About Us
Overview
Established in 1996, NTK Learning Center is a leading educational service provider in Southeast Asia. NTK is a registered school under the Education Bureau in Hong Kong. School registration no.: 532452 (Main campus) (in 2002); 601110 (Kowloon campus) (in 2015).
NTK specializes in academic tuition for students following international curricula, standardized test preparation, and educational planning and consultation services. Over the years, we have helped countless students prepare for entrance to schools and universities. Our track record of student acceptances by the world’s top academic institutions is undeniable.
NTK has over 90 full-time teachers, including qualified examiners of various exam boards. We have 8 major academic departments: Business, Chinese, Economics, English, Humanities, Mathematics, Modern Languages and Science. All of our highly qualified and experienced teachers have diverse teaching experience, and have passed our strict in-house selection and assessment process.
We offer an unparalleled range of courses covering all major subjects and curricula. We have a wealth of experience in preparing students for internationally-recognized examinations including the SAT® , IB Diploma, AP®, SSAT , TOEFL, I/GCSE, GCE A-Levels, Common Entrance Test, IELTS, GMAT, SAT and different kinds of US test preparation.
We also offer general English courses in reading and writing, and public speaking, as well as modern languages including French, Mandarin, and Spanish.
Our courses have a maximum of 8 students per class to encourage teacher-student interaction and full student engagement. One-to-one lessons and private group lessons are also available. Individual and private group lessons are customized to address students’ particular needs and concerns.
In addition, NTK provides a wide range of educational consultation services. Our highly experienced consultants have proven experience in worldwide school/university recommendation, application and registration, as well as general educational advice.
Choosing a good school or university is one of the most important decisions that parents and students have to make. With our proven success in helping students reach their goals, NTK is the established choice for all your educational needs.
Why NTK
Our Management

Words from Our Founder
Mr. T. K. Ng
Founder and Managing Director
Let me begin by recalling some old memories. I come from a humble background of Malaysian origin and was exposed to both Chinese and Western culture from a young age. Growing up in Penang during the colonial period, I studied under the British curriculum and learned Chinese at the same time. Those formative years saw me nurtured in a bilingual and multicultural environment, but I also never forgot the family values instilled in me and which yet remain.
I devoted long hours to my studies to earn a place at the prestigious Chung Ling High School in Penang, Malaysia. Academically strong at the sciences, the school has produced many professionals including doctors, engineers and scientists. I thrived in such an environment and I remember being selected as a school representative for the International Chemistry Olympiad one year. After completing my GCE A-Levels, I was offered a place to study at a university in London. Unfortunately, I had to turn down the offer since my family did not have the financial means to send me abroad. Instead, I studied Biochemistry at the National University of Malaysia on a scholarship. After graduation, I also had to decline a medical school offer as my family relied on me for financial support and I felt obligated to start earning a living as soon as possible.
Through a twist of fate, I came to Hong Kong in 1986 and started teaching Chemistry. Two years later, I set off for Japan by myself on a year of self-discovery as I felt a deep yearning and need to broaden my cultural horizons. After learning what I could in that time and with a breadth of new experiences to draw upon, I returned to Hong Kong to teach Science and Math at the American International School and Hong Kong International School. Eventually, as years passed, my drive to establish a private educational company grew stronger. I had been hearing more and more from my students of their desire for after-school tuition to help them study in much greater depth than they could in a traditional school setting. So in 1996, I began a new chapter of my life when I founded NTK. Reflecting the student-centric focus of the company, my students at the time fittingly came up with the name “NTK Learning Center” and the motto Artes, Veritas, Scientia.
Our mission since then has remained steadfast: to teach with passion and nurture a student’s full potential through academically rigorous instruction and compassion for our charges. While we celebrate our fortune in attracting many skilled and highly capable teachers who graduated from elite universities, our experience has definitively shown that what makes a great teacher is an ability to resonate with students and identify each learner’s unique needs. At NTK, our tutors are not simply teachers, but mentors as well. Many of our teachers have seen their students mature from children to adults at the cusp and even height of successful professional careers; and this is what continues to inspire our commitment.
