British curriculum

Are you keen to your child in a school which teaches the British curriculum? You're certainly not alone. This internationally respected curriculum is now taught in 150 countries across the world.

So what defines the British curriculum? What makes it so special? Is it a good fit for your child's education? Let's take a closer look...

Why choose the British curriculum?

Also known as the National Curriculum for England, this is a broad and balanced system which covers all of the major arts, sciences and humanities subjects. With a wide-angle view and a liberal approach, it's great for keeping track of progress and encouraging achievement all the way from primary school to college level.

Rigorous and well-organised, the British curriculum has been designed to give students, parents and teachers a clear overview of progress at every educational stage. A detailed framework gives learners an easy-to-navigate map to help them identify, work towards and achieve their academic goals.

Focus: creativity & critical thinking

No matter where in the world your child is studying, the British curriculum has been developed to promote independent critical thinking and embrace creativity. Your child will study all of the essential subjects, focussing on creative thinking, forward planning and the developing those all important life skills. Ultimately, this is a curriculum designed to help young people meet the challenges of a changing world.

British international schools and British curriculum schools in the UK all work to encourage debate and discussion. Teachers are trained to grow active, inquisitive learners and to help students voice their own ideas with confidence. With equal emphasis on both independent and group work, this curriculum has one core goal: to help young people flourish academically and personally inside a flexible system.

Key features

• Established in 1988
• Popular in international schools worldwide
• Broad, balanced and student centered
• Includes regular national bench marking
• Culminates in the International General Certificate of Secondary Education, AS and A level certification
• Recognised by universities worldwide

GEMS Education teach the British curriculum to an exceptional standard all over the world. To learn more about enrolling your child on the British curriculum in the United Arab Emirates and beyond, contact our team for further information.

Curriculum Overview

The curriculum of The British Schools Foundation (BSF) schools is largely based on the National Curriculum for England and Wales.

The National Curriculum leads to GCSE (at age 16) and A Level examinations (at age 18), qualifications that are recognised and highly valued by universities around the world.

BSF schools complement the core subjects and requirements of the National Curriculum with programmes in Sports, Music, Drama and outdoor education that go far beyond the standard requirements. The teaching of a second language is also emphasised.

The focus of the curriculum shifts as students progress through the years.

In the Early Years (ages 2 to 5), learning is play based. Children acquire their first notions of numeracy and literacy through active, playful activities. By the end of the Early Years, most children have acquired basic reading and number skills and a grounding a second language.

In the Primary school (ages 5 to 11) the focus is on learning good fundamental Maths and English language skills. Science, Technology, Humanities and Art are covered as multidisciplinary topics and through projects.

The curriculum in lower Secondary (ages 11 to 14) is more subject based and aims at building students ability to work independently and think critically. At this stage the emphasis is on exposing students to opportunities in a wide range of subjects so that they can begin to form ideas of where their interests lie.

Upper Secondary students follow GCSE (ages 14 to 16) and A-Level or IB diploma (age 16 to 18) courses. At GCSE, students study English, Maths, Science and a second language plus an additional four or five subjects from a selection. At A Level students specialise further and chose three or four subjects from a range of options. For students doing the IB Diploma subject options are more structured; students study six subjects in the first year and specialise in three of those in the last year.

Information Technology features strongly and is introduced early, but used sparingly until upper primary. After that it is used widely as a work tool. Every student (from age 8 onwards) is provided with a personal device (Apple iPad/Macbook or Google Chromebook) to support their learning.