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Al
Waha International School is a private school, providing a broad-based
education, through the medium of the English language to students in classes
from KG1 to Grade 12. The school aims to develop as a community with teachers,
children and parents going forward hand in hand, while fostering in students
high moral values and total integrity of character as taught by Islam. All
efforts are made to develop in children the concepts, knowledge, attitudes and
skills required in key learning areas in the setting of a warm, caring and safe
learning environment. The stimulation of intellectual curiosity, freedom of
expression, fairness and respect for others are seen as major target areas of
achievement.
Located
in the Al Azizia district of Jeddah, the school is housed in three spacious
buildings and includes a computer laboratory, library, science laboratory,
auditorium, playground, audio-visual room, canteen and a lunch pavilion.
The
school adheres to the British National Curriculum in the core subjects of
English, Science and Mathematics, and the foundation subjects of History and
Geography. A comprehensive academic programme has been developed for students
targeting the world-recognised International General Certificate of Secondary
Education (I.G.C.S.E.) and General Certificate of Education, Advanced Level (G.C.E.‘A’
Level) examinations administered by the University of Cambridge, UK.
For
the purposes of the IGCSE examinations, the school is a registered Attached
Centre of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES),
UK
, and an approved Centre for the purposes of the practical component of IGCSE
Information Technology examinations. Based on the recommendations of visiting
teams from CIE and the British Council, Jeddah, the facilities including the
laboratory systems, classrooms and the library etc. are regularly upgraded.
The
IGCSE subject options have been designed to provide each student with a Subject
Portfolio that aims to deliver a broad-based, balanced and diversified
curriculum including subjects drawn from each of the disciplines, i.e.
Languages, Mathematics, Sciences, Humanities and Technical and Vocational.
Efforts have been made to ensure that, by choosing the right combination of
subjects, all students are eligible for the ICE (International Certificate of
Education) certification conferred by the Cambridge International Examinations.
Four batches of senior students who have obtained outstanding grades in English,
Mathematics and the Sciences in their IGCSE examinations and graduated with ICE
distinction and merit awards have done the school proud in the last four years.
Beginning
with a rigorous and challenging two year GCE Advanced Level (‘A’ Level)
Programme in September 2005 in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, the
school has subsequently widened the scope and breadth of this academic offering.
It is now possible for students to offer a combination of
Advanced/Advanced Subsidiary Levels (A/AS Level) in Science as well as
Commerce-based subjects with English, Computing, Business Studies and Accounting
having been added to the subjects menu.
On
a continuous path of school improvement since its inception, Al Waha has not
only grown in terms of numbers (with its current strength of over 700 students
of 19 different nationalities), while maintaining a favourable teacher-pupil
ratio, but has also made tremendous efforts to evolve professionally. Having
hosted an extremely fruitful visit from a representative of Chelstoke
Educational Consultants,
UK
, in the year 1999, the school’s efforts towards international accreditation
received the required impetus when it was granted regular membership of the
European Council of International Schools, ECIS and its accrediting body, the
Council of International Schools, CIS, in 2003.
Having
been granted candidate status on 15th May, 2006, Al Waha is actively going
through the various steps of the accreditation protocol of the US-based school
accrediting organisation, Commission of International and Trans-Regional
Accreditation (CITA). Candidacy for Accreditation is a status of
affiliation with The Commission on International and Trans-Regional
Accreditation that indicates an institution has achieved initial recognition and
is progressing toward, but is not assured of, accreditation.
As
far as possible, teachers are generally facilitated through the school to attend
professional workshops and seminars, and senior IGCSE teachers have been
especially encouraged to accredit themselves through distance learning with the
Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) to undertake coursework in their
subjects. Efforts are continuously made to offer opportunities for the
professional support and development of teachers so that they can be equipped
with the requisite materials and skills to teach the courses leading to
Cambridge
examinations. For this purpose, use of new technology is being made on an
on-going basis to offer a great deal of online support, particularly through CIE-led
training methodology. The school has recently sponsored several IGCSE teachers
to undergo training by CIE examiners at a face-to-face training session held in
Dubai, UAE, and plans to take advantage of any such event in the future as well.
Over
the last two years, teachers have also received in-house training through
workshops held in school in specific areas of the curriculum and to impart
specific skills wherever possible. Some examples are the workshops that have
frequently been held for the
Junior
School
teachers to train them in the use of Montessori methodology. Teachers in
both Junior as well as
Senior
School
have also participated in a workshop to train them to develop critical thinking
in student, by using Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Montessori
methodology was introduced in the academic year 2004 – 2005 to complement the
British curriculum at the primary level. Montessori teaching is a
universally popular curriculum now. It is a delightful philosophy that
purports the idea of “education from birth”- the true “cultivation” of
the human individual from the beginning of life. What it does at the primary
level is to provide the child with different kinds of reinforcement in the form
of manipulative aids. Manipulative aids help grasp ideas faster and with a
greater impact. This is very important for young children, especially if you go
with the premise that, what goes in, stays in. While books are the main source
of information, children establish and enhance knowledge firmly through
movement, manipulation and self realisation.
The
curriculum is designed to cover a comprehensive range of subjects and interests
and uses manipulative aids to understand Mathematics, Language, Culture
(Science, Geography, History, General Knowledge) etc.
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