On a side note, a new system for teacher licensing and renewal is being fully implemented in Japan to maintain consistently high teaching quality. Teachers are expected to attend seminars and sit for examinations every few years to gain and maintain their teaching credentials. Perhaps this is a policy the Hong Kong government could consider adopting to enhance the overall teaching quality across the territory. Certainly, we at NTK are also committed to ensuring the continued professional development and ongoing training of our staff to keep our instructors at the forefront of changes to international curricula and cutting edge pedagogy.
In response to parents’ concerns about their children’s academic and schooling options, NTK Educational Consulting was established as an integral and increasingly important branch of the services offered at NTK. More and more parents are coming to NTK who are unsure how to navigate the plethora of academic pathways available. This includes decisions on whether their children should attend an international or local school, or study overseas. This is especially pertinent for many families when their children progress from primary to secondary level, but also with regards to those seeking advice for their tertiary education. Our professional consultants can offer guidance to parents and students in general and long term academic planning, selection of subjects and extra-curricular activities, as well as school selection and the application process. We believe every child has their own strengths and unique merits, and that with proper guidance, any student can succeed at every stage of the learning process. To support our students in their studies, the NTK Publishing arm has also been publishing quality educational materials for almost a decade in collaboration with our specialist academic teams, for use both as class materials and for a student’s independent study.
This past year has been a year of evolution for the company, with reforms and also valuable developments. As we are celebrating our 28th anniversary and look to the future, I would like to express my gratitude to our management team for their hard work. I am confident that NTK will continue to flourish and offer both superior academic tutelage and unmatched customer support as we open more campuses in Hong Kong and mainland China to serve an even greater number of students. My dream is to formally establish a high school offering two-year programmes to senior students, regardless of their financial means and socioeconomic background.
I am truly thankful to those who have helped me realize my vision for education; especially my parents, who instilled in me a firm belief in family values, discipline, and organization that I carry with me to this day. I look forward to reaching many more milestones with each and every one of you, and welcome you to chart your educational journey with NTK.

Words from Our Director
David Ollerearnshaw
Director (Mathematics)
I was born and raised in Sheffield, in the UK. I studied mathematics at Warwick university and then did a teacher training course. However, by that time I had realized I didn’t want to teach in a school as I wanted something a bit different and the British army looked adventurous to me. I passed one year’s officer training and then joined the Royal Army Educational Corps. After three years in the UK teaching mathematics and basic science to Royal Signal recruits I was posted to Hong Kong where I remained until 1993. After I left the Army in 1994 I decided to return to Hong Kong and did some maths and English teaching. In 1997 I saw a post advertised at “NTK Learning Center” and thought this sounded like the teaching job I wanted: a young, vibrant educational company which had a founder who obviously had a vision for greater things. The rest, as they say, is history.
My exact role has changed over the years as NTK has expanded. My role now is to provide support for the smooth overall running of the mathematics and science departments, along with teaching, which I still very much enjoy.
When I started at NTK, providing one-on-one academic support was the prime focus of our operations. When I look back now it’s hard to believe how much the company has expanded, first into academic courses, then consulting, and now with NTK’s own publishing division.
Whether I’m teaching a small class or individuals, the basic skills needed for a good teacher are the same: clarity of aim and the ability to get knowledge across successfully. But, depending on the student, there are “soft” intangibles that I need to imbue. Some students lack confidence after meeting with repeated failure at school. It’s important for these students to meet with success in lessons, as this will engender confidence and then this will lead to success, and so on in a virtuous circle. On the other hand, some students need to be pushed because they are coasting, and not fulfilling their obvious potential. That’s what I like about individual or small group teaching; there’s a real feeling that I can make a difference.
An ability to communicate is the essential foundation for any educator. This is the most important characteristic in all our teachers. I know that we have had many applicants for teaching here, with outstanding academic results, but who we did not hire. The reason? They had the knowledge but not the ability to get the ideas across. However, as part of our training we make it clear that teachers are not here to do the students’ work for them. A good teacher guides, explains and illuminates so that students can finish tasks using their own resources.
