Praise for first London primary to go international

Headteacher Update - Summer 1, April 2005

London's first school to use the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) has been praised by the chief Inspector of Schools, David Bell, who singled out the Tower Hamlets school, Sir William Hurrough multicultural primary, in his annual report. Headteacher Avril Newman says: "With IPC, learning is alive and buzzing throughout the school. Children and teachers are engaged, inspired and motivated. They love using it and cheer when a new study subject is announced."

For pupils, it means that an enticing topic such as chocolate integrates the more usual subject categories such as science, geography and history, providing rich learning opportunities within a thematic, brain-friendly and international curriculum. The IPC is in use around the world and is dedicated to helping schools teach creatively, using the latest research into how children learn. The DfES recognises IPC and will contribute towards its cost through the e-credits scheme.

DfES guidance is that primary education should be brain friendly, thematic, innovative, exciting, engaging and capable of robust evaluation. IPC's programme is the only currently available off-the-shelf scheme to deliver all these objectives. It seeks to complement the national literacy and numeracy strategies by providing a structure for integrating the curriculum within an involving, international context.