After-School Activity Leaders That Rock Hong Kong

IKE NWANKWO

What inspired you to start your business?

Giving back to the game has given me so much. I have a passion for teaching and mentoring kids. I am a retired professional basketball player originally from the US and have played for 6 NBA teams in over 20 countries. I have recently completed my first year at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA. I went back to school 20 years after I graduated from UCLA. I hope to inspire my students and show them anything is possible if you work hard.

What do you feel kids take away from your activities?

In addition to the expert basketball instruction from qualified coaches, we instill confidence in our students by challenging them to be their best selves.  We are invested in the success of each one of our students, and the kids feel safe in that environment.  We try to keep the environment challenging but also a lot of fun. Our goal is for children to be excited to come to our classes.

Top Flight Basketball Academy, 2302, 23/F, Wellborne Commercial Centre, 8 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong, +852 6824 1640, info@topflighthongkong.com, https://www.topflighthongkong.com/

ANNA TAM

What inspired you to start your business?

When my now-grown-up children were at school, there was a genuine lack of creative play and art appreciation. I created a resourceful visual and performing arts space for them and their friends to enjoy after school. Over time I discovered the core purpose of arts education. Art exhilarates and energizes and I rekindle my creative skills and imagination.

Why do kids love coming to your after-school activities?

Colour My World is forever evolving, from program design and concepts to artistic outcomes. We relentlessly stretch the medium and explore the infinite possibilities of art-making and performance arts. Our participants of all ages enjoy the airy and nurturing learning environment. The Team is knowledgeable, firm, and loving.

Colour My World, +852 25805028, info@colour-my-world.com, https://colour-my-world.com/

GRACE YUE SO

What inspired you to start your business?

I was inspired to bring the best in educational activities to Hong Kong when I saw and heard the excitement in my children’s eyes and voices after they attended their first hands-on, problem-solving science camp in the US nearly 20 years ago. The ethos of having fun while learning drove the founding of ActiveKids in Hong Kong in 2004. And ever since, the company’s mission has always been to help kids develop a life-long love of learning through fun, hands-on, project-based activities in a range of disciplines - science, cooking, chess, and coding, to name a few.

What do you feel kids take away from your activities?

As we fully embrace the Hands-On approach, children are constantly problem-solving and learning at their own pace. Throughout the process, besides gaining topical knowledge and having fun, children also get the opportunity to develop/improve important life skills such as logical thinking, independence, collaboration, and creativity. Overall, we want them to enjoy exploring and learning.

ActiveKids, +852 34804199, info@activekidshk.com, https://www.activekidshk.com/

ANITA SHUM

What inspired you to start your business?

I was born here but raised in Sydney during Hong Kong’s peak migration era. Many of my friends in similar situations lost their Chinese skills because their parents didn’t offer them Chinese learning. I’m very grateful that my mother found a relaxed and happy Mandarin school that I attended once a week for 12 years. My language skills have proven to be a great professional advantage. I believe that Mandarin will become a prerequisite, rather than an advantage. This is why I started Mini Mandarins, to bring the same positive learning experience to a new generation of children.

Why do kids love coming to your after-school activities?

Our classroom settings Mini Metro!!!! Mini Metro is a simulated real-world setting, like a supermarket or clinic, that reinforces the application of Mandarin in our daily lives. It allows our students to learn the language through role-play and through practicing their Chinese by carrying out “mini-missions” in a fun learning environment. We now also offer an at-home teaching service called Mobi Mandarins, where our native teachers will bring the teaching to your home, making it even more personalized suiting each families' learning needs.

Mini Mandarins, +852 23201128, info@minimandarins.com, https://minimandarins.com/

KATYA VIRSHILAS

What inspired you to start your business?

When we moved to Hong Kong and our sons were old enough I really wanted them to start dance classes. I started researching but I soon realized that children's dance classes were primarily ballet and almost exclusively focused on girls. I have always loved what ballroom dancing brings to children in terms of coordination, musicality, working with a partner, and etiquette, so when I couldn't find any classes for my boys I decided to create them myself. Since then things have moved very fast and we are running to keep up with the demand. I am very grateful for our BallroomBees team and the incredible commitment they all have shown.

Why do kids love coming to your after-school activities?

Kids love our play-based curriculum and the fresh, fun, and friendly approach we have while still learning so much. The feeling of freedom while moving to music is something we all can recognize, but besides this, I think kids love learning to work together through partnering.It is so amazing to see all our kids leave with huge smiles on their faces.

Our teachers are amazing and are mothers themselves swell so we know firsthand how to bring the best out of every child.

