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The IB Primary Years Programme · Kindergarten to Grade 5

Built around every child.

Horizon International School is a Candidate School* for the IB Primary Years Programme. From Kindergarten to Grade 5, learning starts with each child's questions, strengths and pace, in a school small enough for every teacher to know every child by name.

* Horizon is a Candidate School pursuing authorization as an IB World School. Read the full statement.

Two primary students rest their chins on their hands, watching closely as a classmate builds with coloured craft sticks.
KG to Grade 5
The Primary Years Programme at Horizon.
Since 2005
Horizon founded. Hanoi campus opened in 2007.
30+ nationalities
Children from across the world, learning together.
IB candidate
Candidate School* for the PYP since May 2026.
01 · The programme

What the IB PYP actually is

The Primary Years Programme is the International Baccalaureate's framework for children aged 3 to 12. IB programmes are taught in more than 6,200 schools in over 160 countries. At Horizon, the PYP runs from Kindergarten to Grade 5.

It does not replace subjects. It connects them.

Children still learn to read, write and calculate. The difference is that they use those skills to answer a question that matters to them, and a teacher who knows them decides how far to take the answer.

Three students read non-fiction books at a library table, beneath a large circular display of the IB Primary Years Programme framework.
Research time in the library, beneath the PYP framework that shapes every unit.

Six themes, one connected curriculum

The six transdisciplinary themes return through the programme, at a deeper level each time.

01Who we are
02Where we are in place and time
03How we express ourselves
04How the world works
05How we organize ourselves
06Sharing the planet

Ten attributes, taught on purpose

The IB learner profile names the kind of person a PYP child is becoming. At Horizon it is reported alongside academic progress.

Inquirers Knowledgeable Thinkers Communicators Principled Open-minded Caring Risk-takers Balanced Reflective

It starts with play

In Kindergarten, play is how children inquire. They build, sort, test and ask, and a teacher shapes each discovery into learning.

It ends with something real

In Grade 5, students research, present and defend the PYP Exhibition, the culmination of everything the programme has taught them.

02 · In the classroom

Inside a unit of inquiry

One central idea. Around six weeks. Every subject pulling one way, in every classroom from Kindergarten to Grade 5. Here is what each stage looks like at Horizon.

Four students hold up their hand-drawn poster about the wheel, with a column of their own questions down one side.
01

Tuning in

Something lands in the classroom. The children ask the questions.

Pictured: a poster on the wheel that opens with the learners' own questions.

Seen from above, a group of students trace around a classmate lying on a long sheet of paper.
02

Finding out

Research, experiments, interviews. Maths and literacy feed the inquiry.

Pictured: tracing a classmate, life-size, to study the human body.

Seven students point proudly at their life-size drawing of a human skeleton, taped to the whiteboard.
03

Making meaning

They sort what they found against the central idea.

Pictured: the finished skeleton, drawn bone by bone by the group.

A student holding a stethoscope explains her poster to a classmate across a table.
04

Taking action

They decide what to do about it. The action is chosen by the students.

Pictured: teaching a classmate what was learned, stethoscope in hand.

03 · The PYP at Horizon

Inquiry needs a teacher who knows the child

That takes a small school. Horizon has been one for more than twenty years.

01
A boutique school
Your child's teacher knows their reading level, their current inquiry and who they sit with.
02
Personalised learning
Same unit, different entry point. A child who is ahead goes deeper rather than waiting.
03
Intensive learning support
WIDA-aligned EAL and targeted in-class support for students still building English.
A teacher talks with a group of primary students who hold ecosystem investigation sheets and clipboards.
A teacher checks in with each investigator during an ecosystem inquiry.
One programme, from Kindergarten to Grade 5
Art, Music, PE and ICT taught by specialists
More than 30 nationalities in the school
Every unit followed live on Toddle

Every decision should have a direct benefit for student development.

The principle behind every choice at Horizon, from the timetable to the size of the school.

An older student lays out picture cards on a table for two younger students in the school corridor.
One campus for every age: an older student leads a matching game with primary learners.

Learning does not stop at the classroom door

Balanced is one of the ten attributes.

