Switching from primary to secondary school is stressful for parents and children alike. In primary school, children learn to understand and use basic concepts and successfully communicate with peers and teachers.

However, students can experience a shock in lower secondary school where they are faced with twice as many subjects and complex concepts they are required to grasp. So, it is important for both students and parents to be prepared for this change; to make it as smooth and constructive as possible with a balanced curriculum so as to help students master the content.

Children’s cognitive development in lower secondary school (10–11 years) is such that their potential is still scattered and heterogeneous. Although primary school partially helps students manage this transition, secondary school actually has a dominant influence on children’s capacities due to the higher academic expectations set before students.

By choosing the right secondary school you can give your child the support they need during this stressful period. International School’s Cambridge International Lower Secondary programme provides students with the support, education concept, and dynamic learning environment designed to help them develop and make use of their talents and potential. Thus, they become fully prepared to successfully navigate the modern world.

The programme is intended for students from primary school grade 5 onwards, i.e. Year 6 in the Cambridge curriculum. Students can enrol in Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, which correspond to grades 6, 7 and 8 in the Serbian programme.

Read on to learn why the time is perfect to enrol your child in the Lower Secondary program.

Children aged 10–12 begin to develop abstract and logical thinking skills, as well as a methodical approach to learning materials. Also, they develop a capacity for deduction, i.e. they become able to implement principles taught by teachers in specific situations.

Hence, it is highly important to introduce children in this age group to teaching methods and syllabuses designed to help students reach their full potential. The Cambridge Lower Secondary interdisciplinary curriculum is based on a cutting-edge approach to core subjects aimed at developing competences necessary in the modern world.

Consequently, students constructively develop their thinking and deduction skills at the earliest stage, thus enhancing their intelligence and abilities.

At a time when students begin to recognise different thinking concepts, properly designed instruction enables them to develop a sense of responsibility, personal initiative, problem solving and teamwork. With its innovative teaching methods, Cambridge International Lower Secondary engages students as early as 6^th grade in real projects and practical thinking, which has a positive impact on their personal and academic development.

Through interdisciplinary science, digital literacy, and language lessons, which are connected with courses such as Global Perspectives, humanities, and physical education, students learn how to use different types of thinking so as to reach their full potential. Every child has a talent for something – your task is to provide them with an education designed to identify and foster those talents.

We know that children don’t accept differences unless taught otherwise. By exposing them to cultural and ethnic diversity in the formative period (age 11), we help children grow into citizens of the world who can easily communicate in different situations and environments.

By introducing the Lower Secondary programme, the International School allows students to interact with peers of different cultural and national backgrounds from an early age. Thus, we create an extremely positive atmosphere and a sense of global community, which is important for the development of social and emotional intelligence in adulthood. In this kind of environment, your child will cherish positive moral and social values, as well as an increased sense of solidarity.

Experts agree that children should start learning foreign languages as early as possible so as to acquire the basics in a natural and spontaneous fashion. This would allow for more complex language acquisition later on.
The International School has, therefore, introduced the Cambridge International Lower Secondary programme in order to enable students from the age of 11 to attend English-medium lessons and efficiently advance their English skills. The programme includes subjects such as First Language English and English as a Second Language, which focus on developing fluency in communication, and critical and creative thinking through analyses and discussions regarding various aspects of language.
Give your child the opportunity to hone their English skills from an early age and have a gateway for the international academic environment.

It is entirely possible to detect great talent and potential at an early age. Allow your child to use their talents and abilities to the fullest.

»Learn more about the Cambridge international Lower Secondary programme