In Years 1-3 (corresponding Years 7-9 of the UK educational system) the school offers a high standard of general education and sets the foundations for more specialised learning in Years 4-6. The subjects taught are: English, Drama, Greek, Classical Appreciation, French, Mathematics, History, Science (Physics, Chemistry and Biology), Geography, Religious Knowledge, Art, Music, Physical Education and Computing. All subjects are taught in English from Year 1, except Greek, Religious Knowledge and Classical Appreciation which are only taught to the Greek language native speaking pupils. Non-native Greek-speaking pupils take Greek as a second or Greek as a foreign language and/or Greek History and/or Religious Studies and/or additional support in the English language.
All Day School is offered on an optional basis to the pupils in Years 1-3. The subjects taught in the All Day School are Mathematics, Science and English and the purpose is:
In Years 4-6 (corresponding to Years 10-12 of the UK educational system) the school offers a complete programme of study which consists of 6 core subjects and 3 to 5 additional optional subjects including Mathematics which is offered at different levels, leading towards the Apolytirion.
The core subjects are: English, Greek, Greek History, Computing, Physical Education and Religious Knowledge. All subjects are taught in English, except Greek, Greek History and Religious Knowledge which are only taught to native Greek-speaking pupils. Non-native Greek-speaking pupils take Greek as a second language and/or Greek History and/or Religious Studies and/or additional support in the English language.
The list of optional subjects includes the following: Mathematics, ICT, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Accounting, History, Art, Psychology, English Literature, French and German. Pupils in Year 4 may take the IGCSE examinations in their optional subjects. In Years 5 and 6 they may take the GCE AS and A Level/International A Level examinations respectively. Alternatively, pupils may follow the 2-year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (available only in Lefkosia and Larnaka).
External examinations support lessons after school are provided on an optional basis to the pupils in Years 4-6. The purpose of these lessons is exclusively to maximize pupil performance on the external examinations.
PASCAL English School pupils graduate having completed Year 6. Since the school is a six-year secondary school there is no Year 7 (Year 13 of the UK educational system) which enables the pupils to gain a year in comparison to graduates of other English-medium secondary schools in Cyprus or UK.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a pre-university 2-year programme which equips pupils with the skills and attitudes necessary for success in higher education and employment. Holders of the Diploma have access to the world’s leading universities (Oxford, Harvard and the Sorbonne were amongst the first universities to recognise it in the early 60s). IB programmes are offered in 4,775 accredited schools in over 145 countries (October 2017 statistics). PASCAL English School in Lefkosia and Larnaka are accredited IB World Schools.
The Diploma of the International Baccalaureate is awarded to pupils who successfully complete all the requirements of the programme. The awarding authority is the International Baccalaureate (IB). Diploma Programme Courses Results are awarded to pupils who pass the IB examinations in individual subjects. Pupils who successfully complete all the promotion requirements of PASCAL English School are also awarded the PASCAL English School Apolytirion.
In order to obtain The Diploma of the International Baccalaureate pupils must follow a total of six subjects from six groups of subjects (as in the diagram), 3 subjects at higher level and 3 subjects at standard level over a period of two years. The list of subjects includes the following: English, Greek or any other mother language, Foreign Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, ITGS, Economics, History and Art. Also pupils must:
Mindful of the fact that the success of any school primarily depends on the commitment and quality of the teaching staff, the school has policies and mechanisms in place that ensure high teaching and pastoral care standards are achieved.
Teachers are recruited based on their qualifications, commitment to teaching, high expectations and to life-long learning. All teachers are required to attend INSET training prior to commencing teaching.
The school maintains a balanced ratio of experienced teachers with years of service and young newly qualified teachers. Teachers are assigned to academic departments in accordance with their field of study. A mentoring system is in place and teachers are required to adhere to the school’s Professional Development Programme as well as to attend seminars, workshops, conferences organised by the examinations boards and educational providers or institutions such as Edexcel-Pearson, Cambridge Assessment International Education, International Baccalaureate, Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Cyprus to name a few. Additionally, the school’s Professional Development Programme is an approved Cambridge Assessment International Education programme, the Professional Development Qualifications (PDQ) in Teaching and Learning.
The school affords its pupils an ongoing counselling service regarding further studies, university applications and career opportunities. More specifically, the school:
The school fosters a healthy and inspiring competitive environment. Throughout the school life, apart from taking part in the school competitions, pupils also take part in numerous national and international competitions, conferences and events.
PASCAL English School pupils, continuously, achieve Highest International Subject Mark awards in various subjects (IGCSE/GCE A Levels/IAL), Medallions in various subject Olympiads and first places in the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture and other national and international competitions. Also, they achieve first places in various national and international sports competitions.
The unique option of exiting with a combination of various secondary school leaving qualifications (PASCAL English School Apolytirion or Apolytirion with GCE A Levels or Apolytirion with The Diploma of the International Baccalaureate/Diploma Programme Courses Results) guarantees our graduates a successful university placement at the top UK, other European, USA and worldwide universities. Some UK top and Russell Group universities which have recently offered places to our pupils are: Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Imperial, King’s, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Loughborough, LSE, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Queen Mary, Southampton, Surrey, UEA, UCL, Warwick and York. Other European and USA universities which have offered places to our graduates are: Munich (Germany), Charles (Czech Republic), Semmelweis (Hungary), Lund (Sweden), Erasmus (Netherlands), Le Roches (Switzerland), Columbia, Brown, Rutgers (USA), Toronto (Canada).
Latest external examinations and university placement figures:
