Are you an expatriate looking for a British Curriculum School in Nigeria for your child to settle into? Or are you a parent that desires to give his/her child a world-class education?
If you fall into any of the above categories, then you should continue reading this.
This article highlights the major reasons why Greensprings School stands out as the best British Curriculum School in Nigeria.
It also explains in detail the British curriculum, its various components, numerous benefits and how it compares to other international curricula.
Understanding the British Curriculum
Generally speaking, the British curriculum or British school system as some others call it is an international system of education that originated in Britain.
This international school curriculum has attained a worldwide reputation for quality and is considered the most popular curriculum in the world.
This is evident in the fact that there are more than 2,200 British curriculum schools in the world and that the numbers of international schools, largely based on the British curriculum, are expected to jump to almost 15,000 by 2025.
In this international school system, each stage is built upon what a child has learned in the stages before it.
The British Curriculum is divided into five key stages that children are taken through during their school life. Here is a detailed breakdown of each of them:
Key Stage
KS 1
KS 2
KS3
KS 4
KS 5
Age Group Distribution
Ages 5 – 7
Ages 7 – 11
Ages 11 – 14
Ages 14 – 16
Ages 16 – 18
Key stage 1:
This is regarded as the exploration stage. Children are encouraged to explore, play and discover more things about their immediate environment.
This is the foundational stage of the child’s learning journey.
Experts emphasize the importance of early childhood education in a child’s development as it forms the basis of their entire academic journey.
To learn more about the benefits of early childhood education, click here.
Key stage 2:
This is the stage where children improve on their communication and application of the skills they have acquired in the previous stage.
It is the Elementary school stage and also a part of the early childhood period of a child’s life.
Key stage 3:
This is the beginning of secondary school. It is at this stage that children develop deep critical thinking skills and reasoning abilities in various subject areas.
Areas of learning in this stage include the English Language, the Arts and Mathematics.
Key stage 4:
At this stage, all the knowledge gathered in the previous stages are tested.
At age 16 (Year 11), students take the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Education) examinations in 8-10 different subjects.
Some of these subjects include Modern Languages, Arts, Environment and Society, Science and Technology, Learning for Life and Work, Employability, Local and Global Citizenship, Personal Development.
Key stage 5:
The final two years of school mark the beginning of adulthood.
Students make choices and work hard during these years that prepare them for university and the start of their future career path.
At the end of Year 11, and once students have finished the IGCSE examinations they choose from different further study programs namely:
British Curriculum Vs Other Curricula: Understanding the Differences
Not all international schools follow the same curriculum. There are other international curricula practised by many schools in Nigeria.
In this article, we will only be discussing the American curriculum and how it compares to the British curriculum.
American Curriculum:
The American curriculum is the educational system operated in the United States. In the US, there is no country-wide education system.
This is because each of the fifty states has its own Department of Education that sets guidelines for the schools of that state.
The curriculum is divided into 4 stages namely:
Key Stages
Early Childhood
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Age Group Distribution
3 – 5
6 – 10
11 – 13
14 – 18
School Classes
Kindergarten / Pre-school.
Grades 1-4 / Elementary
Grades 5 – 8
Grades 9 – 12
One major difference between the British curriculum and the American curriculum is that the British curriculum is largely knowledge and application based while its counterpart the American curriculum is largely skills based.
Another difference is that in the American Curriculum, the scores a student gets from internal assessments by teachers form the bulk of his/her permanent academic record.
This is not applicable to the British curriculum as a student’s academic standing and records are determined by the examinations taken at the end of each key stage.
Why Greensprings is the Best British Curriculum School in Nigeria
When it comes to determining the Best British curriculum school in Nigeria, there are some factors to consider.
Here are some of the reasons why we think that Greensprings School is the best British Curriculum School in Nigeria:
First Among the Rest
Greensprings School was officially the first fully recognised British Curriculum School in Nigeria.
The school received the approval to offer the Cambridge IGCSE examinations in the year 1995.
Outstanding Academic Achievements
In the last 2 years, Greensprings School has produced 11 students who received the Cambridge Outstanding Learner awards by the British Council.
The students received the awards due to their outstanding performances in various subjects.
In 2016, Honour Olatunji emerged top in the world in Mathematics with 5 other students emerging top in the country in the 2016 and 2017 examinations respectively.
Consistency and Continuity
Also, since 1998, Greensprings School has never recorded below 85% pass rate in any International examination our students have ever written – now that is consistency.
To view our 2018 IGCSE results you can click here.
Affiliations with Top British Education Regulatory Bodies
Over the years, Greensprings School has received numerous accreditations, awards and recognition from educational regulatory agencies and associations.
Some of them include The British Council, The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), The Association of International School Educators of Nigeria (AISEN), Association of Private Educators in Nigeria (APEN), Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA) and many more.
The Rise of British Curriculum Schools in Nigeria – Greensprings Leads the Way
In recent times, we have seen the rise of British curriculum Schools in Nigeria as this system of learning and education has become more popular.
This increase in the number of International schools has proven that practising the British curriculum in Nigerian Schools is generally acceptable and is yielding the right results.
Since its adoption of the British curriculum, the school has gone on to produce students who have progressed into top Universities in different parts of the world with several of them receiving scholarships and numerous awards.
British Curriculum School in Nigeria: A Look at the Greensprings School Curriculum
In Greensprings School, we operate a unique blend of the different components of the British curriculum to produce our outstanding scholars.
Our general curriculum focuses on delivering high academic standards whilst ensuring that students also develop wider life skills.
Our students are taken through the various key stages adopting different educational structures that are relevant to them at those stages.
At the Elementary stage (KS 1 & 2); we operate a unique blend of the British National Primary Framework for Mathematics and English Language and The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) for science, history, geography and other related subjects.
The Elementary School curriculum has been designed to ensure rigorous learning but at the same time make all learning exciting, active and meaningful for children.
As a British curriculum school in Nigeria, we encourage our students at this elementary stage to enjoy the learning journey and to develop an enquiring mind.
Secondary Section
At the Secondary stage, we operate the Cambridge Lower and Upper secondary curriculum. The Lower Secondary Curriculum runs through KS3 (Years 7-9).
This stage prepares students in core subject areas like English, Mathematics, and Science.
Students in most British Curriculum schools in Nigeria use this stage to prepare for their IGCSE examinations which they will write in the next stage.
Our students join other students of British curriculum school in Nigeria to write the Cambridge Checkpoint examinations in year 9.
The Upper Secondary Curriculum runs through Years 10 – 11 (KS 4). Students at this stage are typically between the ages of 14 – 16.
At the end of this stage, students sit for the IGCSE examinations that come up every year.
Post-Secondary / Sixth Form
As a full British curriculum school in Nigeria, Greensprings School received the approval to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in the year 2010.
This led to the establishment of the sixth form college. The Greensprings Sixth Form College (IB School) is a pathway to top universities around the world and its graduates have progressed to numerous top universities in the world.
As a Thinking School, we have also incorporated Thinking Skills into every section and stage of our students’ learning journey.
Through this, our students approach their academics with a growth mindset.
This will help them proffer solutions to problems through critical thinking and advanced analytical skills.
With our perfect blend of the core components of the British curriculum delivered with the same quality standard that is applicable all around the world, Greensprings School prepares your child for education and service in any part of the world.
Our students can be considered locally grounded, but internationally relevant.
Also with our students achieving global and national academic feats, we can boldly say that we are indeed the best British Curriculum School in Nigeria.
