We are delighted to announce that ICHK has been shortlisted for the first ever Tes Awards for International Schools.

Head of the Arts Liam Greenall, together with his department staff, are finalists in the Teaching Initiative of the Year award.

They have been shortlisted for the unique approach to teaching and learning through the Arts Carousel Curriculum and Showcase.

The team was selected after rigorous judgement from a strict set of criteria, by a panel of expert judges including school leaders, experts, and education researchers.

The ICHK initiative innovatively structures arts education through a "carousel" system where students fully rotate through interdisciplinary projects over the course of a year. This exposes them to a wide range of art forms and experiences, and allows them to participate in project-based learning in art and design, creative media and performing arts (dance, drama and music).

Students are provided with varied and enriched exposure to different creative domains, allowing them to build skills in individual artistic practices like multi-media collage, experimental film-making, music composition and physical theatre.

In Term 3, students work interdisciplinary, and across year groups, on a cohesive, thematic and self-directed project. All students perform and exhibit their work to an audience in a ‘Showcase’ event, choosing an area of interest and guiding their own learning, which builds confidence and a sense of ownership over their work.

Learning is documented in the ICHK Learning Journal, which promotes a reflection on learning, planning and creative thinking along with a progress tracker.

In their separate art areas, students are encouraged to ‘think like an artist’, ‘think like a choreographer’, ‘think like a film composer’, or ‘think like a theatre company’. Fusing knowledge and skills from each area into one cohesive work mirrors real-world creative processes. Showcasing their work publicly fosters a sense of school pride and builds community connections.

The Tes Awards highlight the most outstanding schools and teachers the global education community has to offer, and shortlisted schools and teachers are representing 36 countries around the world.

Dan Worth, International Editor for Tes Magazine said, “The Tes Awards for International Schools give our inspiring international education colleagues across the world an opportunity to celebrate educational innovation and success in a raft of important areas.”

The winners will be announced in April.