Hi, I am Xiaolong and I graduated from HCIS in 2019. I’m now studying Mathematics at Cambridge University.
The IB is certainly a fantastic course. Looking back, university-level study is very different from that in high school, and you will soon realize that what you know only constitutes a tiny portion of what you need to know. Therefore, I believe the most important thing to learn in high school is not any specific knowledge but the ability to learn and think critically, and this is exactly what I learned from doing the IB. Any course in IB is not isolated —a particular theorem in Physics may be a perfect real-life situation for the Theory of Knowledge course, and an Economics article may be a good reference to be included in the Extended Essay. This close association of different disciplines is certainly challenging, but also equally rewarding.
HCIS also organises meaningful co-curricular activities, ranging from sports to debating. No matter what hobbies you have, you can always find something interesting to do. For me, participating in CCAs gave me the space to take a break from a long week of study and to socialise with my friends.
One of the most memorable events for me at HCIS was the Business Bazaar, a unique event that takes place once every two years. Students from different levels come together and set up small booths selling a variety of items, ranging from fresh food to tarot fortune-telling. It is certainly one of the many great experiences I had at the school.
