Ellen spent four years at ICHK and says her time at the school has been invaluable in preparing her for the demands of university.

What did you most enjoy about your time at ICHK?

The small and tight knit community of ICHK really separated the school from others in HK. It allowed me and all my other classmates to have a lot more individual tutoring and time spent on making sure we understood everything we were taught and were comfortable with it all. Apart from that aspect of the teaching i really enjoyed the multiple after school activities/events/performances available to be a part of. Since I'd always wanted to pursue theatre, it allowed me to develop those relevant skills as well as still achieving high marks in my academic subjects.

How do you feel that teachers at ICHK prepared you for life after school?

The teachers at ICHK were amazing with regards treating us like adults, especially in our last years of school (IB). Independent studying was obviously encourage yet guidance was always provided for us when we needed it. When I started uni, I felt a lot more comfortable with the work we had to do then some of the other pupils initially did in my course.

Mr Clarke was my tutor for 4 years and my economics teacher for IGCSEs.  I can't thank him enough for not just helping me improve in economics (which I found extremely difficult!) and pushing me to achieve a grade I never thought I could in a subject like that, but for also always encouraging me to perform in and outside of school musically and theatrically.

Of course I can't express how grateful I am for the work of my theatre teachers Ms Goldthorpe and Mr Greenall! I have never met such dedicated and passionate teachers in the performing arts. I don't think I would have ever been accepted into the unis I auditioned for it it wasn't for their guidance and teaching.

How do you think that ICHK differs from other schools?

As I mentioned before, ICHK is small in numbers compared to other international school which created a close community. I received a lot of attention and individual teaching I haven't experienced in my previous years in a HK school.

What were the key skills that you learnt at ICHK?

Leadership, professionalism and discipline are the main three of many skills I acquired at ICHK.

Any significant moments / highlights / achievements at university so far that you may like to share, and do you think your time at ICHK helped you prepare for them?

Definitely receiving the academic bursary when I first started was a huge achievement for me, I was very proud of my IB grade which I couldn't have done without the help of all my teachers at ICHK. Also just little things such as putting myself forward for representative positions of my course and societies here was a lot easier thanks to the experience I had at ICHK when I was given multiple responsibilities.