DENLA BRITISH SCHOOL (DBS) says most students who graduate with A Levels will be exempt from studying the first year of American universities.
“Well begun is half done” – a well-advice proverb that is still working until these days, especially on education because an investment on education provides sustainable profits. Many are looking for the best educational curriculum to study for themselves or for their families, but which curriculum is the right one? Today, the British curriculum is the most popular curriculum. According to the International School Market Research and Trends, there are over 3,500 schools from around 10,000 schools worldwide (over 30%), that used the British curriculum in 2018. However, the most prominent and celebrated curriculum at this moment is the Enhanced British Curriculum. Here are the 5 reasons why the new generations must study the Enhanced British Curriculum.
It is today’s the best educational platform: The Enhanced British Curriculum is the perfect platform to allow students to achieve their potential. This curriculum has been implemented in world-renowned independent schools where students are of high quality and later are successful in their careers, and in which some are and were country’s leaders. The Enhanced British Curriculum is recognised as the world’s best British curriculum. The curriculum design encourages rapid progress to give excellent foundations as students begin more rigorous studies in preparation for IGCSE and A-Level examinations. The teachers must be native English speakers and are qualified by the standard of the British curriculum for independent schools: they must have degrees directly related to their teaching subjects, they must have at least 2 years of teaching experiences, and they must have at least C/4 from GCSE or equivalent and must pass the standard scores in Maths and English. This means that no matter which subject the British native teachers are expert in, they must also process a good foundation on Maths and English – this is an advantage for students.
The Personalised Learning method is difficult, but the Enhanced British Curriculum can make it easy: Teachers of the British curriculum is expert in their teaching subjects. They don’t believe in “One Size Fits All”. The Enhanced British Curriculum has instilled a great and truest belief that each child has different and unique talents and abilities. Therefore, the curriculum has put a focus on the Personalised Learning, based on a deep understanding of the child, by focusing and concentrating on each student according to their skills and preferences. It can range from individual to small group teaching under the supervision of teachers and learning assistants. This teaching method can effectively encourage each student to achieve his or her goal for Academic Excellence.
The Extended Day system – a key to success: One of the secrets to success of the Enhanced British Curriculum is the Extended Day system, an additional learning period for students to spend time studying subjects and do assigned projects. At DBS, students will have 1.5 hours per day more school time than students in other schools, adding up to nearly 8 hours per week. The subjects taught are called Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs), for which parents don’t have to pay an extra fee. CCAs are specially provided in the UK’s independent schools. At DBS, we offer intense CCAs aiming to give our students the opportunities to try new experiences, to develop excellence, to foster fantastic relationships, and to develop the whole child; academically, physically and mentally. In CCAs, students will be encouraged to choose from over 60 courses and activities per week, including English language, literature, art, music, dance, sport, robotics, cooking and leadership activities. They can focus on what they like, they can join clubs and also use this period for homework groups to prepare themselves for the next school day. Students will have time to practice “Soft Skills” that are so important to be effective leaders, such as independence, initiative, creative thinking, and resilience. All students will be looked after by expert teachers and without an extra fee.
Learning more than just English: Beside using English as a main language, the Enhanced British Curriculum offers other languages for students to learn too. There is a Mandarin subject at DBS, for example.
Concrete assessment: Other than daily, termly, and annual assessments, there is an assessment for English, Maths, and Science called GL Assessment to measure against world’s average. The Progress Test Series (PT Series) assesses students’ true comprehension of the core subjects to identify which students need extra support and which will rise to more challenging targets.
Using the insights from PT Series reports, you can be confident that the targets and interventions you set are matched to each child’s attainment. Results from GL Assessment help teachers to accurately plan for each student’s academic excellent. What makes the Enhanced British Curriculum very unique is a rigorous academic programme that provides a balance of subject and skills from Y1 onwards until IGCSE subjects are chosen. It allows students to make deep connections between subject topics and prepares them for more challenging study at IGCSE.
Mr Mark McVeigh, DBS Principal who has extensive experience from leading schools in the UK and SE Asia, says DBS implements the Enhanced British Curriculum from the best practice of independent schools in the UK. All teachers are native English-speakers (apart from Thai and Mandarin teachers) and they are very experienced. The uniqueness of DBS’s curriculum includes its approach to Personalised Learning as to promote academic excellence and well-rounded education, so children can find their talents and develop creative thinking skills. Many people are not aware that students need an all-round education, as well as IGCSE and A Level qualifications, to enter the world’s top universities. Eligibility for world-renowned universities, in the UK, US, or anywhere else in the world, requires good academic qualifications and life skills, such as leadership, teamwork and communication. These special talents can’t be cultivated overnight, but have to be developed from childhood. With an independent UK school curriculum, including an additional 1.5 hours of learning and teaching (also known as the Extended Day system), students at DBS study more than other international schools at no additional cost for the parents. More time means students will be equipped with more knowledge and skills, which includes academics, robotics, music, sport, dance, cooking, and leadership courses. In this way, students can focus on their preferences and try new things, including the various clubs on offer, and the time to complete their homework and prepare for the next day’s lessons. This constitutes an important foundation to develop students to advance to world-class universities.
“Interestingly, students graduate from the Enhanced British Curriculum with A Level examinations are often exempt from the first year of study at American Universities because their academic foundation is so strong. The British Curriculum is a passport to successful study at universities around the world, including the US, UK, Australia, Europe, and Canada,” DBS Principal concluded.
