Chester International School - Educating the Next Generation

(Posted on 13/12/16)

CIS receives praise and support from Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education at the OECD.

“In a world where the kinds of things that are easy to teach have also become easy to digitise and automate, it is important to look outward and enable students to think and work across the boundaries of disciplinary contexts. Schools also now need to prepare students to live and work in a world in which most people need to collaborate with people of diverse cultural origins, and appreciate different ideas, perspectives and values. Chester International School seeks to enable students to think for themselves and act for others, to educate the next generation who will create jobs, not just seek them, and to prepare students to confront the unexpected with intelligence and compassion.”

Andreas Schleicher, is the OECD’s Director for Education and Skills, and leads the PISA tests which are a global metric which reveal the world’s best education systems.  Last week, it placed the UK 27th in Maths, 22nd in Reading and 15th in Science.  Schleicher, described the UK's results as "flat in a changing world". At Chester International School, we are not looking to recreate and improve on the current school model but rather we are creating a new model of school which prepares our students for this changing world. 

Schleicher has identified the key strengths of Chester International School and praises how we intend to develop our curriculum in order to embed employability, professional and personal skills in all we do. We are not afraid to break down the traditional walls of school subjects to allow our students to develop transferable skills and be project based problem solvers. We know we need to create a school which reflects Chester, reflects the UK and reflects the world. Therefore, we will embed a diverse curriculum with opportunities for collaboration across time zones for students alongside many opportunities for global experiences and work placements. 

Ensuring our students have values and a sense of social responsibility to be global citizens is a vital component of our school culture. PISA is also forward-looking and collaborative problem solving, inter-cultural sensitivity, creativity, entrepreneurship and ethical thinking are all under consideration for future global education comparisons. This mirrors the key elements of life at Chester International School.

We are thrilled that the Director of Education from the OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) which was founded in 1960 to stimulate economic progress and world trade recognizes the aims of CIS to bridge the gap, and sometimes the gulf, that divides schools and the workplace. We are not a Business School as some have categorized us, but by allowing our students to crack the code of the workplace through their studies, placements, activities and service learning, we are preparing them for prosperous careers and lives filled with global opportunities. 

Independent Minds. Global Citizens.