International Programme

Byron College is founded on the principles of international understanding, equality and respect. Pupils have their roots in over fifty different nations and a fundamental element of every learning experience within the school is of a strong global dimension. Pupils are multilingual, as are many of our teaching staff. We encourage positive engagement in world issues, we celebrate diversity and actively promote critical analysis of and reflection on issues of global significance.

We are committed to providing pupils with opportunities to explore the interdependence of a global society, identity and diversity and to have a true understanding of the rights and shared responsibilities of being an active citizen.

We emphasize critical thinking and communication on a global level within our curriculum focusing on cooperative learning and action related to those responsibilities. Our values and ethos empower pupils within all subject areas to become knowledgeable, confident citizens in an outward looking society and equip them for life and work in a global economy. These aims are achieved through;

• Building and reinforcing all pupils' sense of identity and cultural awareness of the world around them
• Emphasising critical thinking, communication skills, negotiation, diplomacy and conflict resolution.
• Promoting positive values where all pupils see themselves as global citizens able to contribute towards the achievement of a more just and sustainable world
• Giving pupils the opportunity to participate in international conferences, tournaments, competitions and partnerships with the aim of developing positive attitudes and important skills, with an orientation towards life long active participation on an international level
• Promoting the value of foreign languages by demonstrating our own strong belief in the value of all languages and the cultural concept behind them and respecting and actively celebrating the multicultural linguistic traditions and cultures represented by the pupil cohort at Byron College, and in the local and national community
• Engaging in regular dialogue and interaction with a wide range of international school communities and international organisations

International activities that take place in our school:

• We have a whole school PSHRE programme in the curriculum which emphasises tolerance, identity and diversity, living in a wider world and rights and responsibilities.
• The IGCSE Global Perspectives reinforces our pupils’ already highly developed global understanding
• We participate in International Model United Nations conferences both in Greece and abroad which develop our pupils’ awareness and understanding of current issues facing the world from different perspectives. During preparation and participation pupils actively seek solutions to these problems and develop their powers of negotiation and diplomacy in the process. They make friendships and find common bonds with students from all over the world while participating
• We participate in International and National debate tournaments in British Parliamentary and World Style
• We collaborate with organisations, such as UNESCO, to celebrate and promote world days (e.g. World Philosophy day and World Book Day)
• We participate in competitions and tournaments organised by COBIS (Council of British International Schools) of which Byron College is an Accredited School.
• We host international debate tournaments for pupils
• We participate in twinning projects that require collaboration with schools from other countries, such as the Erasmus + programme
• We participate in competitions organized by the British Council
• We participate annually in the Indian Embassy Shankar Art Competition.
• We organize our annual ‘Let’s Celebrate Culture’ event at school which celebrates the multicultural aspect of our school where pupils dress in their national costumes, guest singers and dancers from all over the world entertain us and parents serve food from all the nations represented in our school community
• We invite guest speakers in to the school from International Universities, the European Union, multinational companies and international organisations (NGO’s)
• Our pupils participate in pen pal exchanges with peers from schools in other countries
• We organize educational trips abroad for our pupils most recently to NASA, Florida, USA (Science) and Iceland (Geography field trip)