The United Nations International School of Hanoi is an international school in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1988 with the support of the United Nations Development Programme in Vietnam with the aim of providing an education to the children of UN staff and others. It now caters to the children of diplomats, aid workers, businessmen, and other expatriates living and working in Hanoi. Classes range from pre-school to high school, and the IB Diploma is available to students in grade 11 and 12. As of May 2018, there were 1123 students with 66 nationalities speaking 44 different languages. The school maintains a 20% cap for any one nationality, which gives UNIS Hanoi a truly international and culturally diverse atmosphere. There are teachers from 27 different countries with 88% from the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. Class sizes at UNIS Hanoi range from 16 to 22 students depending on the grade level with mostly 8 classes per grade level.
History
For many years, the school has been housed in a small building attached to the Hanoi-Amsterdam campus. In 1999, the campus was moved to the UN buildings in Van Phuc; in 2004 the school was finally moved to the long-awaited, custom-built campus located in a new area on the outskirts of Hanoi proper called Ciputra Hanoi International City. In 2012, the school opened its sports center that included two full-sized covered basketball courts, weight/dance rooms, and several multipurpose classrooms. Along with the opening of the sports center, a new center for the arts was also opened that included among many facilities, including a new theater and a recording studio. When the school was founded in 1988, there were less than 10 students in the first class. Since the late 80s, the school has seen significant growth. Up until 1999, there was no 12th grade. The demographic has changed significantly in the past 5 years, as only a handful of Vietnamese children used to attend the school. UNIS now offers the full International Baccalaureate program, from the primary level to the Diploma Programme in high school—the first school to do so in Asia. The school is also accredited by the European Council of International Schools, New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Council of International Schools, East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools and Western Association of Schools and Colleges while having affiliation with the Asia Pacific Activities Conference.
Curriculum
The curriculum is international, drawing upon English language programs and the framework provided by the International Baccalaureate Organization. The School has adopted the IB Programmes: Primary Years, Middle Years and in Grades 11-12, the School has adopted the IB Diploma Programme. It is a rigorous, international university preparatory curriculum with prescribed knowledge, skills, and understandings in each subject area. Participation in the IB Diploma Programme is available to all students at UNIS Hanoi, with more than 90% taking the opportunity and with results consistently above the IBO world averages; the remainder graduate with a UNIS High School Diploma. Instruction in the world and home country languages, the arts, physical education, and English-as-an-Additional Language supplement a rigorous core curriculum. UNIS Hanoi has a learning support and counseling program at all grade levels. There is an extensive co-curricular programme of sports and activities and a strong commitment to service-learning, reflecting the spirit of the UN ideals and principles. The School has a fully resourced library and media center and has a strong commitment to integrating technology throughout the curriculum with a one-to-one personal computer tablet program for all students from Grades 4-12 and mobile computer labs for students in Discovery through Grade 3.