Although the basic principles of good teaching will never change, the learning environment at NTK has changed a lot since I started. When I began here at NTK mobile phones were rare and the height of technological sophistication was the graphing calculator. Teachers rarely used computers, and there were no tablets, laptops or wi-fi. Academic tasks were more straightforward for the most part: here’s a question, find the answer. Now students are routinely tasked with extensive report writing and investigations, even in mathematics. They have to present their results in written and oral form using Powerpoint or other programs. I would say the skill set required for successful students is higher now than what was needed just ten years ago. Certainly higher than when I was at school! Students have access to a level of information, communication, and technology unimaginable a decade ago. But this has turned into a deluge and I see some students who are overwhelmed by the need to sort through all this. I think that this is one of the key ways NTK can help students, by allowing an experienced teacher to winnow through the plethora of information, present key points clearly, and explain to students what their priorities should be.
When I started at NTK it was a very modest operation with a handful of teachers and even fewer support staff with half of a floor in a not particularly prestigious location. I have to pinch myself sometimes when I realize it now has over eighty full time teachers, large administration staff , and with large offices in Causeway Bay and Kowloon. Mr Ng’s vision has certainly come to fruition. My only regret is that I didn’t take any pictures as NTK has “upgraded” over the years. It would be a true eye- opener for new staff to see the very first teaching set-up.
Since the pace of change in our lives seems to be getting more frenetic by the day, I’m cautious about predictions of the future. But as NTK has always focused on quality, and that focus will never change, I am certain that NTK will be at the forefront of educational support and expand further in the years to come.

Words from Our Director
Gary Chan
Director (Science)
I have fond memories of 2005 because that was the year I joined NTK, when I was completing my MPhil thesis on molecular biology. What began as a part-time job to support my graduate studies subsequently turned into an enjoyable career that has lasted to this very day.
I started as a general science teacher teaching all science-related subjects, before focusing on biology, my main area of interest. NTK was expanding at that time and over the years of expansion, the Department of Mathematics and Science at NTK has grown from a modest operation to a very strong one – from under 10 teachers to over 40! In recruiting teachers, we not only look for talented people with a prominent academic background, but also individuals who have a positive attitude and pleasant personality, because we believe that teachers always have a prolific impact on students. We hope our teachers can inspire students to really enjoy the subjects they are studying. To help our teachers become an inspiring mentor to our students, we have developed a thorough training program for new teachers to bring them to another level to instill in our students both knowledge and values they need.
Other than the significant growth in our academic departments, NTK also started publishing in 2006. I had the opportunity to author two brand new study guides: SAT Biology and IBDP Biology. Although challenging, the completion of these publications gave me a great sense of accomplishment. I believe this is one thing that sets NTK apart from other learning centers.
While we strive to provide quality classes, publications and other services to our students, we find that students nowadays may not be able to benefit from them, because their lives are so packed with activities, homework, sports and of course schoolwork. Good time management skills are therefore crucial for our students. In the light of this, our front desk puts forth great effort in making personalized lesson plans for students in order not to overload them. Our course materials are also highly tailored to concisely provide all the subject knowledge that students need in order to excel in the exam. To enhance students’ understanding in limited time, we specially offer small class and focused teaching that students may not be able to get in school.
In addition to all these efforts, we are open to work with parents to nurture their children. Our front desk officers and department heads maintain communication with parents to understand their expectations. We hope our parents can put their trust in our teachers and have faith in our expertise.
After many years of teaching and research, I realized one thing which I find very important – you have to do things one step at a time. Setting targets is important, but don’t magnify the end result so much that you forget the small steps you need to take in order to get there! For example, just thinking you want to score a 5 in the AP won’t actually make it happen. Focus on doing well on each test or quiz, then you will slowly build up the skills to score a top mark in the final exam.
