At the Secondary level, students study 8 core academic subjects. Our curriculum draws on aspects of the British, North American and Caribbean curricula. As a very Internationally minded school, our curriculum and standards reflect this focus and students who study here are well equipped to transfer anywhere else in the world. Students are placed in Grades with a Homeroom teacher and each subject is taught by a specialist subject tutor. Throughout all subjects we encourage independent thought, problem solving and collaboration to prepare students for the future.
The Secondary curriculum, for ages 11 to 16, prepares students for the 2 year Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and if they chose to stay on past Grade 11, for the 2 year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
From grades 7-9, students study: English, Maths, Spanish, Art, IT, Science, PE, Social Studies / Humanities, Music and PSHE. As well as in-depth subject knowledge, students are taught to research topics independently, work collaboratively in groups and present their work to others. Time management and self motivation are also focus areas, to provide students with a strong foundation for advanced learning.
Each week all students receive a personal online breakdown of their grades for each element of each subject including classwork, homework, class participation and the results of any tests. These are summarised in their 4.0 GPA (Grade Point Average) and go towards their Report Cards which are completed each term. All Students take school exams each term which are used to identify areas for development and to help teachers focus on specific areas.
In the Summer term of Grade 9, students choose their CSEC subject options for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate(CSEC) which they complete in grade 11. All students will sit 7 core subjects including English A, English B, Maths, Spanish, IT, PE and Biology. Students will choose 2 additional options subjects from a choice of 4 courses in 2 blocks: Chemistry, Physics, Principles of Business and an art based subject. In Grades 10 and 11 a bespoke international course is featured on the transcript covering Geopolitical history and the politics of the 20th Century.
We are a school leader in the region with pass rates of consistently over 95% and most students at IA graduate with 9 CSECs.
Please see below for each grade’s curriculum overview.
CSEC course outlines, sample exams, mark schemes and assessment criteria can be found on the CXC website here.
The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC Exams) is the regional examining body that provides internationally recognised secondary school leaving examinations which students generally sit in grade 11. They are similar to the British GCSE or IGCSE. CXCs are predominantly 2 year courses and some subjects have a School Based Assessment (SBA) element to them. This can often mean 20-30% of the overall grade for the subject comes from class work that is assessed by the teacher and submitted to CXC for external moderation and validation. To find out more about the CXC, click here.
Island Academy strongly encourages students, especially those wishing to go on to university studies in the United States, to take the SATs/ACTs in Grade 12 year and to repeat this practice test in Term 1 in Grade 13. To find out more about test dates for international students, please consult here.