Hanoi · History
From BVIS to BIS: How Hanoi Got Its British School
British International School Hanoi began life as a dual-language campus in 2012 and converted to a full international programme within a year. It now enrols around 1,100 students from more than 30 countries.
The roots of British International School Hanoi go back not to Hanoi but to Ho Chi Minh City, where, according to the school's own history pages, the first British international school in Vietnam opened in 1997. The founders later established a sister campus, the British Vietnamese International School (BVIS HCMC), in August 2011, aimed at Vietnamese families seeking dual-language international education. Hanoi came next.
Origins
In August 2012, the BIS group opened the British Vietnamese International School Hanoi, with Anthony Rowlands as its founding Principal. The site chosen was the Vinhomes Riverside development in Long Bien District, on the eastern edge of the city, roughly 20 minutes from the centre. The school launched as a dual-language campus, modelled on the National Curriculum for England while committing to Vietnamese language and culture alongside it.
That arrangement was short-lived. In 2013, a separate, purpose-built BVIS campus opened adjacent to the Royal City Complex in Thanh Xuan District, taking on the bilingual mandate. The departure of that campus freed the Long Bien site to convert to a full international programme. The school was renamed the British International School Hanoi, and Vinhomes Riverside has remained its home ever since.
Joining Nord Anglia
In 2015, all four BIS and BVIS schools in Vietnam joined the Nord Anglia Education family. For BIS Hanoi, that brought access to Nord Anglia's Global Campus platform, award-winning teacher training, and exclusive academic collaborations with The Juilliard School, MIT, and UNICEF. The school became one node in a network that now spans more than 80 schools across 30 countries.
Curriculum and Accreditation
The curriculum runs from the Early Years Foundation Stage for children aged two upward, through the English National Curriculum and International Primary Curriculum at primary level, into Cambridge IGCSE in Years 10 and 11. Years 12 and 13 follow the IB Diploma Programme; BIS Hanoi was authorised as an IB World School in 2016. The school is also a registered Cambridge Assessment International Education centre.
On accreditation, the school holds full Council of International Schools (CIS) status, first awarded in June 2017 and renewed most recently in January 2024. It gained full Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation in August 2017. The school is also a member of the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA).
Results have tracked above global averages. The school's four-year IBDP average points score stands at 35, above the worldwide figure, and in 2022, 61 percent of its IBDP candidates were awarded the bilingual Diploma, against a world average of 27 percent. Graduates have gone on to UCLA, the University of Toronto, King's College London, and Yonsei, among others.
Present Day
The school enrols around 1,100 students from more than 30 nationalities, ages two to 18. The Long Bien campus holds a 25-metre indoor swimming pool, a 200-seat theatre, a STEAM Maker Space with 3D printers and robotics equipment, and specialist science, music, drama, and dance facilities. More than 90 co-curricular clubs run alongside the academic programme. Principal Richard Vaughan, who took up the role in 2021, leads the school.