The ISTCI Middle School delivers a challenging and engaging curriculum that enables all students to discover new skills, develop existing skills, and extend their areas of strength. Core subject areas of English, Maths, and the three Sciences are taught by subject-specific teachers, while the students are also exposed to a broad range of enriching subjects, designed to fully prepare them for IGCSE or equivalent examinations and to help them to mature into responsible, global citizens.
The curriculum is divided into the 3 core subject areas of English, Maths, and Science, with a focus on Technology, as well as Humanities, Spanish and Physical Education.
English
The Middle School English curriculum promotes high standards of language and literacy by equipping students with a strong command of the spoken and written word. We also develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.
The English curriculum aims to ensure that all students:
- Read fluently, with good understanding
- Read widely and often, for pleasure and information
- Acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar, and linguistic conventions for spoken and written language
- Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
- Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
- Are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate
Mr. Courtney Haughton
Maths
The Middle School Maths curriculum provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
The Maths curriculum aims to ensure that all students:
- Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
- Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
- Can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions
Mrs. Keira Prew
Science
The Middle School Science curriculum provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils are taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Pupils are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They are encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.
The Science curriculum aims to ensure that all students:
- Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics
- Develop an understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of scientific enquiries that help them to answer questions about the world around them
- Are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future
Mrs. Mary Jimenez
Technology
The Middle School Technology curriculum has deep links with Maths and Science, and equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Students are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Students are equipped to create programs, systems and a range of content. The Technology curriculum also ensures that the students become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.
The Technology curriculum aims to ensure that all students:
- Can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
- Can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
- Can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
- Are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology
Mrs. Keira Prew
Humanities
The Middle School Humanities curriculum allows the students to develop an understanding and sense of their place in the world. Humanities is split into key areas of History and Geography, as well as Civics. The students explore local and global issues, including cultural awareness and diversity, the environment, and sustainability. The students recognise their heritage, their values and their rights and responsibilities. Humanities further develops the students’ literacy skills through providing frequent opportunities to reason, explain, persuade, and debate.
The Humanities curriculum aims to ensure that all students:
- Develop an understanding of and celebrate different cultures and religions
- Identify and respect different attitudes and values to their own
- Debate solutions to problems and argue their opinions
- Develop an understanding of the environment and sustainable development, and ways of resolving these issues
- Extend their knowledge of different environmental regions around the world
- Understand key processes of human and physical geography
- Understand the methods of historical enquiry, include how evidence is used to substantiate and validate claims
- Analyse first- and second-hand accounts of major modern and pre-modern events
- Gain historical perspective by placing their knowledge into context
- Explore the heritage of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and identify and debate current issues facing our beautiful country
- Understand the structure of the Turks and Caicos government, and compare it with differing governments around the world
Mr. Courtney Haughton
Spanish
The Middle School Spanish curriculum fosters pupils’ curiosity and deepens their understanding of the world. The students are encouraged to express their ideas and thoughts in Spanish and to understand and respond to questions, both in speech and in writing. They are provided with opportunities to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read Spanish literature.
The Spanish curriculum aims to ensure that all students:
- Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
- Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, whilst continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
- Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
Mrs. Mary Jimenez
Physical Education
The Middle School Physical Education curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.
The Physical Education curriculum aims to ensure that all students:
- Develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
- Are physically active for sustained periods of time
- Engage in competitive sports and activities
- Lead healthy, active lives
- Are strong and confident swimmers in both the swimming pool and open water
Mr. Benneth Williams