British School Of Alexandria - BSA

[EduCativ]

The British School, Alexandria was established in 1984 on the grounds of the British Consulate. Located in the residential district of Roushdy, the school benefits from easy access to local resources. Over the past 30 years it has expanded onto five further sites, currently educates around 433 students aged 3 to 18 from 23 different countries, and is continuing to grow. The School aims to offer the highest quality of British-style education to the local and expatriate communities. Most of our pupils remain at The British School, Alexandria for their entire school careers which gives us the time to build very strong working relationships with pupils and parents.
The British School, Alexandria employs full-time teachers with British teaching qualifications, supported by qualified part-time staff and teaching assistants. Class sizes are small and the school has a lovely family atmosphere. The school prides itself in its pastoral care and every child is treated as an individual. Expectations are high and SAT results are generally above those expected for the age group and IGCSE/GCSE results are excellent. Language support is available for non-English speaking students. All students study Arabic as the host country's language. An extensive extra curricula program is offered. A "Friends of the School" group organizes regular activities, many of which raise funds both for the School and local charities.
Here in Alexandria staff feel safe and secure and can go about their daily business as usual. The general populace is welcoming and genuinely interested in foreigners who choose to live and work in Alexandria. We believe we are living through a seminal moment in the history of the region and are eye witness to the ongoing development of democracy in Egypt. Through our Young Arab Voices project, which seeks to facilitate debate and discussion about the role of democracy and citizenship throughout the Middle East, we are actively involved in articulating the aspirations of a generation.
Our school operates in English. All employees whenever and wherever possible use English as the language of day-to-day communication. All meetings and business are conducted in English unless it is essential to speak in Arabic. Some staff may operate day-to-day in Arabic and that is acceptable. e.g. cleaners, campus staff, some security staff.
At our school, we value the Arabic language. We develop positive attitudes to Arabic culture and heritage. We expect that the majority of our students will be fluent bi-lingual in Arabic and English. Also, at our school to help our mainly non-native English speakers experience as much English as possible we speak English all the time.
The Trips Calendar gives you an overview of the exciting range of planned trips throughout the academic year. It is the policy of The British School, Alexandria to encourage educational visits of all kinds as part of the experience that we offer to our students. We believe that trips are an essential part of learning, allowing students to develop a whole range of skills such as investigation and team working. Trips help to widen the students’ appreciation of the world that we live in as global citizens. Some trips will be of direct curriculum relevance and maybe a compulsory or desirable part of the preparation for examinations while others will be more generally educational in social, cultural, and recreational ways. Some trips are well-established and have taken place for several years, whilst others will be new additions to BSA. All visits off the school premises, require careful planning before permission for the trip is sought. Safety is always our number one priority.
English is at the heart of learning at The British School. All subjects (apart from foreign languages) are taught through the medium of English and English is the working language of the school, with students and staff being expected to speak English at all times. We have extremely high expectations of all our students and, on leaving school, students will have attained a very good level of both the spoken and written language. At the end of Year 10, all students take IGCSE English as a Second Language and at the end of Year 11, all students take IGCSE First Language English. In addition, IGCSE English Literature is a compulsory subject. Each year a small number of students take AS and/or A2 level English Language or Literature. All of the external exams taken in English are Cambridge International Examinations.
Although formal examinations are important, we also make the learning of English enjoyable. Common features of all lessons are role-played, group work, discussions, hot-seating, and debating. Students also take part in at least one drama production per year. We have well-stocked libraries in all departments and students are very much encouraged to make good use of these facilities. In addition, IT is used to support student learning. We take every opportunity to invite visiting speakers into the classroom and to take students to any relevant events being held in Alexandria or Cairo. In addition, students in the Senior School take part in the annual BSME Debating Competition held in Bahrain and this allows our students to practice their debating skills in a competitive, yet friendly, manner. We hold workshops at various points during the year both to inform parents about any developments and to advise them how best to support their children with English.

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