As for students who are soon going to graduate, my advice to them is to stay humble wherever you go. Try not to be overly proud of yourself when you are at a high point because you will then easily make mistakes. Always remember it – no matter how high you toss a ball, it will ultimately drop. Similarly, regardless of how accomplished you are at this moment or how talented you may be, there will still be times when you will experience some low points. Always be prepared for setbacks.
Over the years, NTK has grown primarily through word of mouth referrals. As Director, it is my mission to foster a sense of community within NTK and that parents and students feel the warmth of our staff. We also welcome alumni to stay in touch with us. With our team of talented teachers, publishing professionals, consultants and support staff, I believe NTK is more than merely a learning center. It will continue to thrive, providing our parents and students what they normally can’t get at school, including flexibility, personal attention, and excellence.

Words from Our Centre Manager
Elton Chau
Centre Manager (Kowloon)
It has been more than nineteen years since I first entered the education profession. I joined NTK in 2002, after finishing my studies at Oregon State University on a scholarship. The mathematics teaching position was the first job I applied for upon my return to Hong Kong and I have been here ever since!
I’ve always had a fascination for mathematics and was eager to teach my classmates back in my schooldays. After coming across a wonderfully inspiring math teacher in my secondary school, I made it my dream to become a math teacher one day. I had the opportunity to gain educational experience working as a teaching assistant at university while finishing my degrees and defending my thesis, alongside visiting local high schools as a speaker.
In the early 2000s, NTK occupied just one and a half floors. We only had one to two teachers responsible for teaching each subject. After several years, NTK started expanding and I took up the role of Head of Mathematics & Science. We sailed through some arduous times, as we were trying very hard to create our own teaching materials across a wide spectrum of courses. Fortunately, with the support of our teachers, we eventually completed what at one point, had seemed an impossible mission. Our in-house lesson materials are the result of hundreds and thousands of hours of dedicated work drawn from the experience of our teaching staff. Our teachers go through a strict selection and training process; they are knowledgeable and have a passion for teaching. We believe our commitment to education is what makes us stand out from other learning centers.
Today, NTK has grown to a larger scale. I hope that we will continue to maintain the close relationship with parents and students that we’ve established over the years. One aspect of my role at NTK that I enjoy most is teaching math to students, while also learning about their school life and getting to know each student as an individual. Through mentoring and chatting with students, I find that many young people today don’t really know what they want. They are accustomed to having their parents make all sorts of decisions for them. As a father myself, I know that parents have the best interest for their children, but is what we choose for our children always what the children want or need? I often tell my students that when selecting what subjects to take, for example for the IB Diploma, it’s important to choose something you are truly interested in. Otherwise, you won’t experience the fun of learning! For this reason, I encourage parents and students to come for consultations early on so that we have enough time for careful planning. Don’t wait till the last minute! What’s also beneficial is that students explore and try new things, for example, by taking up internships or joining different activities and courses during summer holidays. It is by delving into different areas that students discover what they are interested in and learn to take up responsibility.
As we are celebrating our 28th anniversary, I am in full anticipation of bringing NTK to an even higher level. I hope parents and students feel the professionalism in our services. I also envision a thriving future for NTK Publishing, and also the development of our consultation team which strives to bridge our students with their dream universities. Looking forward, we hope to enrich and inspire the lives of each youngster and bring a positive impact to his or her future.

Words from Our Vice Principal
Dr. Ling
Vice Principal (Chinese)
In 2004, I joined NTK as a part-time teacher. I was still a PhD candidate at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, undertaking teaching and research duties. At that time, NTK occupied no more than two floors, and the number of teachers was less than one-fourth of its current number. We were mainly running English and Mathematics courses, and international Chinese courses were not much sought after. I was teaching SAT and AP Chinese, though there were not many lessons, I was deeply engrossed by such an inter-cultural education environment which enriched my teaching experience a lot.
As I recall, Mr Ng said during my job interview that international Chinese courses would one day become the new mainstream. The success of NTK’s Chinese Department today has justified Mr Ng’s vision at the time. I was very honored to be hired as NTK’s first full-time Chinese teacher. In the following years, IBDP and IGCSE Chinese courses became more popular due to China’s increasing global power, leading to the rise in student number. At present, we have more than 10 full-time teachers in the Chinese Department.
