Schools must nurture innovative, entrepreneurial mindset to help students’ future success
Focus on STEAM subjects and hands-on experiences develops critical thinking, says Rob Fox, headmaster of Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong
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STEAM and hands-on programmes develop creative minds at Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong
Schools are having to quickly evolve in our increasingly complex and interconnected world to help prepare future graduates for the rapidly changing demands of higher education and the global job market.
They must ensure students not only achieve academic success and go on to university, but also thrive in their future careers, Rob Fox, headmaster of Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong (WASHK), says.
It is important that schools equip children with core skills, such as communication, creativity and critical thinking, so they have the right mindset to succeed in the real world, he says in the latest edition of EdTalk – South China Morning Post’s video series of interviews that discuss pertinent issues surrounding education.
Many companies today are keen to employ proactive job candidates with creative abilities such as innovation, problem-solving and entrepreneurship.
“It’s important to teach the children about the world they live in now, while also preparing them skills-wise for all those challenges they are going to face later in their lives, both at university and when they embark on their careers,” Fox says.
“For example, we integrate the traditional STEAM subjects, of science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics, with our computer studies curriculum to develop the iSTEAM programme as part of the core curriculum for Year 1 to 8 children. They have two to three targeted lessons each week that can help them develop skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking.”
The British co-educational international preparatory school in Tin Wan, Aberdeen, on Hong Kong Island, offers a holistic education using the national curriculum for England and Wales, complemented by its Chinese curriculum, to about 300 children aged five to 13. It has gained a reputation as an education innovator in the city since opening in 2019.
It is the only Hong Kong school to have retained for three years the title of Microsoft Showcase School – a programme that recognises schools showing commitment to the use of technology to transform teaching and learning. Last month it won the 2025 STEAM Award for its “outstanding programmes in STEAM education” at Southern China’s inaugural Greater Bay Area School Awards ceremony, held in Hong Kong.
The school also offers an entrepreneurship programme, launched last September, which helps prepare students for their working life through project-based, hands-on experiences that reflect the collaborative nature of today’s business world.
The initiative, which includes coaching from parents with investment and entrepreneurial backgrounds, gives students the opportunity to use what they have learned in the classroom by applying it directly to a real-life scenario.
For its first venture, a group of 15 students developed a concept for selling tea and then travelled to Xiamen in mainland China’s Fujian province, where they developed a business plan, met tea farmers, negotiated procurement deals and learned first-hand about the tea and its processing.
The children have set up their own brand, WAS Tea, designed and printed their own packaging, and now sell tea bags and tea drinks at regular school events. “They are telling the stories they learned about the tea on the trip and doing a roaring trade,” Fox says.
“By graduation, every WASHK student will participate in the entrepreneurship programme and follow through on a business idea. This will not only make them stand out during their university entrance interviews and applications, but also means that, in 10 years, we will have young adults with entrepreneurial mindsets who can lead the workforce.”
The school also places a strong emphasis on language education in both English and Mandarin to prepare students for an increasingly globalised world.
Its preparatory school, for example, offers an intensive English programme to help students who may not be fluent in the language to improve their vocabulary, grammar and speaking and listening skills. Once they reach a certain level, they can then rejoin their normal classes, which are taught in an all-English environment.
The Mandarin programme is a core part of the school’s curriculum, with the school devoting an equal amount of time to its English, mathematics and Chinese studies.
“Families who send their children to international schools want them to be fluent in English and have the skills-based education that British education can provide,” Fox says. “But at the same time, many of those students will likely be returning to Asia to pursue their careers. It’s really important that their Chinese skills are strong, too.”
Its new senior school, which will be opening to Year 9 to 12 students in Kowloon City in August, will offer the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) – a UK-recognised English-language-based qualification that is equivalent to the GCSE – and A-levels; this will form a clear alternative to the International Baccalaureate for Hong Kong families.
The refurbished site has been designed for use as a university-style campus to create an environment that will prepare students for their next step to higher education.
Its curriculum will maintain the school’s traditional focus on STEAM subjects, entrepreneurship and languages, alongside its successful extracurricular activities programme. This scheme offers more than 60 weekly activities including creative and performing arts, academic enrichment and sports, so that students can explore interests away from their day-to-day educational pursuits.
“My hope is that students can develop lifelong passions and talents,” Fox says. “We want them to have a go at new things and take on new challenges and opportunities because you never know where these interests will lead in the future.”