Academic
Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum of England and Wales. The National Curriculum is supported by the National Literacy Strategy, the National Numeracy Strategy and the QCA Schemes of Work. You can learn more about these documents, and the National Curriculum assessment that goes with them, by looking at the websites referenced below*.
We have adapted the curriculum, however, so that it meets the needs of our students – our students are members of the Egyptian and international community and therefore have particular needs. The British National Curriculum covers English, Maths, Science, Information Communication Technology, French, History, Geography, Music, Art, Physical Education and Personal Social and Health Education. In addition, and of equal importance to all of these, our students study Arabic and Religion (Muslim or Christian).
At the heart of the British National Curriculum there is an emphasis on skills and understanding. How to access information, how to analyse it and how to use it are all skills that the curriculum encourages and assesses. Study skills and how to learn are taught to students through the daily practise of skills and by encouraging students to reflect upon their learning. Learning by heart and being able to write down learnt facts and figures are useful skills but only in the context of understanding and being able to use this knowledge.
The British National Curriculum assesses progress in skills and understanding against set criteria – levels - and teachers use these levels to guide the next teaching objective, to support children who are struggling and to report to parents. There is a very clear structure, a ladder, of skills in each subject and children are encouraged to make their individual progress up that ladder. The levels achieved are reported in the twice yearly written report to parents.
Arabic is an integral part of our curriculum and here, too, we have levels of assessment, derived from the British National Curriculum, against which student progress is measured. Students are taught the skills of language and they learn to be proficient in their mother tongue, an essential requirement for those who going to be using another language as their major vehicle of learning. The final assessments for students will be through GCSE and IGCSE exams (at the end of Year 11) and A levels or International Baccalaureate Diploma (at the end of Year 13). These equip students to enter universities in Egypt and around the world and our curriculum leading up to these examinations is an excellent preparation and will mean students will achieve to their full potential.
Excellence in all areas of the curriculum is our goal. All areas of the curriculum have their own unique character and value. All students are encouraged to experience all areas of the curriculum and develop a balanced approach to learning and study.