St Christophers School, Bahrain has been the Kingdom’s leading non-profit private British international school since 1961. We explore the school’s role in the fabric of Bahrain’s education sector.
St Christopher’s School uses a personalised and responsive learning approach that adapts to the needs of all its students. At the heart of it all is a focus on positive and supportive relationships where children and young people feel able to take risks in their learning.
Learning Designed for Success
Faculty members shape their approach to lesson design and teaching by continually reviewing material and engaging in retrieval practice, using deep questioning and consolidation of ideas. The skills of academic writing, analysis, critical thinking and communicating effectively are developed all the way through the school starting from Nursery. The school’s curriculum is designed to ultimately prepare students to undertake the GCSE and A-Level examinations, as well as the BTEC and IB Diploma, meaning that there are many pathways open to them.
Students are supported by their Subject Teachers as well as the pastoral team of Form Tutors and Heads of Year who help them manage the demands of examinations and the development of relevant study skills. The school’s Learning Support team also targets specific areas of support where needed to help students prepare for all examinations.
The success of St Christopher’s approach, since its establishment, has been evident with graduates consistently being accepted into some of the best universities across the world.
Beyond the Classroom
The UK education approach highly values extra-curricular learning to support the development of attributes to help students to succeed in their academics, such as creativity, collaboration, compassion and confidence. By connecting with other students outside of the classroom, St Christopher’s students learn independence and teamwork through a range of activities in the fields of music and performing arts, sports, crafts, languages, debating and beyond.
St Christopher’s proactively offers students the opportunity to participate in overseas trips every year ranging from academic, sports, art, music, culture and community service. Students are known to learn beyond the classroom by traveling within the region, all over Europe, to Asia and the USA.
Embracing Bahrain’s Culture
Finally, St Christopher’s considers its curriculum to be the totality of its students’ experiences. Learning through local visits, such as Bahrain Fort visits by students of Year 1 and Year 7, are incorporated to understand the history and geography of Bahrain. In addition, as a whole school community, St Christopher’s celebrates Bahrain National Day and learn about the Bahraini culture through the clothes, food, language, music and activities of Bahrain.
Alongside what is formally taught within the classroom, the school proudly ensures a range of enriching experiences that help each of its children and young people connect with their wonderful host country – Bahrain.
Leveraging Technology
Building on the school’s UK curriculum, technology is used across the school to support learning, whether through platforms that allow children to practice their language skills or to answer curriculum questions to assess their understanding. Students learn to use technology safely and, from Year 2 onwards, develop digital literacy and leadership through the ‘Bring-Your-Own-Device’ programme.
St Christopher’s uses a range of media in lessons to enhance the delivery of ideas and activities, and all children develop ICT and computational thinking skills. Teachers use technology to plan and design the curriculum, as well as to support ongoing assessments, and provide exciting learning opportunities by giving a window into the wider world.