Article August 6, 2025
Recap, refresh, renew: Preparing for a new year at King’s InterHigh
Did you know that we start preparing for each new academic year at King’s InterHigh as early as October?
The school holidays are a significant milestone in the academic calendar, offering an essential period for students and teachers to switch off and recharge for the year ahead. As we wave goodbye to another successful year, it’s the perfect moment to pause and reflect, with so much to celebrate from the past three terms.
At the same time, equally exciting developments are already on the horizon for September. While students and teachers take this time to rest, other teams across our school take this window of opportunity to set up for a new year of learning — a year that holds special significance as we celebrate King’s InterHigh’s 20th anniversary.
Let’s take a look behind the scenes at everything we’ve enjoyed this past year, what’s happening at King’s InterHigh over the summer break, and all the enhancements waiting for our families when we return to school.
Recap: Looking back at an amazing year
From the moment students logged in for the first day of school, the 2024–25 academic year was filled with all the wonderful learning, achievement, and connection that reminds us why we’re so passionate about what we do at King’s InterHigh.
The scale of what our community has accomplished this year is remarkable, including…
Numbers like these represent real students and families, but there’s so much more to our school life than stats can capture. Our first term, for example, kicked off with trips to places like London Zoo and Pineapple Studios, a spirited King’s InterHigh Bake-Off competition, and even a festive teachers’ performance of The Grinch.
In the spring term, we celebrated students receiving offers from top universities like Yale, dove into our annual hands-on Project Week across the school, and even transported students to a virtual reality (VR) computer fayre for King’s InterHigh Coding Week.
The summer term was just as packed, from our ART INSPIRED competition to the launch of our popular bowling evenings across the UK (now a permanent part of our co-curricular calendar), alongside cheering our IGCSE, A Level, and IB students on through their exams.
Refresh: What happens when students log off?
For our senior school and sixth form families in particular, the end of the examination season brings an understandable relief. Now our students have given it their all, the focus shifts to anticipation for IGCSE and A Level results in August. We know how significant this moment is for students and parents alike, so we’ve already prepared comprehensive guides to support our families (with our teams stationed for celebrations and dedicated guidance on results day).
Our IB Diploma students, meanwhile, are already celebrating the release of their outstanding results this July. We couldn’t be prouder of their achievements, both in their exams and in their personal goals.
In the meantime, now students are logged off for the break, we’re hard at work preparing for the new year. Those of us who work on the structure and systems supporting King’s InterHigh recognise the advantage we have as an online school to be responsive, iterating and incrementally improving throughout the year. Whether we’re acting on our Student Council’s thoughtful suggestions for new school shop goodies or the needs of our families around the world, we’re always looking to improve our overall experience.
While we typically start planning for September almost a year in advance, the pause of the summer holidays allows us to be bigger and bolder. Across the school, our dedicated teams are deep in preparation mode, making new improvements to our learning, our platforms, and more. We’re preparing timetables for the new school year, implementing new systems, and making sure everything’s lined up for a great start to the term.
Analysing feedback and learnings from the previous year, this behind-the-scenes work represents something fundamental at King’s InterHigh: building a culture of continuous improvement. Every update, enhancement, and refinement is driven by one key question: how can we make each new year even more successful and enriching for our whole community?
Renew: What’s new and improved this year?
So, what are some of the exciting developments coming up for the new school year? This September, we’re delighted to be enhancing the King’s InterHigh experience across all the areas that matter most to our families, from academics to socialisation.
Enhanced learning
High-quality teaching and learning has always been the core of our school, but we never stop looking for ways to make teaching and learning more engaging and effective for our students. This year brings some great improvements that reflect our commitment to flexible and personalised education.
For example, we’re excited to see our ‘Discovery’ sessions roll out into Year 11 courses this year. Launched successfully with our Year 10 students last year, these lessons are designed with the unique needs of our IGCSE students in mind, offering a more flexible way to learn new and complex topics at each child’s pace. Discovery is one of the four distinct lesson types each week, alongside collaborative Explore lessons, Apply lessons for cycle testing, and Reflect lessons for personal growth.
We’re also expanding our pioneering remote exam invigilation, allowing students to sit their A Level examinations online from home! What began at IGCSE has now opened up to sixth form students, offering a game-changing opportunity for students who may be neurodivergent, have medical or mental health needs, or live in remote locations worldwide. Over the coming year, we’ll be working closely with Pearson Edexcel to explore even more possibilities in this innovative space.
Enhanced connection
Fostering genuine community remains a key priority for us at King’s InterHigh, as we continue to show that online education does not have to be an isolated experience. This year, there’ll be even more ways for students to make friends and connect with their classmates.
Our online co-curricular programme continues to flourish, with an ever-growing selection across a wide range of interests. Students taking their IGCSEs, A Levels, or IB Diploma will also continue to have access to academic support clubs, which provide targeted academic guidance on a weekly basis. Learners returning or joining us for the new year can start signing up for their club choices this August, ready to dive into their interests in September.
We’re also pleased to announce that our October Bonding Days, which began last year for middle school students, will now be extended across all schools for the upcoming October mid-term breaks. These events are a hallmark of the Inspired Education global initiative, offering students invaluable opportunities to meet teachers, connect with leadership teams, and bond with peers early in the first term. This sets the foundation for lasting friendships as well as a strong sense of belonging.
Enhanced support
Since every child’s journey with online schooling is unique, we’re always refining how we welcome and support our King’s InterHigh students.
This year, our new staggered start to the school year will allow each Key Stage the time and space to connect with their new and existing classmates, setting the scene for an age-appropriate, focused, and supportive beginning to the school year. Each Key Stage will start on a different day during the first week of September (8th to 11th), and our enhanced student induction programme will be focused on the needs of each year group. This year’s induction has also been carefully designed to encourage both guided and independent exploration of our school through interactive sessions and engaging activities.
We also want our parents and caregivers to feel confident that help is always within reach. Now, asking questions at the start of term couldn’t be easier thanks to our live chat and WhatsApp functions accessible from the login page. Whether you need guidance from our Family Liaisons or assistance from our Technical Support team, we’ve streamlined these touchpoints to make communication as effortless as possible.
Enhanced access
We want joining and thriving at our school to be an intuitive, accessible fit for every family who wants to enrol with us, and that requires constant attention to our systems and offering.
With a new user-friendly interface and intuitive platform design, for example, online enrolment for new families has never been easier. Parents and caregivers will also have the option of receiving text alerts with important school updates sent directly to their phones. This makes sure that crucial information reaches you in the way that works best for your family’s routine.
One of our most exciting announcements this year, meanwhile, has been the expansion of our Southeast Asia time zone to include primary school! From September, we’re welcoming children from 8 years old (Year 4) to enjoy the same high-quality teaching and extensive opportunities we offer worldwide on a schedule that aligns perfectly with a local school day.
Join us at King’s InterHigh
The level of care that our staff put into preparing each new academic year at King’s InterHigh is remarkable, from the teacher who crocheted a class mascot for her Reflect group during the holidays to the technical teams making sure our systems are ready to go on the first day back. It’s this attention to detail that makes our online school a true community that makes a real difference to our students and families.
Secure your child’s place at King’s InterHigh now to join us for the new school year and transform your child’s learning experience.
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