We are a kindergarten, primary and lower secondary school that teaches the British National Curriculum. We are registered with the Cambodian Ministry of Education, but have not yet sought accreditation as an internationally recognised centre of learning. We were established in 2016 with the objective of offering local children the opportunity to follow a far-reaching programme of study at a considerably lower cost than is available elsewhere in Siem Reap. To the best of our knowledge, we are still doing this.
We see our mission as empowering the individual child to think, to question and to understand, so that they may play an active and responsible role in the world in which they grow up. We view ourselves as a place of learning rather than a business, and will strive to be honest about a child’s progress at all times, never exaggerating in our assessment while endeavouring to help each realise his or her potential.
Originally, we taught the British National Curriculum full time, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, but, in response to requests from a majority of the parents, we introduced afternoon classes in the Cambodian National Curriculum in 2018. This meant our English-based programme has become part time, although our full-time pupils still remain at school all day as they switch to Khmer instruction from 2 p.m. Our efforts to repeat our content in the British Curriculum in the afternoon for our part-time pupils who go to government schools have now been abandoned due to a tendency within the local education system to reverse schedule monthly between morning and afternoon. This resulted in fluctuating numbers in our classes and significant disruption to patterns of learning. From this school year, we will run our English-based provision solely in the mornings.
This has inevitably resulted in a reduction in our roll. We now offer two classes, Kindergarten & Lower Primary, and Upper Primary & Lower Secondary, in the British Curriculum. Our objective is to rebuild within this framework, with the possibility of eventually returning to full time as per the first two years of the school’s existence if there is adequate parental demand.
We have also had to adjust our Khmer provision accordingly. With our decreased numbers, only two classes can be run sustainably. This is possible due to a very experienced Primary teacher who is able to cover five grades within one small-to-medium-sized group simultaneously. Our Kindergarten is continuing as before.
Within our revised structure, Kindergarten & Lower Primary are by and large following Early Years Foundation Stage to Key Stage 1 of the British Curriculum, and Upper Primary & Lower Secondary Key Stages 2 to 3.
