upper school

The atmosphere in Upper Primary, as in Lower Primary, is friendly and positive. At ISH we firmly believe that children must be happy in order to learn effectively and we therefore focus on both personal and academic development.

We encourage children to become independent learners and strive for academic success and excellence. We offer a skill based curriculum that is founded on the principle of multiple intelligences, which recognises that everyone is genuinely intelligent, but in different ways. We cater for differences in ability through tailoring the curriculum to children’s individual needs. Teachers take into account the fact that children have different preferred learning styles and a good balance of visual, auditory and kinesthetic activities is offered. Collaborative skills are given high priority and group projects form an important part of the curriculum, as does the development of research skills. There is a strong emphasis on developing children’s creative thinking skills so we teach children how to think, rather than what to think.  We encourage children to be aware of their own strengths and help them to have confidence in their abilities by giving constructive and positive feedback.

Through regular circle time sessions and the reinforcement of our ‘Golden Rules,’ we coach children to have respect for and empathy with others and to be appreciative of different points of view. Our children are proud to be part of a community with over 70 nationalities and the development of global awareness and international-mindedness is inherent in our curriculum and school ethos. The many languages spoken in school are a valuable and rich resource to us and children have the opportunity to work in their own mother tongue on a weekly basis together with the children who share their language.

Children in the upper school are given extra responsibility by being assigned a ‘buddy’ in the lower school, with whom they work on a regular basis. We are currently planning a system of Year 6 prefects and a school council, which will further encourage independence and ownership.

Through school trips and activities, links are made with the wider community. There are a number of Dutch cultural trips, as well as trips linked to the IPC topics in each year group and a four day residential camp in Year 6. Artists and writers are regularly invited to give workshops and children also have the opportunity to further develop their creative, musical and sporting talents in a wide selection of after school activities, as well as practising their debating skills in a Model United Nations club (MUN).