The Seoul Foreign British School has introduced a new curriculum centered on three frameworks, boasting innovative education and preparing students upon graduation, the school said Thursday. 

According to Seoul Foreign British School, it is the first school in Seoul to roll out the system to “not only prepare students for the rigors of high school, but wherever else their lives may take them.”

While maintaining the English national curriculum at its core and English and math programs, the school designed three frameworks -- International Early Years Curriculum, International Primary Curriculum, and International Middle Years Curriculum, incorporating a variety of subjects. 

It aims to help student “develop the critical thinking skills to process and responsibly use all the information they receive in an ever-changing world,” the school’s principal Andy Freeman explained in a statement.
According to Freeman, the curriculum “is designed with the developing brain in mind.”

Teachers in the International Early Years Curriculum, for 3- to 5-year-olds, provide an environment for students to capture curiosity alongside learning through “structured and play-based approaches.

The International Primary Curriculum places a greater focus on the relevance of learning to the real world” and fostering the ability to make connections with global issues.

Through International Middle Years Curriculum students prepare for high school, while “learning connects different subjects through a ‘big idea.’”
“The framework builds on a wealth of research and is structured to meet what it sees as the five key needs of an adolescent brain. One key need is the importance for learners to make meaning of the learning they are exposed to,” the school official said.

The upgraded curriculum is yielding positive results, Freeman said.
“(Parents) find that their children are far more engaged because of the collaboration, thinking and relevance that this new framework brings,” he said. 

The change at Seoul Foreign British School was recognized at the International Curriculum Conference in Vietnam recently, where Freeman and his colleagues were invited to share their experience with a wider audience. 

“As one of the first international schools to fully implement this curriculum in Korea, those in the education industry are already looking to Seoul Foreign School’s British School as an example,” he added. 

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)