How a young Vietnamese pianist balances evening lessons with musical mastery

Most 14-year-olds are winding down for bed by midnight. Uyen, on the other hand, is just finishing her last King’s InterHigh lesson of the day.It’s an unusual schedule, certainly, but then again, Uyen isn’t living a typical teenage life. Between morning piano practice, afternoon rehearsals, music classes across four different instruments, and performances that take her across Vietnam and beyond, she’s already living the demanding reality of a professional musician. The only way to fit rigorous academics into that life? UK-timetabled online lessons that run late into the Vietnamese evening.

For Uyen, the trade-off is worth it. She practises piano 3-4 hours every single day, performs a few times monthly, and is building towards a future as a conductor, composer, and music educator. Thanks to King’s InterHigh’s flexibility, she doesn’t have to choose between her musical ambitions and a proper education on the British curriculum. She can pursue both, on her own terms, from her home in Vietnam.

We caught up with Uyen and her mum, Trang, to hear how they discovered online schooling, why King’s InterHigh has been transformative for their family, and what they’d tell other parents who are wondering whether this path might work for their own children.

When music becomes more than a hobby

Uyen’s relationship with music started the way many children’s do: with piano lessons at age five, back when she was still in kindergarten. But unlike most young students who eventually drift away from their instruments, Uyen only became more committed. After those early classes finished, she asked her mum if she could keep going at a piano centre. That was the first sign that this wasn’t just a passing interest.

These days, Trang describes her daughter with a single word: “ambition.” As she explains it, “She wants to be the best in the piano. That’s why she puts in so much effort.” And the effort is extraordinary. Uyen practices up to 28 hours a week on one instrument alone. On top of that, she trains on violin and flute 4-5 times weekly, takes singing lessons, and even swims to maintain physical balance. “I have to make sure she also has time for sport,” says Uyen, “not only just studying.”

It’s the kind of schedule that would exhaust most adults, let alone a teenager. But for someone with Uyen’s goals, it’s simply what’s required. The question was: how could she possibly fit a full-time education around it?

Why mainstream school could not keep up

Before the family discovered online learning, Uyen attended a traditional school in Vietnam. The structure was rigid and unforgiving: school ran from 8:00am until 5:00pm, with additional classes tacked on top. By the time she got home, there was barely any energy left for the hours of practice a serious musician needs.

The maths simply did not work. There was no time for intensive daily practice, and no way to travel for recitals and performances without falling behind in her studies. For a family that valued both education and artistic development, it felt like an impossible choice.

How the pandemic changed everything

When COVID-19 arrived, Trang began looking into online schooling as a temporary measure. “I initially intended it as just one year,” she explains. But once they experienced what online learning could offer, the family quickly realised they’d found something far better than a temporary fix. The flexibility, the ability to learn on Uyen’s schedule rather than a school’s schedule, the freedom to pursue music seriously without academic compromise.

Uyen’s journey to King’s InterHigh was not immediate. The family tried another online school first, hoping it would be the answer they needed. As Trang puts it simply, “It was not a very good match.” A friend of Trang’s recommended King’s InterHigh, and within weeks of joining in September 2024, the difference was obvious.

“I absolutely love the school,” says Uyen now. “It’s very flexible. The teachers are awesome, very nice. I love all the platforms, and I get to interact with all my friends.”

For a student who’d already experienced online learning elsewhere, that enthusiasm speaks volumes. So what makes King’s InterHigh different?

Our tools and platforms

According to Uyen, it starts with the variety of tools and platforms that keep learning engaging rather than monotonous. “There’s InspiredAI, there’s Creative Cloud, there’s Reading Cloud, and then there’s Microsoft for writing and everything,” she explains. “We also do lots of quizzes, and we get to interact with lots of our friends.”

The teachers

Then there are the teachers themselves, whose approach to teaching has made a real difference. “Their method of teaching helps me understand the lessons easily,” says Uyen. And crucially, when she needs to travel for performances, which happens regularly, there’s genuine understanding and flexibility. “When I travel for performances, I can submit tests later,” she explains.

The costs

As Trang points out, “The international school fees in Vietnam are very high.” For families trying to provide a British curriculum education whilst also supporting intensive music training, the costs can quickly become prohibitive. Online schooling already offers savings compared to traditional international schools.

Beyond tuition, there are all the other costs that simply vanish with online learning. “Parents don’t have to take the kids to school or pick them up or spend a lot of money on them as well,” Trang notes.

What a day actually looks like

Mornings and daytime hours belong to music: practice sessions, rehearsals, and lessons across piano, violin, flute, and singing. Then, as evening arrives in Vietnam, Uyen’s King’s InterHigh lessons begin – because she’s chosen to study on UK time zones rather than Southeast Asia time zones. Often, she’s still working on schoolwork at midnight.

