Secondary Curriculum
In Secondary school, all elements of the curriculum are delivered by subject specialists. Pupils are offered increased opportunities to follow their interests and passions while maintaining a firm commitment to achieving high standards in the core subjects. The English National Curriculum (ENC) still provides the basis of our academic programme but we continue to go beyond its limitations.
Our Secondary Programme is made up of three stages that are incrementally more challenging and organised to provide the best possible preparation for entry into adult life.
Guide to Year Groups at BSB Secondary school (for equivalencies with grade levels and the Brazilian curriculum, please refer here):
| Age | Year Group | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 - 12 | Year 7 | |
| 12 - 13 | Year 8 | |
| 13 - 14 | Year 9 | |
|
GCSE IGCSE |
14 - 15 | Year 10 |
| 15 - 16 | Year 11 | |
| IB®DP | 16 - 17 | Year 12 |
| 17 - 18 | Year 13 | |
Year 7, 8 and 9
The British Schools Foundation Integrated Curriculum continues into the first phase of Secondary school resulting in a seamless transition between sections.
Our curriculum is composed of three key elements that are interrelated and ensure that every child is achieving their personal and academic potential.
The Core Curriculum
We continue to adopt an uncompromising approach to the teaching of English, Maths, Science and Portuguese building on the strong foundations achieved in Primary school.
Our core curriculum is based on the ENC which is enriched and adapted to our context. The objectives that it sets out are considered a minimum requirement for all of our Secondary pupils.
Progress and attainment is measured annually through standardised testing with a detailed report provided to all parents. Standards of Portuguese are high, requiring all pupils to acquire a high level of fluency and confidence in speaking, reading and writing. Native Portuguese speaking pupils are fully prepared for externally administered national assessments. This strong commitment to high academic standards in the core subjects ensures that all Year 9 pupils are well prepared for the rigour of mandatory GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) courses.
Mentoring in Secondary School
Our mentoring programme remains central to our ethos and continues to provide important individual guidance and support to all pupils in the Secondary school.
Our teaching staff take an active role and are responsible for a small number of pupils with whom they hold mentoring meetings.
Teenagers in particular face multiple challenges as they mature. The strong positive relationships that exist between pupils and teachers at BSB ensures that their well being is closely monitored and supported.
A key focus of our mentors is to encourage all pupils to value academic and personal achievement as the reward for hard work and perseverance. A positive 'can-do' attitude is encouraged in every member of the community in order to achieve their aspirations.
The mentor system is particularly helpful for new families that join our school and pupils often remark how quickly they settle into school life at BSB.
While our pupils enjoy increasing autonomy in their educational choices, mentors maintain an active interest and provide effective guidance. From Year 10 upwards, our pupils begin to mentor younger pupils themselves. We believe that this is a natural step as they gain greater confidence and experience.
This results in every pupil enjoying a curriculum that is tailored to their interests promoting maximum engagement and the best possible outcomes.
The Personal Development Programme
Our commitment to the personal development of our pupils is maintained by a set of initiatives carefully designed to promote our core values of independence, decency, courage, awareness, presence, self discipline, leadership and teamwork.
Secondary pupils are presented with increased opportunities to influence their school environment and contribute positively to the school community by adopting leadership roles in our Pupil Voice and School Service programmes. Every pupil takes an active role in representing and supporting their House in regular competitions.
The outward bounds programme grows increasingly challenging with a continued focus towards adventure and all pupils completing a major residential expedition before the end of Year 9.
The Extended Curriculum
Pupils in Years 7 and 8 select from a range of project based modules designed to offer a broad and rich curriculum experience. The programme not only meets the requirements of the ENC but is designed to identify and extend the passions and interests of our student body.
For each strand of knowledge, the school offers a range of activities from which pupils may choose. These strands are:
- Knowledge and Understanding
- Sport, Health and Wellness
- Creativity and Performance
- Enterprise and Challenge
Learning is not limited to the classroom. Lessons are planned to be both engaging and challenging, expecting pupils to think critically and take increasing ownership and responsibility for their work.
Specialist teachers in our Arts, Music, Sports and Portuguese departments may be supplemented by professional musicians, coaches and outside expertise to ensure children thrive and enjoy an education of the highest quality.
By encouraging our pupils to spend additional time in their curriculum areas of interest, they are exceptionally well prepared for the GCSE and IGCSE options of their choice.
Computing is a key element of the Knowledge and Understanding strand of our Extended Curriculum.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
The Information Communication and Technology (ICT) curriculum at BSB, in line with ongoing developments back in the UK are based on the concept that learners have a 'digital life'. The curriculum has to be fit for purpose in a 21ˢᵗ century classroom and even more, the curriculum has to offer the students the challenge, opportunities and breadth of knowledge that will allow and encourage them to excel in their use of ICT. In practice this will be several interwoven digital lives - school, work, social networks, gaming, day to day activities such as shopping and possible use of Web technologies.
In order to be effective, safe and knowledgeable citizens, learners should be able to choose and use tools appropriately for effective communication of ideas, finding information or solving problems. Making these choices wisely requires levels of understanding and a range of skills, knowledge and competence. It may involve understanding aspects of hardware and software, choosing to use a wiki to prepare shared information pages or deciding on which piece of software to use when demonstrating understanding in History or Geography. Having a high level of 'digital wisdom' will result in learners who can make decisions about using technology in interesting, creative and productive ways. Developing learners with digital wisdom lies at the heart of the ICT learning experiences and incorporates the wisdom that is not ours innately, but which we are able to develop through the appropriate use of technology.
The whole ICT learning experience lies within the context of 3ʳᵈ millennium learning – a down-to-earth approach to using 21ˢᵗ century tools to empower learners, enabling learning that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. Third millennium schools embody a culture of embedded and effective ICT use across the curriculum, to the extent that it becomes invisible and the learning becomes paramount. They use resources and learning environments creatively, including opportunities to develop higher level thinking skills throughout all areas of the school curriculum, equipping, empowering and enabling learners to adapt to an ever-changing digital landscape in a holistic manner.
In a digital life, tools and resources enable us to innovate, research and generate knowledge. They enable the generation of 'artefacts' which can be used or created by learners - including digital documents, presentations, programmes and codes, video and audio files, images and photographs. There are some overlaps with digital technologies, where tools and artefacts are likely to be combined for a purpose or to build a system, e.g. creating a website containing information, photos and video about a particular interest for others to use. Creating an artefact can include aspects of ICT which involve computational thinking, knowledge and understanding of computer science and coding, e.g. designing, developing and creating a game by programming, or developing an app for others to use. At BSB we encourage our students to perfect enquiry based approaches to learning as we believe this provides valuable opportunities to incorporate higher level thinking skills.
As a school that is acutely aware of the changing boundaries of ICT we constantly review our provision and adapt our curriculum to ensure your child's 'digital life' is constantly supported and reinforced.
GCSE & IGCSE - Year 10 and 11
In Years 10 and 11, pupils at BSB will work towards obtaining GCSE and IGCSE qualifications offered by the UK examination boards.
The two-year programme is academically rigorous, and recognised to be amongst the best in the world for this age range. Many of the subjects have specific international elements and content, making the subject matter relevant to pupils in our context.
Year 12 and 13
The British School Brasilia is a certified International Baccalaureate® Diploma Programme (IBDP).
IBDP is an assessed programme for Sixth Form pupils (Years 12 and 13). It is respected by leading universities across the globe. The programme aims to develop students who have excellent breadth and depth of knowledge—students who flourish physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically.