Whether you were building a pyramid 2000 years ago, or The Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, soon to be the highest building in the world, at a height of 1000m, the philosophy is the same: it is essential to have a firm base and the right building blocks as you progress. Education is very much the same.

The importance of starting well

When planning your children’s education to best prepare them for success later in life, it is the early years that are by far the most important years, because it is during this stage of childhood development that you build capacity for the future. 

Developing capacity early

The brain goes through an incredible process of growth in the early years of childhood development. What we know from scientific research is that although the building blocks are essentially the same for each child, the rate of progress varies greatly. It is important therefore that schools have the capacity to support students on their ‘individual’ learning journey because one size most certainly does not fit all in modern-day education. 

Science also tells us that learning multiple languages is absolutely essential to building capacity, and the younger the better. At a young age, languages a learnt quickly and easily, with conversational comprehension acquired within a matter of a few months in a full emersion environment. It makes sense, therefore, to enrol our children into a bilingual school, or schools offering children the chance to learn additional languages at an early age. 

One example of building capacity can be found in examining the reading speed adults, which averages between 300-400 words a minute. There are however children with a reading speed exceeding 1000 words a minute by the time they reach high school, who have a higher level of comprehension than readers with slower reading speed. When interviewed, these children all had one thing in common - they were encouraged to read extensively when still in primary school, developed a love of reading early in life, and continued to read for pleasure, and in volume, when at high school. 

The bottom line is that children well-supported and provided the right level of challenge at each stage of their development, develop more capacity, which will benefit them in high school, at university, and later on in life.

A world-class school doing all the right things

A school that is quietly going about the business of achieving outstanding results with their students is the International British School of Bucharest (IBSB), located on Strada Agricultori in Sector 2. 

It is an attractive inner-city campus, one of the last remaining in Bucharest, which has grown impressively over the past few years, with the school clearly investing in the future. If you have not passed by recently, you will be impressed with its new campus. 

All classes are fully equipped with the latest technology and facilities to ensure the staff are able to deliver a world-class international British Curriculum that places IBSB in the top echelons of international schools around the world.

A graduate record to inspire the next generation of students

To look for evidence of excellence in education, you need look no further than their graduate record, with 100% of their student’s finishing their final year achieving admission to university, and more than 75% of their graduates being accepted into universities ranked in the top 5% of the world, including Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Imperial College London, UCL, and LSE, to name just a few. 

A new decade, a new school, a new curriculum

There most recent addition to the campus is a new purpose built Early Years Centre opened in 2020. Full of bright happy colours and natural light, this new learning centre offers plenty of space indoors and out to inspire creativity and a lifelong love of learning for the students aged 3-5 years.  

The theme for this new state of the art facility is ‘creative exploration’, with their team of highly educated and experienced staff developing a new curriculum, based on the new 2030 framework, to prepare the children of today for the work place of tomorrow.

“The children joining the EYFS programme today will not start working until 2040. It is important therefore to provide a curriculum to equip our children with the skills they will need to succeed not today, but in 2040 and beyond. This means we must continually evolve as a learning community, developing the curriculum, investing in facilities, and providing continuing professional development to remain at the forefront of education.” Kendall Peet, Head of School

Stepping onto the new campus, it is clear to see that the school has certainly been investing heavily the quality of its facilities, with a new custom-built gymnasium, a new student lunchroom, new medical room, and bright modern classrooms. 

New Admissions Open from February 10, 2020

For parents looking to enrol their children in a top international school, with an established reputation for academic excellence, now is the time to enquire. The International British School of Bucharest will officially open admissions to new students from February 10, 2020. Places available are strictly limited, with students offered the opportunity to spend a day in school to complete assessment and evaluation before their final selection.

For further enquiries, please contact admissions@ibsb.ro. 

(p) - This article is an advertorial.