“I don’t really sleep very early,” Uyen admits with a laugh. “I do get tired, but I just take breaks in between.”

It’s an intense way to live, especially for a 14-year-old. But it’s also a schedule Uyen has deliberately chosen because it allows her to protect her daytime hours for her music. The evening and late-night hours work perfectly well for academics, especially with the flexibility of recorded lessons she can watch whenever she needs to catch up.

While most performances are in Vietnam, she also travels internationally when opportunities arise. In fact, one of Uyen’s most memorable performances came during a trip to the Netherlands sometime in the last couple of years. She’d been invited to give what was described as a “small recital” in a church, but it was anything but small. “It was the first time I got to play on a church organ, which sounds so impressive. And I got to play the harpsichord. I also didn’t expect that many people,” she admits.

Building friendships across continents

Despite studying from Vietnam and attending lessons late into the evening, Uyen has never felt isolated. She’s built genuine friendships with classmates from all over the world, staying connected through the school’s various platforms. “There’s a variety of very different platforms,” she says enthusiastically. “I get to do lots of quizzes and interact with lots of my friends.”

These friendships span countries and time zones, giving Uyen a genuinely international peer group that she might never have found in a traditional Vietnamese school.

Incorporating mindfulness in learning

One aspect of King’s InterHigh caught Uyen’s family completely off guard – in the best possible way. Before assessments, we offer meditation and mindfulness sessions for students.

“I never saw any schools that had mindfulness meditation in their classes,” says Trang. “I thought it was a very creative choice. It’s very unique.”

Trang’s professional background as a head-hunter recruiting senior executives for multinational companies has given her a clear-eyed view of what actually matters in the long run.

“We care more about wellbeing,” she explains. “For us, as long as we have a happy life, everything will be okay.“

Gaining independence

One of the biggest concerns parents have about online schooling is whether their child will actually stay motivated and organised without the external structure of a physical classroom. Will they do the work? Will they manage their time? Will they need constant supervision?

For Uyen’s family, these worries have proved completely unfounded.

“She’s very well organised, and she studies by herself. She makes plans herself for everything,” says Trang. Uyen manages her own schedule, completes her homework independently, and maintains high academic standards without needing her mum to hover over her shoulder.

“Even if I’m going out for work, she studies at home and completes all the homework and everything,” Trang explains. “So I have no problem worrying about her when she studies.” The results speak for themselves. “You look at her report, and she’s got very high scores,” says Trang with obvious pride.

Choosing what she actually wants to learn

For Uyen, one of the best parts of King’s InterHigh is the ability to choose subjects that genuinely interest her. She’s currently learning German at our school, essential preparation for her goal of studying music in Vienna or Germany, and she’s interested in taking psychology for IGCSE as well.

The family deliberately chose the British curriculum. As Trang explains, “Uyen loves English writing and literature, and wants to do GCSE and A Levels.” They valued the educational approach and understood that it would open doors for Uyen’s future studies in Europe, where British qualifications are widely recognised and respected.

Now in Year 9, Uyen is building steadily towards her IGCSEs whilst maintaining her intensive music schedule – a balance that would have been completely impossible in a traditional classroom setting. She’s proof that you do not have to choose between serious artistic training and serious academics. With the right educational model, you can pursue both with the intensity they deserve.

What Uyen would tell students who are nervous

“At first you may feel a bit overwhelmed or a bit lonely because you don’t really know anyone yet and the platforms are a bit weird,” she acknowledges. “But once you’ve done induction and assembly, you feel very welcomed,” she continues. “I really like the fact that people celebrate your birthdays during assembly, which is very fun, and you feel very welcomed.”

Uyen also emphasises that students should not hesitate to reach out when they need help. “If you can’t complete the homework on time, you could just ask your teacher to extend the due date,” she explains. “Or if you don’t understand anything, just feel free to ask for help because the teachers are always there to support you.“

Some advice from Trang for other parents

Trang understands that many parents have concerns about the model. “Many parents are really concerned – how can you let the kid just stay at home and study? What if they cannot control their plan and study by themselves?”

But Trang’s experience with Uyen has shown that those concerns may be unfounded – at least for students who are self-motivated and have a clear sense of what they want to achieve. “She’s already independent,” Trang says of her daughter.

Trang ‘s broader philosophy is about prioritising what genuinely matters rather than simply following the path everyone else takes. “We do not have to be the same as the others,” she says.

As for future plans, they do involve music, of course. Uyen is thinking of moving to Germany or Austria to study music and eventually pursue a career as a composer or teacher. For now, her mum says, “We have time to travel and feel very happy. We don’t feel too worried about having a lot of homework or studying too much. As long as we feel happy, that’s all I care about.”