Best schools in Ho Chi Minh City
Education in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City (commonly known as HCMC) is the larger, more high-rise, business centre of Vietnam compared to its more cultural, northern sibling, Hanoi. Less traditional in feel than Hanoi, the wider streets accommodate a constant throng of traffic, not least the ubiquitous motorbike – three million of them apparently! While you can (and many do) take your children to school by bike, the good news is that almost all of the schools also offer a good bus service and local taxi services such as Grab are cheap and aplenty.
There are some excellent international schools dotted around the city with stunning results, particularly for the IB Diploma, with graduates scoring way above the global average, though this does in turn mean that it can also be a pressurised environment for some children.
As in most far eastern cities, it is unlikely that you will consider sending your child to a public school unless your family is at least partially Vietnamese, or you are intent on integrating your children into the culture. In previous years teaching methods were deemed to be along the lines of children being ‘seen and not heard’ but now the public schools largely take a more western approach, with less rigid structure to the day and more collaboration and interaction, however, you will likely find it very hard to slot your child in, as these are hugely over-subscribed.
Choosing a school in Ho Chi Minh City
Once you’ve sorted out which district number works for the practicalities of the school run – most international families tend to stay in the Thao Dien area in district 2 which is handy for BIS HCMC, EIS and AIS while if you head further out to the likes of district 7 you’ll find yourself close to Saigon South International School or Renaissance International School - you might want to look at quotas around nationalities in schools and proportion of local students to international students, which can range from 30 to 90 per cent.
Curricula is another important consideration, not least to ensure that your children can transition easily. Most schools, with one or two exceptions, offer a basically American curriculum up to the American High School Diploma or a mixed curriculum leading to IGCSEs and the International Baccalaureate Diploma.
As in Hanoi, the Vietnam war meant the influx of international schools only began around 25 years ago. All the ones we review are externally accredited, either by independent American agencies or the Council of International Schools (CIS) or inspected by accreditation agencies for the British Schools Overseas (BSO). Some are even dually accredited. Watch out for the similarity of school names, particularly the use of the word American (which may account for why so many schools are more commonly just known by their initials).
Although most international schools are open to registering students all year round, the most popular ones tend to have waiting lists so you need to get your act together fast and research the schools as soon as you know you’re heading for HCMC. Not all are fully selective but given the highly impressive graduate scores and destinations and the pushy local parents, these schools can tend to be full-on academic hothouses.
Special education needs in Ho Chi Minh City
Most international schools here can cater to mild to moderate special needs and also have specific programs (at an additional cost) for children for whom English is not their first language. At this point in time we aren’t aware of any specialist schools for children with severe learning difficulties.
Pre-schools, kindergarten and nurseries in Ho Chi Minh
Some of the best international schools such as BIS offer a pre-school to prepare students for full-time education. Bus services are provided for most schools, even at pre-school level and these are generally to western standards.
In addition there are a number of nursery schools and kindergartens popping up around the city aimed at international families with a good mix of learning approaches from Montessori to Reggio Emilia and international early years curricula.