To this day, I am very thankful to Mr Ng for his trust and guidance. I have taken on a role in strategic planning to foster the development of the Chinese Department, including talent recruitment, teacher training, course evaluation, curriculum development, and reviewing course materials and publications. Despite being more involved in administrative and management work, I remain passionate in teaching which I love very much. I enjoy working at NTK a lot as it gives me the opportunity to actualize my beliefs in teaching with what I have learnt. I am strongly in favor of Confucius’ philosophy that teachers should ‘teach students in accordance with their aptitude’, simply because all students are unique in their own way. Teachers should do more than just teach and give solutions; we should also inspire students to become independent thinkers and nurture their curiosity and thirst for knowledge, so that they will all excel in their learning.
Undoubtedly, NTK stands out from its competitors – our teachers are not only academically qualified, but they have a sincere passion for education, care about their students, and uphold the student-oriented teaching approach. Our teacher training not only focuses on subject knowledge and understanding of the exam syllabus, but also on the teachers’ ability to interact with students. We firmly believe that a good teacher is well versed in communication. It is only with effective communication that a teacher can really get to the root of a problem, thus helping students to progress. In addition, since there is a wide range of courses in international Chinese curriculums, specialist teachers are assigned to a particular course to ensure the teaching quality. In designing curriculums, our course materials are written by our experienced teachers, based on rigorous discussions and collective input to ensure the materials are a best fit for students. As markers in open examinations, our teachers are well-informed of the exam trend and requirements.
It is evident that NTK students always excel in exams. Every year, over 80% of our students get full marks in the IBDP and IGCSE. The Chinese Department is a trusted partner to parents and students. As our international Chinese curriculums continue to develop, we will gain even greater recognition in helping students master the Chinese language.
NTK is celebrating its 28th anniversary. I hope the company will continue to advance, and we will reach more milestones in our teaching, consulting and publishing ventures. I am honored to be a part of it all and will do my utmost to help students make their dreams come true.
Our Teachers
Where do our teachers come from?
NTK’s academic team comprises an international blend of tutors from the US, the UK, Canada, Hong Kong, China and the rest of the world. We take the utmost pride not only in the quality of our teachers but also in the diversity of our staff. This means our teachers also have a wide range of specializations. Our faculty includes experts in SAT Reasoning Test™, SAT Subject Tests™, ACT® , AP® , SSAT, IB, I/GCSE, GCE, IELTS, TOEFL, CEE, and more.
The following are some of the universities that our teachers come from:
UK
- Durham University
- Imperial College London
- London School of Economics and Political Science
- University College London
- University of Aberdeen
- University of Bath
- University of Birmingham
- University of Bristol
- University of Cambridge
- University of Manchester
- University of Oxford
- University of Warwick
US
- Brown University
- George Washington University
- Harvard University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Purdue University
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of South Carolina
- Yale University
HK
- Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- University of Hong Kong
How do we select our teachers?
NTK is a dynamic workforce whose teachers are carefully screened and selected. Individuals who graduate from the world’s top universities, even with impressive accolades, are not necessarily effective educators. NTK therefore painstakingly selects applicants who not only possess outstanding qualifications, but equally important, also demonstrate a true passion for teaching.
We believe in continuous skills training and quality assessment
Regular training is provided for teaching staff to enhance their knowledge and skills in lesson planning, classroom management, and teaching pedagogy. Training by teaching professionals, academic workshops, and assessment opportunities are also provided. Catering to NTK’s wide range of students and curriculum, our staff embraces an ongoing process of pedagogical refinement throughout their teaching careers in order to continuously improve and adapt to the changing educational needs of students and parents.
Our academic departmental structure
NTK employs over 80 full-time teachers in English, Humanities, Math, Science, Chinese and Modern Languages departments. Each department is led by an experienced subject coordinator to direct and facilitate the focus of the respective faculty. Our academic team is experienced in all levels of instruction and well versed in the specialized instruction of standardized tests.
