Primary · Years 1 to 6 · ages 5 to 11

Cambridge in the morning, flour on your hands by three

Cambridge English, Maths and Science, all taught in English, in small classes. Then the afternoon opens up.

A Primary class drawing together on one big sheet of paper

Every morning

Three lessons a morning, all in English

English, Maths and Science before lunch every day, following Cambridge Primary. We are an English language center, so the subjects double as English lessons: children learn the language by using it to do the maths and the science.

English

Phonics, reading and writing, and a lot of talking. There is a book corner and a story on the rug.

Maths

Counters, dice, bingo cards, shapes cut from paper. Children handle the objects, then say what they found: which shape rolls, which one is heavier, more than, fewer, half. Then they write it down.

Science

Experiments first, explanations second. Children say what they think will happen, watch, then describe what did.

Cambridge Primary is recognized everywhere, so moving on later is easy.

Cambridge Primary

A Primary English lesson, working through worksheets with counters

Primary students holding up their cards in maths bingo

Ms. Solo setting up a maths exploration: can it roll, can it stack?

Mr. Bowen working through a cut-and-fold shapes activity with a Primary maths group

Maths, with the objects out.

Primary students reading in the classroom book corner

Story time on the rug with a Primary class

The book corner, and story time on the rug.

Monday to Friday

A Primary day

The core subjects while heads are fresh, the hands-on classes after lunch.

8:00ArriveSoft start, play outside
8:30Homeroom
8:45English, Maths, ScienceSnack break at 10:25
11:35Lunch
12:25Afternoon classesCooking, technology, craft, movement and more
15:15Home time

Every afternoon

Where the English gets used

Specialist and vocational classes after lunch. Same language, different room, and something to show for it by home time.

Cooking

A real kitchen, a real dish

Aprons on, hands washed, and a recipe on the board. Children weigh, knead, roll and shape, then take the result home.

A recipe is a reading exercise with a reward at the end. Half a cup, a pinch, until it is smooth: the words stick because the dough depends on them.

Aprons on

Primary students kneading dough together in cooking class

Two Primary students roll out their dough in cooking class

Primary students shaping dough in the kitchen at PRA

Primary students rolling dough on a floury table in cooking class

Primary students working the dough with rolling pins

A Primary student taking a laptop apart to see how it works

Technology

What is inside the laptop

Typing, coding, and making a screen do what you tell it. Also, now and then, a screwdriver: one student took a laptop apart this year to see what all the parts were for.

Craft and art

Lanterns, paint and a very big sheet of paper

Lanterns, printing, clay, paint. Some of it happens in class and some of it out in Hội An, like the silk lantern workshop, where every child painted their own and carried it home under the real ones.

Assessed by what gets made, not by a test.

Made in Hội An

Primary students with the lanterns they made, under the lanterns of Hội An

Primary students painting silk lanterns at a workshop in Hội An

Ms. Kiu's Primary class at a lantern-making workshop in Hội An

Primary students working on a drawing together on the classroom floor

Movement and dance

Out on the turf

Sport, fitness, dance and free play on the turf and the climbing frame. The instructions come in English and the game does not wait, which is the fastest listening practice there is.

Mr. Caleb running a Movement class on the turf

Primary students stretching together before a lesson

Primary students climbing and reading on the playground with Mr. David

And the rest of the week

The classes with the odd names

Talk, puzzles and books

Practice, Presentation and Play, Master Minds, Everyday Experts, Book Worms and Wellbeing: speaking up, puzzles, know-how and reading.

Boredom

No screens, no instructions. Just time to think something up.

See the week at a glance

A Primary classroom at Palm River Academy

Reports and meetings

How you know it is working

Reports. A written progress report every quarter, plus parent and teacher meetings.

Google Classroom. Teachers post work and updates, and you get your own guardian account to follow along. In between, just ask.

This year

A week in Primary

The bits in between: circle time, clipboards outside, a card game, a line game.

Ms. Solo at circle time with her Primary class

Primary students recording what they find in the garden at PRA

A Primary class puts their hands in together

A Primary class working out whether animal sounds are loud or soft

Primary students playing a card game at their table

Two Primary students writing at their desk

Primary students line up hand on shoulder for a classroom game

Questions parents ask

My child's English is basic. Can they keep up?

Yes. Your child does not need fluent English to join Primary, and children who arrive with little English usually settle in quickly. The whole day is in English, in a small class, so they hear and use it all day with a teacher close by.

Which year group will my child join?

Usually the one that matches their age. Our academic team meets your child and reads their last school report, and may suggest a different class if it will suit them better.

Is there homework?

Some. Teachers post work and updates on Google Classroom, and you get your own guardian account to follow along. There are also Boredom periods in the week, when students can read, finish work or follow a project of their own.

Do you offer transport or lunch?

Both, and both are optional. Lunch comes with two snacks, and the menu goes home every week. The bus covers Hội An, Vĩnh Điện and Đà Nẵng. Details are on the fees page.

Come and see it for yourself.

Walk around with us for an hour, Monday to Friday. Not in Hội An yet? We will do a video call.

Book a tour Call 0968 49 42 45