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Primary School

Nurturing Curiosity Through Inquiry-based Learning

Our Primary School focuses on the unique learning characteristics and dispositions of every student. This allows us to personalise their learning experiences in a safe and caring environment. Our inclusive learning community helps our youngest students to understand and think objectively about different people, cultures, and perspectives.

A Look Inside Our IB Primary School

Primary is a crucial foundation for a child's educational journey – structured inquiry leads to critical thinking skills, agency, and a lifelong love of learning. 

Ruth Clarke

Jacqui Patrick

Primary School Principal

Ms. Patrick has extensive teaching and leadership experience in China and a deep understanding of the IB Primary Years Programme.

Learning How to Learn

"The personalised inquiry-based approach at NIS helps nurture the dispositions and skills for lifelong learning. Through their own agency, we encourage students to be curious as they develop inquiry skills to make personal connections with learning content and make meaning through collaborating with others."

The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) provides a framework for structured inquiry to take place as the main vehicle for student learning in relevant, real-world contexts. Through experience and discovery, our students have countless opportunities to grow.

Our faculty work with parents as a team. Children who are educated in NIS's international and inclusive learning environment gain the knowledge, skills, and understanding to contribute positively to our future.

Learn more about our school's IB curriculum.

Early Years

We believe that our youngest students come to us as individuals, rich in prior knowledge, skills and experiences. They are capable and naturally curious, able to pose and solve their own problems. Relationships are at the heart of our Early Years programme – relationships with people, materials, and spaces.

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Grades 1-5

Our Primary Years Programme for Grade 1-5 nurtures unlocks the potential of our young students. Through this personalised, child-centric programme of inquiry, they develop into caring, active participants on a lifelong journey of learning.

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Our Curriculum

students in a group

Learning experiences are conceptually based and embedded in Units of Inquiry that help our students learn essential content and skills. 

Our IB curriculum framework is transdisciplinary and seeks to approach learning in consideration of the whole child through constructive inquiry. We closely attend to our school’s Mission and Strategy by developing students’ talents in the areas of their academic, social and emotional well-being.

Read Our Programme of Inquiry

21st Century Education in Action

students in a group

Our Primary Years Programme in China

At NIS, we are developing critical thinkers and leaders by involving students in the decisions about teaching and learning.

Through our Reggio-inspired approach to learning in our multi award-winning Early Years Centre, whole school Design learning for all Primary students, and inquiry culminating in the Grade 5 PYP Exhibition, we believe in fostering agency to help students develop meaning and personal connections to the purpose of their learning. This takes place within our school’s local, national, and global context. 

We support risk-taking and international mindedness by equipping our learners with the skills to thrive outside their comfort zone and connect with nature, people, culture, and places.

 View our School Strategy

Co-curriculars

As part of our holistic approach to education, we offer a dynamic co-curricular programme.

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Social Emotional Learning

We are an inclusive school dedicated to not only providing all our students with the best opportunities to learn academically, but also socially and emotionally.

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Design Thinking & Learning

Design learning at NIS supports the development of student skillsets and competencies to be the empathetic problem solvers our 21st century world needs.

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Ready to learn more about our Primary School?

Early Years     Grades 1-5