BRITISH SCHOOLS IN THE UK AND ABROAD

Most students from overseas who study at a school in the UK will do so at one of the 2,200 independent (or private) schools there.  These schools may cover only primary or secondary education, while others cover all ages up to 18 years.  Some of these schools take boarders, while a majority are for day students only.  Information and advice about schools in the  UK is available from the  Independent Schools Council Information Service  or ISCis.  (See section on “Useful Addresses” for this and for all other organisations referred to in this article).

The Independent Schools Council, or ISC, consists of the associations of  Independent Schools in the UK that have  accepted a Government approved system of quality assurance.  Schools in these  associations in membership of ISC are regularly monitored by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, or ISI. Cobis is the only overseas association to have accepted this official system of quality assurance, and to have become an Affiliate Member of the Independent Schools Council.  Other private schools in the UK receive a less rigorous Government inspection periodically to ensure that minimum standards are met.  But there is no requirement for British schools overseas to have any form of inspection in many countries.  Parents should therefore make careful enquires of there own when considering a choice of school.

Outside the UK, British education is exclusively in private hands as the British Government does not run or support any schools anywhere in the world (except for the British armed forces in some places and for officials of the European Union in others).  This means that there is a wide variety of British private schools worldwide, large and small, some primary, some secondary and others all age schools.  Some have been founded by companies, others by individuals, while others are owned by parents or by teachers.  It should be borne in mind that the British Government plays no part whatsoever in authorising or monitoring these schools,  and while many may be excellent educational institutions, this may not always be the case.  (See the article on “Choosing a School Abroad” ). 

Nor unfortunately does the term “British School” necessarily indicate that a school actually follows a British Curriculum.  There are, in some countries, schools so called that follow a non British  curriculum, maybe the local curriculum, and justify the name merely by teaching  English to the students.  In some countries too a so called BritishSchool may follow the local curriculum but add in elements of the English curriculum, thereby creating a bilingual school.

On the other hand some schools following the British curriculum may not call themselves “British”, perhaps preferring the term “International” to reflect their cosmopolitan student body.  Around the world there are many schools described as “International”.  This term can mean virtually anything, ranging from a purely national school of the host country that teaches English as a foreign language, through a host of schools that follow a range of different curricula mixed together in some way, to schools that follow a curriculum leading to the International Baccalaureat. This is not the place to describe or try to evaluate the vast range of very different schools using the term “International”. This article and the article entitled “Why choose a British School” is only concerned with schools that follow a clearly recognisable British curriculum.