Secondary School

 The Secondary School consists of Key Stage 3 (11 to 14 years), Key Stage 4 (14 to 16 years) and Advanced Level (16 to 18 years). In keeping with our practice of bench marking the achievements of our students with their counterparts in the UK at regular intervals during their school career, they are presented for Key Stage 3 tests too. While English and Mathematics are taken at Year 9, students take the assessment in Science at the end of Year 8, making provision for the broadening of Science and Business subjects at Key Stage 4. Our strength in Science from Key Stages 1 to 3 has made it possible for the school to adapt to this change.

All core and Foundation subjects of the Key Stage 2 are continued at Key Stage 3 too. From the other subjects at Key Stage 2, however, only Sinhala is continued as an option to French. During their ICT studies, students are able to take the assessments in e-Citizen at Year 7 and International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) at Years 8 and 9 and obtain these internationally recognized ICT skills qualifications.

At Key Stage 4, the school has now shifted towards a more child centered IGCSE examination mode that keeps in line with the modern teaching and learning styles. This is different to the more traditional GCE Ordinary Level examination mode which is linear. Though students are not segregated into different streams, they are able to select combinations of subjects that would better suit their specialization at Advanced Level. In doing so, however, they are still encouraged to be engaged with a healthy balance of subjects.

Few subjects offered at Key Stage 4 are actually taught from Year 9. They are ICT, Business & Communication and the stream specific subjects. This enables students to take IGCSEs in ICT and Business & Communication at the end of Year 10. Such practice helps students to reduce the burden at Year 11 and take the remaining subjects with more confidence.

Subjects offered at Key stage 4 include:

Core subjects: English, Mathematics, Information & Communication Technology (ICT)

Stream specific subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Human Biology (Science combination) or Economics, Business Studies, Accounting and Business & Communication (Business combination)

Non stream specific subject: Business & Communication (for students taking the Science combination) and Science - Single Award (for students taking the Business combination)

Humanities subject: History or Geography Aesthetic subject: Art or English Literature

Language: French or Sinhala

The school carries out a “Conversion Course” for the few students who qualify and meet the entry criteria to make direct entry to Advanced Level. This course conducted every year from January to April, coaches students for IGCSEs in English Language and Mathematics.

In addition, students intending to follow the Science stream will be afforded with the opportunity of doing practical work and coursework related to Physics and Chemistry. Students who are to pursue studies in the Business stream will do field work and coursework related to Business and Accounting. All students are encouraged to study ICT and qualify in ICDL too.

At Advanced Level, students are able to take 3 to 4 subjects. The College encourages the students who wish to pursue demanding careers such as Medicine to take 4 AL subjects. Students taking only 3 subjects are able to take the first year of a British Degree in IT or Business Management over 2 years along with the 3 Advanced Level subjects.

The school offers a vast selection of subjects ranging from Science, Mathematics, Business and Humanities streams for the students to choose from. They include Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics (Core), Further Mathematics, Applied ICT, Economics, Business Studies, Accounting, English Literature and French. It is very interesting to see that the students are taking full advantage of this facility and are taking up very innovative and novel subject combinations in keeping with trends worldwide. A combination such as Mathematics, Computing, Economics and Chemistry is not a rarity any more.

Students who successfully complete the first year of the Degree will receive either the International Diploma in Computer Studies (IDCS) or the International Diploma in Business (IDB), awarded by NCC Education, UK. Following the completion of Advanced Level and the Diploma, they can then proceed to complete the second year of the Degree (International Advanced Diploma) at Gateway College. On completion of the second year, they may continue to do their final year at a British University overseas. Arrangements are also being made to provide the option of completing the final year in Sri Lanka.

It is encouraging to see that the school’s academic achievements at Key Stage 4 and Advanced Level are on an upward trend. All students or a near 100% pass all their subjects. Over the years, we have had many high flyers who have obtained outstanding results whose performances are mentioned under achievements.