St George’s Spreads its Wings
St George’s School Windsor Castle is the first standalone UK Preparatory School planning to become an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. It will offer the Primary Years Programme (PYP) to its 3-13 year old pupils – joining a movement designed to ‘encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners.’
St George’s School Windsor Castle and IB World Schools share a common philosophy and a commitment to high-quality, challenging, international education. Something the school believes is important for its students.
As part of a unique learner journey for the girls and boys aged 3-13, the PYP will be adopted as a high quality and progressive framework for Kindergarten to Year 6. Pupils will then move to a dedicated Years 7 and 8 centre for their Senior Prep Years, where the Pre-Senior Baccalaureate is studied as an assessment model for a range of leading senior schools.
Preparing pupils to be Real World Ready
St George’s School Windsor Castle, founded in 1348 to educate the choristers of St George’s Chapel, is rooted in a rich heritage but is very contemporary in outlook. Recognising the need to re-imagine education and to prepare pupils to become Real World Ready, the school is embarking on a period of transformational and sector-leading change.
The Head, William Goldsmith, adds: “Our learner journey has been designed to reflect the style of learning that our girls and boys should have to flourish in the 21st century. We need to reshape the long-established system whereby pupils are assessed for answering the right questions. To thrive in the world now, young people need to develop the right knowledge and skills and crucially ask the right questions. Our new 3-13 pathway, which involves our candidacy to become an IB World School, nurtures children to develop curiosity, inquire, focus on global thinking and develop international mindedness.”
Hear more from the Head
The school is confident this powerful and unique approach will equip the children with the right mindset and skills to succeed at senior school and beyond. The school is proud of its relationships with leading senior schools locally and nationally.
Dr. Christopher Stevens, Headmaster of Bradfield College, a destination school for some St George’s pupils, comments: “I am excited by this announcement by St George’s. A successful contemporary education is one that prepares pupils for a life of learning. Developing skills and attributes that will enable pupils to thrive personally and professionally underpins the inquiry-based learning philosophy of the IB. The Primary Years Programme offers strong preparation for the Pre-Schools Baccalaureate which has proven to serve pupils extremely well as they prepare for GCSEs, the IB Diploma or A Levels.”
St George’s School Windsor Castle as well as being a thriving co-educational prep school is home to the Choristers to St George’s Chapel. As you will from the video above, it sits at the foot of Windsor Castle with access to the private estate. Pupils can enjoy expansive grounds and woodland, whilst having the benefit of a town centre location!
The IB’s Global Reach
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.