to Thrive Everywhere while Maintaining Sense of Self and Home 

Exceptional academic results are matched by confidence in and outside the classroom.

BVIS’s academic results and university placements speak for themselves, with alumni attending some of the top universities in the UK, US, Australia, and across Asia after scoring well above UK averages on the A-levels and IGCSEs.

More than just impressive test scores and placements, the school community emphasizes cultural intelligence, global awareness, and adaptability alongside empathy and integrity. The qualities of simply being a kind and considerate person are mirrored in the behavior of teachers and administrators, put forth in lessons and activities, and praised as an inherent element of the school’s identity. 

Fluency in both English and Vietnamese further the opportunities open to BVIS graduates, with many students progressing to universities abroad and returning to Vietnam to make positive contributions to their families, communities, and country. Being able to seamlessly and comfortably transition across borders and cultures while retaining their identity is essential for a healthy self-worth. Summing up her experiences at BVIS, recent graduate, Nhu Y, described herself as “grounded.”

Since its opening 15 years ago, BVIS graduates have gone on to remarkable achievements here and abroad without losing sight of where their journey began. As Grimshawnoted, “BVIS students know who they really are. They are in tune with their own identity, and no matter where they go or whatever they do, they are clear about where they come from. They tend to fit seamlessly into an overseas environment and equally back into their own culture and setting. Put simply, BVIS delivers the highest quality of education whilst allowing our alumni to truly understand their own identity within the wider world.”

BVIS graduates venture into the world with a strong connection to home.