Quality over quantity
The German Swiss International School (GSIS) will mark the opening of its renovated and expanded campus at Guildford Road on The Peak with a special celebration on November 11.
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The German Swiss International School (GSIS) will mark the opening of its renovated and expanded campus at Guildford Road on The Peak with a special celebration on November 11. The celebration will be an opportunity to show off the upgraded facilities to parents and other guests, reaffirm the school’s mission, and highlight current initiatives and plans for the years ahead.
“The decision was made in 2008 to redevelop and extend our learning environment,” says GSIS principal Annette Brandt-Dammann. “The aim was purely to improve quality standards, rather than increase numbers. We can already see the benefits for teachers and students.”
In total, the school now has close to 1,300 pupils. There are both German and English streams running from kindergarten through primary and secondary levels. The former teaches a German curriculum throughout, and students graduate with the German International Abitur (Deutsches Internationales Abitur), which is recognised around the world. The latter runs the IGCSE during the middle school years and then finishes off with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) in the final two years.
Both systems are meeting needs and expectations, and graduates are going on to study at top universities around the world. The curriculum choices support the school’s guiding philosophy, which is to offer an education that combines academic excellence with the opportunity to take part in an extensive range of sports and extracurricular activities.
To that end, the redeveloped campus now boasts first-rate science labs, professional-quality areas for music, a new arts room, and a “black box” theatre for student productions. There is also a year-round indoor swimming pool, a rooftop AstroTurf pitch, and two large multi-purpose gymnasiums.