Hong Kong Gains Two New Sixth Forms as A Levels Stage a Comeback

Hong Kong's international school sector is heading into the new academic year with two new dedicated sixth form centres, as Kellett School and Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong each open purpose-built facilities this August that put A Levels back at the centre of the city's post-16 conversation.

Kellett's new centre occupies two floors at The Bay Hub on Kai Cheung Road, opposite the school's existing Kowloon Bay campus and connected to it by a footbridge. The 3,716-square-metre building holds up to 240 students and houses more than a dozen classrooms alongside a small lecture theatre, a Harkness room for seminar-style discussion, and dedicated Higher Education counselling suites. It is Kellett's most significant piece of new infrastructure in years and reflects the school's Vision 2035 plan, set out last autumn.

A first for Hong Kong

Across the harbour, according to Nord Anglia Education, its Hong Kong school will open a Sixth Form Centre in Hung Hom this August offering A Levels alongside the existing International Baccalaureate Diploma, making it the first international school in the city to run both qualifications simultaneously. Students choosing A Levels will specialise in three to four subjects, in contrast to the six required by the IB. The centre is designed to feel closer to a university environment than a secondary school floor, with collaborative study spaces and independent work areas.

NAIS Hong Kong is also launching a Sixth Form Scholarship Programme to mark the expansion, recognising academic achievement, leadership, and community engagement in students from Year 3 through Year 13.

Shifting the balance

The simultaneous arrival of two substantial A Level programmes is the clearest signal yet that Hong Kong's premium international school sector is moving away from the near-universal adoption of the IB Diploma that characterised the past decade. A Levels have retained a presence at Kellett throughout, but the construction of dedicated, university-style facilities at two major schools signals a level of institutional commitment that goes beyond quiet continuity.

For families with children approaching Year 12, the practical effect is a richer set of options than has existed for several intake cycles. Whether there is enough demand to fill both new buildings in their first year remains to be seen. Admissions for both schools are already open, and the August intake will be the first real test of appetite.