Curriculum
Shrewsbury's curriculum is based around the English National Curriculum, adapted to meet the needs of our students and international context.
CURRICULUM KEY STAGES
The English National curriculum provides a structured learning journey from the age of 3 to 18 years. The Early Years Foundation stage (age 3 years) is followed by a sequence of 5 "Key Stages", culminating in the advanced A-level programme (Ages 16-18). By the time students graduate from Shrewsbury Bangkok, they are equipped with the skills, specialist knowledge and qualifications they need to earn places (and to thrive) at leading universities and colleges around the world.
SHREWSBURY'S LEARNING JOURNEY
When children start at Shrewsbury they are placed in year groups based on their age on 31st August. Progress between Year Groups is usually automatic, although students may be out of their age group for exceptional reasons. Year Groups are clustered into Key Stages and a defined curriculum is produced for each Key Stage. Throughout each Key Stage there are ongoing assessments to monitor and track each child’s academic progress.
As students progress through the key stages, they build knowledge in a wide range of academic subjects, including core English, Mathematics and Science disciplines, and a variety of humanities and linguistic programmes, including some optional courses. Traditional subjects are supplemented by a series of bespoke learning programmes, created especially for Shrewsbury students that focus on their emotional and social development, as well as academic skills.
Age-appropriate learning styles and resources are adopted throughout the school, with play-based learning in our youngest classrooms gradually progressing to more independent learning styles and complex subject matter. This journey gives students the opportunity to find their own academic strengths and interests in a variety of subjects before moving on to the more focused academic content for their selected IGCSE and A-level programmes, chosen by students with specific university and career paths in mind.
In Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11), students study a combination of subjects, culminating in assessed examinations and the attainment of (International) General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) qualifications. All students study a compulsory core of Literacy, Numeracy and Science plus a number of optional subjects. The IGCSE examinations are a formal assessment of a child’s ability in each of the subjects they have studied. The route for students wishing to go to university is to continue into Key Stage 5, also known as Sixth Form, to follow two-year Advanced Level courses. GCSE and IGCSE are internationally recognised academic standards and used, alongside Advanced Levels, as part of the academic selection process for entry into the leading universities around the world.
BEYOND THE CURRICULUM
Alongside the demanding and rigorous academic subject content, the curriculum, complimented by extensive co-curricular opportunities, also provides time for students to develop and master a wide range of practical and social skills that lay the foundations for long term success both at school and beyond. Students are required to think critically and creatively. They take part in discussion and debate and develop themselves as resilient problem solvers and innovators, with equal capacity to collaborate and lead whilst always treating others with genuine empathy and care.
The Curriculum in combination with the co-curricular programme, encourages all students to develop their own voice, both through what is taught and how it is taught. Whether in discussing an idea, performing in a production, presenting a research topic to a class, running a charity stall, leading a House activity or delivering their academic fascination speech in assembly, students have numerous opportunities to engage with the topics they are passionate about and work with others to develop a mature understanding of the world around them.