Our Students
Over 80% of our learners are international school and overseas students. They are high achievers from around the world, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, South America, and Southeast Asia.
Hong Kong


-
Hong Kong
-
- American International School
- Australian International School
- Bradbury School
- Beacon Hill School
- Canadian International School
- Chinese International School
- French International School
- German Swiss International School
- Glenealy School
- Hong Kong Academy
- Hong Kong International School
- Hong Kong Japanese School
- International Christian School
- Independent Schools Foundation
- Island School
- Kennedy School
- Kiangsu-Chekiang College, International Section
- King George V School
- Korean International School
- Kowloon Junior School
- Li Po Chun United World College
- Peak School
- Quarry Bay School
- Renaissance College
- Sha Tin College
- Singapore International School
- South Island School
- Victoria Shanghai Academy
- West Island School
- Yew Chung International School
-
- Christ Church Kindergarten
- Diocesan Boys’ School
- Diocesan Girls’ Junior School
- Diocesan Girls’ School
- Kiangsu-Chekiang College
- King’s College
- La Salle College
- Marymount
- Maryknoll Convent
- Queen’s College
- St. Joseph’s College
- St. Louis School
- St. Paul’s Co-ed College
- St. Paul’s College
- St. Paul’s Convent
- St. Stephen’s College
- St. Stephen’s Girls’ College
- Victoria Kindergarten
- Wah Yan College
-
-
China
-
- American International School
- China Hong Kong English School
- Clifford School
- Concordia International School
- Dulwich College Beijing
- Guangdong Country Garden School
- International School of Beijing
- Nanhu International School
- Shanghai American School
- Shanghai Pinghe Bilingual School
- Utahloy International School
- Xiamen International School (XIS)
- Yew Chung International School
-
Australia
-
Europe
-
- Badminton School
- Bishop’s Stortford College
- Brentwood School
- Brighton College
- Bromsgrove School
- Caterham School
- Charterhouse
- Cheltenham Ladies’ College
- Concord College
- Epsom College
- Eton College
- Harrow School
- Hurtwood House
- King’s School – Canterbury
- Lancing College
- Millfield Preparatory School
- Oundle School
- Roedean School
- Rugby School
- Sevenoaks School
- Sherborne Girls
- St. Michael’s School
- St. Peter’s School – York
- The Leys School
- Tonbridge School
- Uppingham School
- Wellington College – Berkshire
- Westminster School
- Winchester College
- Wycombe Abbey School
-
US
-
- Brown University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Dartmouth College
- Duke University
- Georgetown University
- Harvard University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- New York University
- Northwestern University
- Princeton University
- Rice University
- Stanford University
- The University of Chicago
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of Michigan
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Southern California
- Vanderbilt University
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Wellesley College
- Yale University
-
- Blair Academy
- Choate Rosemary Hall
- Concord Academy
- Dalton School
- Dana Hall School
- Deerfield Academy
- Eaglebrook School
- Emma Willard School
- Georgetown Preparatory School
- Groton School
- Hampshire Country School
- Lawrenceville School
- Loomis Chaffee School
- Middlesex School
- Milton Academy
- Miss Porter’s School
- Northfield Mount Hermon
- Peddie School
- Phillips Academy Andover
- Phillips Exeter Academy
- Pomfret School
- Rumsey Hall School
- Salisbury School
- Santa Catalina School
- South Kent School
- St. Paul’s School
- Taft School
- The Hill School
- The Hotchkiss School
- The Webb School
-
-
Canada
-
- Appleby College
- Bishop Strachan School
- Branksome Hall
- Brentwood College School
- Chatham Hall
- Crescent School
- Crofton House School
- Dwight International School
- Havergal College
- Queen Margaret’s School
- Ridley College
- Sedbergh School
- St. Andrew’s College
- St. Clement’s School
- St. George’s School
- St. Margaret’s School
- St. Michael’s College School
- Trinity College School
- Upper Canada College