BallroomBees, +852 56817673, info@ballroombees.com, https://www.ballroombees.com/

HARRIS CHAN

What inspired you to start your business? 

At Microsoft, I was an advocate for digital transformation and was fascinated by how technology transformed customers across traditional and new industries. We are just at the beginning of this journey and I believe education plays a critical role in empowering our children to become future-ready. Cobo Academy is about empowerment.

What do you feel kids take away from your activities?

Learning how to code is much more than picking up some technical skills. Kids take away problem-solving and critical thinking skills that are highly transferable to just about anything they do at school and outside of school. Cobo is also a fantastic place for kids to meet and make friends with others who share the same passion.

Cobo Academy, 6/F, Yam Tze Commercial Building, 23 Thomson Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, +852 3905 1111, https://www.coboacademy.com/

MATTHEW GREGORY

What inspired you to start your business?

Having studied English and Theatre at Cambridge and Warwick University, I trained as a teacher and had experience working with young people in the UK. At the age of 23, I moved to Hong Kong and decided to try to create an exciting and dynamic company to bring the wonderful world of theatre and performing arts to the young people of the city. From just 56 students during our first season in 1999, we now have thousands taking part annually in our regular terms, holiday programs, and one-off workshops.

Why do kids love coming to your after-school activities?

Our Drama Programs offer a fun, safe and active environment for young people to learn to express themselves better, share ideas without fear of failure, and make great new friends along the way. The enhanced ability to work as a team is definitely a plus as they progress through their academic career, and the skills they learn with Faust complement what they learn at school, and later in life!

Faust International Youth Theatre, +852 25479114, info@faustworld.com, https://www.faustworld.com/

VICTORIA AKHURST

What inspired you to start your business?

A love of teaching kids and a drive to make a business we were proud of sparked Josh, Declan and myself to start to Move For Life. We wanted to inspire people through dance and give kids of all ages and all abilities the opportunity to express themselves through dance and performance. We wanted to shift the idea that dancing was about who's the best and who has the most expensive costume and really focus on what we feel is the most important factor of dancing and that is the way it makes you feel!

What do you feel kids take away from your activities?

Confidence and discipline. We never push our kids to perform however we give them every opportunity to get out there and conquer their fears with their friends. And with the confidence gained from performing comes the discipline of working hard towards a goal, practicing, and asking questions when they're unsure.

Move For Life, 3C Hollywood Centre, 77-91 Queens Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, info@moveforlife.dance, https://www.moveforlife.asia/

DOMINIQUE CHASSET & CHRISTIAN CHASSET

What inspired you to start your business?

The Institute was established by a French couple, Dominique and Christian Chasset in 1985, the same year that they were married. The Institute is their life’s passion and they have dedicated 35 year in developing and evolving the Institute’s teaching methods and learning model.

The Chassets are highly experienced language teaching specialists who started the school by teaching French to children, teens and adults. Now they have expanded to include courses in English, French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese.

In setting up the school, Dominique and Christian followed a strong belief that language should not be treated as a subject but as a means of communication between people, and thus greater emphasis should be given to active class participation and interaction between the teacher and students.

Why do kids love coming to your after-school activities?

The teaching method is fun and engaging and youngsters are given positive reinforcement to boost their confidence while strengthening their ability to communicate in a different language.

We have developed a highly successful teaching approach, incorporating multimedia learning and oral communication skills, designing their courses to make learning as engaging and interesting as possible. We have developed classes where the main focus is on 'bringing the language to life', supported by stimulating learning activities.

Hong Kong Institute Of Languages, 6/F, Wellington Plaza, 56-58 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong, +852 28776160, info@hklanguages.com, https://hklanguages.com/

MATTHEW PATERSON

What inspired you to start your business?

Upon moving to Hong Kong from London at aged 7, where football was the predominant playground sport, I discovered that my new peers in Hong Kong had been exposed to a much wider range of sports- such as rugby, basketball & even cricket. As a young adult, I decided that I would create a program to expose children to a multitude of sports from an early age, and thus Minisport was born.

Why do kids love coming to your after-school activities?

Children tend to enjoy coming to Minisport for a few reasons. We have varied sports programs being coached, so rarely are two sessions the same. We focus on fundamental ball skill games, many of which the children might not have experienced anywhere else. The main factor however, is our coaching team. The energy and enthusiasm the guys and girls we have onboard bring elevate the sessions to a new level, beyond the lesson plan that they are following.

MiniSport HK, +852 61837084, info@minisport.hk, https://www.minisport.hk/