The School Day
The Secondary School Day is a very busy day for our students, with a rigorous and broad ranging curriculum designed to support and enable students to strive for Academic Excellence and to challenge and extend themselves in a variety of situations through the rich extra-curricular programme available.
Our teachers aim to actively engage students in the learning process, encouraging each student to participate and to contribute in a positive way in each lesson, providing regular feedback to students, and support and additional work where needed to ensure that every student is making good progress and is extended in each lesson.
In all activities, our students are encouraged to work together and to share and appreciate those around them in school, as well as those living in different countries, to develop tolerance and culture understanding, which is one of the rewards of receiving an international education at IBSB.
Throughout the year the children will have the opportunity to go on Educational Visits to learn about different aspects of the local community, with residential trips planned at different points of the year. There is a focus on Community Action Service in which our students are involved in various community projects and charity work, and an opportunity for students in Years 10-12 to participate in the IBSB Work Experience Programme.
Our students are encouraged to work together and to share
and appreciate those around them in school.
Parents receive regular feedback from staff through the Student Planner or directly by email, informing them of positive progress made or any issues that may arise and require parent support. There are formal Parent-Teacher Events and Meetings planned at regular intervals throughout the year with four formal reports sent home and available to parents online through the Schoolbase system.
At all points in time students and parents should be aware of the current level of their child across their subjects, the progress they have made, and the targets that have been set for their children to work toward in the term ahead. Students’ work is marked on a weekly basis with regular assessment and feedback given to students to help support them in working toward their agreed targets.
Although parents are welcome to drop their children off at school from 8.00 am (as staff on are duty from this time in the school playground) the Secondary School day officially begins at 8.30am with morning line-up for Year 7-11 students directly in front of the Secondary School. During line up Form Teachers will check to see that the students are all dressed properly in school uniform and will be available to speak to parents briefly if parents need to inform class teachers of anything special. Form teachers will also check the Student Planners each morning to see if there are any messages from the parents.
Sixth Form students will register in their form rooms on the new campus and following this will head to the study room or to their first class on the new Sixth Form campus or the Main Campus just a few minutes walk away.
Morning Registration is a short affair, with just 5 minutes allocated. During this time the Form Tutor will complete the online registration and make important announcements for the day. Student attendance is entered into the school computer system (Schoolbase) which parents can access online at any time with parent login details.
It is important that all students are at morning line-up each day to ensure they are registered and receive these messages. Students who arrive late will be required to register at the office before going to class where they will give the class teacher a late slip to confirm they have registered at the office.
Lesson 1: 8.40-9.35
Lesson 2: 9.40-10.35
Students have a 15 minute break in which they can go outside to play a sport in the school playground (Football, Basketball and Table Tennis are some of the popular sports enjoyed at this time), visit the school canteen for a quick snack, or simply relax with friends for a while or make use of the school’s Wi-Fi to surf the internet.
Lesson 3: 10.50-11.45
Lesson 4: 11.50-12.45
The Secondary School students eat their lunch together in the school cafeteria (Sixth Form Students eat their lunch in their own area on the new campus), from 12.50-1.10. Following this they are able to enjoy their free time until afternoon registration, or can join one of the many clubs on offer during the lunch period- Secondary Clubs run daily from 1.15-1.45pm.
During wet weather indoor areas will be allocated with activities arranged by school staff and the Student Council.
Student registration takes place twice a day, in the morning and directly after lunch. During registration teachers may choose to use the electronic whiteboards to show BBC news as a focal point for discussions and to keep our students up to date with current affairs.
Lesson 5: 2.00-2.50
Lesson 6: 2.55-3.50
Assemblies throughout the week provide opportunities for children and teachers to reflect on aspects of life, studies, and the world around us, and to celebrate good achievement and contribution to school. When there is not an assembly scheduled, students have the opportunity to enjoy some extra reading as a part of the extended reading programme, which usually happens three times per week.
Students are required to exit the school campus by 4.15pm at the latest as there is no staff supervision provided after this time.
Students will leave via a school bus or be picked up by a parent or known person.
Students may only leave the school unaccompanied if parents have signed a consent form allowing them to do so.
The official school day finishes at 3.50pm, with a variety of extra-curricular Secondary School Clubs on offer from Monday to Thursday, starting at 4.00pm and ending at the agreed time. Clubs play a key role in the Secondary Curriculum and parents should encourage their children to sign up for as many clubs as their timetable allows. The majority of clubs are run by school staff and are free of charge. Where an outside instructor is brought in to run a specialist club, a minimal fee will be charged.