Three students sit on the grass practising ukulele from song sheets.
Ukulele practice in the playground.
Two students in green house kit sit on space hoppers on the sports field.
Sports day, in house colours.
Kindergarten children lie on the grass with their heads together in a star shape.
Kindergarten learners on the campus lawn.
04 · For Horizon families

How to follow your child's learning

A PYP classroom looks different from the one most parents remember. Here is how progress is measured, how to help at home, and when to come in and see it.

Questions about the programme go to Mr. Aman Rejep, Head of Academics, Primary, and PYP Coordinator.

A student shows a parent the pages of his portfolio folder at a classroom table, while other families do the same behind them.
A learner takes a parent through his portfolio, page by page.
A teacher holds up an investigation worksheet in front of a screen while parents sit with their children at classroom tables.
Learning in Action, the PYP Family Curriculum Day: parents join an inquiry into how the body works.

How progress is reported

  • English language development is measured against the WIDA standard.
  • Reading and mathematics are assessed against the PYP scope and sequence.
  • Written reports, plus Student-Led Conferences.
  • A portfolio curated by your child.

Better questions at home

Swap "What did you do today?" for one of these:

  • What question did you ask today?
  • What surprised you?
  • What do you want to find out next?

Talk about the unit in your home language. Ideas move between languages.

Stay close to the learning

  • Follow every unit live on Toddle.
  • Join Learning in Action, when families work in classrooms alongside their children.
  • Come to the Primary Learning Expo on Friday 26 March 2027.
05 · After the PYP

Where the PYP leads

KG–Grade 5
IB Primary Years Programme*
Inquiry through play in Kindergarten. Ends with the Grade 5 Exhibition.
Grades 6–8
Cambridge Lower Secondary
Subject depth, built on PYP inquiry skills.
Grades 9–10
Cambridge IGCSE
A World Top Result in Mathematics.
Grades 11–12
A-Level · OSSD
Two routes to university.

One campus, from Kindergarten to Grade 12. No transfer at 11. No re-application at 15.

The Pathways Roadmap is available in English, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese. Ask Admissions for a copy.

Kindergarten children run across the school courtyard holding flags of different countries, under strings of Vietnamese flags.
Where the PYP starts: Kindergarten learners in the Hanoi courtyard.
06 · Visit and enrol

Come and see it happen

Book a private tour on a normal teaching morning. No staged lessons.

Admissions also answers on Zalo and KakaoTalk at the same number.

Students work on drawings at desks in the corridor, beside display boards headed PYP and Who we are.
An ordinary morning: learners at work beside a Who we are display.
Prospective families

Open Day

Join the next Open Day at Horizon International School Hanoi, 98 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho.

Register for Open Day
Horizon families

Primary Learning Expo

Friday 26 March 2027

PYP students present what they have learned to their families.

How enrolment works

01Enquire
02Tour and taster day
03Assessment
04Offer

Places from Kindergarten to Grade 5 are limited. Early Bird from January 2027.

07 · Questions parents ask

Straight answers

Does the PYP replace English and mathematics?

No. The PYP connects subjects; it does not replace them. Reading and mathematics are taught and assessed against the PYP scope and sequence, and Art, Music, PE and ICT are taught by specialist teachers.

How will I know how my child is doing?

Through written reports, Student-Led Conferences and a portfolio your child curates. Units are shared on Toddle as they happen, and your child's teacher will explain what each measure means for their current level.

My child is still learning English. Will they keep up?

Many Horizon students are building English alongside a home language. English language development is measured against the WIDA standard, with EAL teaching and targeted support inside the classroom.

What does "Candidate School" mean?

Horizon became a Candidate School for the PYP in May 2026 and is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. The full statement is below.

What happens after Grade 5?

Students move into Cambridge Lower Secondary on the same campus, then Cambridge IGCSE and a choice of A-Level or OSSD. There is no transfer at 11 and no re-application at 15.

What does the PYP look like in Kindergarten?

Inquiry through play. Children explore, build, sort and ask questions with a teacher guiding the learning, and the same learner profile attributes are developed from the first year.

IB Candidate School status

Horizon International School is a Candidate School* for the Primary Years Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Horizon International School believes is important for our students.

*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org