Congratulations to Year 11 students Alena Cheng and Mia Lam for being shortlisted for the Design Hatch Award X PoliU HK.

The Design Hatch Award is a design competition that aims to inspire all secondary design students to think creatively and develop ideas that can positively impact society.

The students were invited to design anything related to the theme of happiness using any software and tool of their choice. Alena and Mia chose to submit their work under the communication design category, where they worked on a new Hong Kong-based charity, they Re-Food. The charity aims to redistribute food to those in need. Alena and Mia came up with the initial idea, name, brand strategy, and identity for the charity and its website. They submitted their work with an outstanding brand deck showcasing not only their excellent design work but also their ability to effectively and visually communicate a piece of branding and web design that responds to a design brief. 

Congratulations to Andrea Li who achieved third place in the Geographical Association Physical Geography competition. Students were challenged to take a photo that demonstrated the 'Mobile Earth' along with 250 words that explained what the photo revealed about the Earth. Andrea beat Geography students from around the world - congratulations! You can see Andrea's photo, her 250 words and the judge's feedback here.

Ms Sara Hirsch, author of the book, Louder than words, visited West Island School students (Years 7 to 10) on 29th Feb 2024 (Thursday). Hirsch delivered writing workshops to Yr 7 and Yr 9 and talking to Yr 8 and Yr 10 about understanding and unlocking poetry. It was great to learn first-hand how poetry is crafted and created, made all the more engaging and exciting by Sara's slam poetry delivery style.

Student University offers

Congratulations to Digital Design students Angus Bruce and Indy Colvert on receiving their first set of University offers. Angus has been offered scholarships for two institutions meanwhile Indy has received an unconditional offer! A fantastic reflection of their outstanding work on the course.

Meanwhile, our Engineering pathway students Edward Lowe and Aurelien Toucas have received offers to study Computer Science and St Andrews as well as studying opportunities in both Canada and the Netherlands.

IBCP Core

Much like the IB Diploma Programme the IB Career-related Programme features an area of core study, let’s take a quick look at it.

Reflective Project

This is an independent research project where students investigate and analyse a real-world issue or problem, demonstrating their critical thinking, research skills, and ability to reflect on their learning journey. Typically students write a 3000 word essay for this.

PPS

Personal and professional skills (PPS) is a component that aims to develop students' personal qualities, interpersonal skills, and professional attributes through a range of activities, including work experience, internships, and reflective practices, to prepare them for their future careers or further education.

Service Learning. (SL) 

Service learning is an educational approach that combines academic learning with community service. It aims to provide students with practical experiences, develop their skills, and promote social responsibility by engaging them in meaningful projects that address real-world issues.

Lang Development

Language development focuses on enhancing students' communication skills and fostering multilingualism. It involves studying languages, engaging in linguistic activities, and promoting cultural understanding to prepare students for effective communication in a global context.

What are our Year 12 students currently working on?

Business:

In business, students have just completed the finance unit.  We have started working on refining presentation skills.  This is in preparation for Unit 7-Business Decision Making, the Pearson Set assignment.  Students are conducting research using reliable sources, creating presentation slides and practising how to speak in front of an audience effectively.  In this unit, students will be expected to examine two different business options, find evidence and provide recommendations.  The report will be supported by a presentation that provides their reasoning, an analysis of the options and a justified recommendation.

Digital Design:

Year 12 Digital Design students are currently working on a travel board game project. The design restrictions in this unit encourages students to be creative with their final outcomes to produce innovative products using a range of skills such as digital illustration, character development and UI/UX design.

Engineering:

Subsidiary Engineers are currently Designing a Raspberry Pi Picco case and a Sheet metal LED light in their CAD unit using Fusion 360.

Diploma Engineers are currently learning about Moulding Processes, one of which is sand casting where we are recycling aluminium cans and melting them to create bases for soldering workstations. 

Extended Engineers are currently fine honing their secondary machining skills using the Centre lathes and Milling Machine in order to produce a spinning top and display box. 

University Visits @ WIS: Open for students only  (only for the Year 11s, 12s and 13s)

University of Twente

8 March 2024 -  Time 01:20 pm to 02:05 pm | Venue: C402

Durham University

18 March 2024 -  Time 01:20 pm to 02:05 pm | Venue: C402

University of Calgary

20 March 2024 -  Time 01:20 pm to 02:05 pm | Venue: C402

Keele University

21 March 2024 -  Time 01:20 pm to 02:05 pm | Venue: C402

For details on University Visits and Webinars, please click Here

For more details on External events and Summer programmes please visit the school website

Year 13

Our students are receiving conditional offers from universities in the UK, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US, and other countries.