Our Secondary School is located at Kodra e Diellit 2 residential area. The two-story building which houses Primary Years 1-6 and Secondary Years 7-11, has open, airy and bright learning spaces, as well as a library, gym, music room and science and computer labs attached to each classroom called “resource centres”.
At BST, the Secondary School Age 11 to 16 years old) is an exciting 5-year project. Our students learn to become more independent, to cultivate tastes, develop skills of analysis and evaluation.
The culmination of this process involves taking IGCSE exams (Albanian mini-matura is also an additional option). Our happy, vibrant and forward-looking community provides our young people with an outstanding range of exciting opportunities. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum, which is enriched with a wide range of co-curricular activities, clubs and trips.
Throughout Years 7 – 9 (age 11-14), pupils follow the Key Stage 3 curriculum and experience a wide range of subjects and lessons. Our small class sizes of 20 pupils enable our teachers to capture the interest of every pupil, plan and deliver the new learning based on their needs and extend their subject understanding with discussion, research and projects.
We run courses, assemblies and a wide range of events for all our pupils on maximising their potential and start sketching their future professional interest. Because we want our young people to develop interest and skills in a number of areas, our children prepare and sit between 8-10 IGCSE at the end of Secondary school (Year 11).
Key Stage 3 – Years 7 to 9
As an international school, we are accustomed to students joining at different stages and our staff are adept at managing the transition between different curricula whichever stage of the journey they join us at. In common with most British schools, we use the English National Curriculum. Years 7 to 9 are called Key Stage 3 and this is the time when all pupils study a common curriculum.
Entering Senior School and Key Stage 3 is a memorable experience in the life of every child and here at The British School of Tirana we strive to ensure that our students begin this important stage in their education in a safe, nurturing and stimulating learning environment.
New subjects are also introduced such as Drama, Chemistry, Biology and Physics as part of combined Science in order to best inform each student about their future IGCSE choices.
Students at the BST benefit from regular, varied homework and clear, personalised feedback and they are always encouraged to become independent learners and risk- takers.
In Key Stage 3 there are many opportunities for students to follow co-curricular activities and to enhance their social and inter-personal skills. A wide variety of clubs are on offer, from basketball to coding, chess to photography and film production to learning how to play and instrument.
Overall, Key Stage 3 students at the BST will enjoy a warm, inspiring and challenging experience, which will contribute to their development as healthy, enquiring, capable and confident young adults.
Key Stage 4 – Years 10 & 11
The move from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4 involves some important changes both in the structure of the timetable and in the nature of the lessons. By the end of Key Stage 3, students will have studied up to fifteen subjects and they now begin the process of selecting areas of specialism. Years 10 and 11 are referred to as Key Stage 4 and students study for the externally assessed UK based IGCSE examinations.
The Key Stage 4 programme provides students with opportunities to engage with increasingly complex and challenging issues which are relevant to their daily lives. Students are encouraged to apply their knowledge and use their creativity. It is important that education doesn’t just focus on the academic progress in isolation but also embraces the social, physical, emotional, cognitive, and ethical dimensions of the individual.
In British schools, the last two years of school (Years 12 and 13) are usually referred to as the Sixth Form or Key Stage 5.
If you would like to know more about the KS3 and 4 programme, we encourage to read about it by clicking on the button below to see our overview.
