Lower secondary

Students continue the learning started in primary school to develop skills and understanding in four areas: reading, writing, speaking and listening. The focus at this stage of their education is to help them:

• Communicate with confidence, be able to apply all four skills effectively in everyday situations
• Enjoy reading, engage with a range of texts from different times and cultures for information and for pleasure
• Become writers, using the written word clearly and creatively for different audiences and purposes
  

The subject is divided into three main areas, or ‘strands’, which run through each lower secondary mathematics stage: Number, Geometry and Measure, and Statistics and Probability. 

Teachers help students to find connections between mathematical concepts and children develop a holistic understanding of maths, focusing on principles, patterns, systems, functions and relationships. ‘Thinking and working mathematically’, a unique feature of our curriculum, encourages students to talk with others, challenge ideas and provide evidence to support their views. They must make sense of ideas, and build connections between facts, procedures and concepts. This process supports higher-order thinking, which helps them to view the world in a mathematical way.

Students develop thinking and practical skills alongside knowledge and understanding, all of which are vital for explaining the world around us. Awareness of science in this way helps develop their sense that ‘science is for me’ and connects each child to the subject. This approach gives them the knowledge and skills they need to excel in later stages of their education and to make informed choices around areas such as sustainability and meeting the challenges facing our environment. The curriculum covers six main areas, or ‘strands’, that work together to develop scientific skills holistically:

• Biology: Living things and how they interact
• Chemistry: The study of matter
• Physics: The interaction of matter and energy
• Earth and Space: Planet Earth, the Solar System and beyond
• Thinking and Working Scientifically: Building the knowledge and skills to engage in scientific modelling and representation, enquiry and practical work
• Science in Context: Making sense of science in the Real World
  

Global Perspectives is made up of Challenges. There are six per year and each one is divided into different activities that develop specific skills. These skills are taught through the study of topics that are viewed through a personal, local and global ‘perspective’. 

 Topics are the same as those used in the Cambridge IGCSE syllabus, allowing students to develop cross-curricular skills at an early age and in preparation for the IGCSE course. They look at global issues in different contexts and link these to the Green Shoots Global Citizenship programme. 

 A choice of 24 topics ranges from Conflict and Peace to Fuel and Energy, Biodiversity to Sports and Recreation, Law and Criminality to Globalisation (a full list of topics can be found here).

CELS is a unique Green Shoots subject that prepares children for entry into the Upper Secondary Global Citizenship Certificate programme. It develops their understanding of our local environment and the community we live in through theoretical, practical, and outdoor learning activities. With the Sustainability Compass as a point of reference, students explore school and local sustainability issues, then apply practical skills to create solutions. 

Ecology and agriculture is a core focus, with the development of the school garden, an ongoing project for students. This course prepares them for further studies in environmental management and conservation, as well as an appreciation for our natural world and the practical skills needed to care for it.

Like CELS, the in-house IDEaS course prepares students for the Green Shoots Global Citizenship Certificate programme at Upper Secondary level. This dynamic subject challenges them to apply practical and creative thinking skills to find sustainable solutions for contemporary technological and engineering issues. 

The course borrows from the UK’s Design & Technology curriculum to teach students how to investigate, plan, manufacture and evaluate products and systems. An understanding of function, aesthetics and social issues is developed and a focus on sustainability is embedded in every aspect of this course, helping students make responsible and sustainable choices to solve real-life problems. Practical skills develop through units such as cooking and nutrition, sewing and textiles, and engineering and construction.

Where did we come from? What causes change? Where are we heading? Big History takes on these questions that originate with the dawn of time and gives students a framework to tell the story of humanity’s place in the universe. 

 Big History helps students see the overall picture and make sense of the pieces: it looks at the past from the Big Bang to modernity, seeking out common themes and patterns that can help us better understand people, civilizations, and the world we live in.

Digital literacy is an essential skill that allows us to connect, collaborate, innovate and discover new information on an ever-broadening scale. In Lower Secondary, students develop the skills they need to support their future learning. They will:

• understand their place, and the place of others, in an interconnected world and make educated decisions about the information that they encounter online
• develop knowledge and understanding that will allow them to respond to, and evaluate technology of the future
• develop skills to create increasingly sophisticated documents and presentations
• learn how to become positive contributors to the digital world use digital technology safely and protect their own physical and emotional well-being
  

Health & Physical Education is important for personal health, as well as social development,
and is a compulsory subject for all Green Shoots secondary students. It is an internally
assessed programme, the overall aim of which is to develop an appreciation of maintaining a
healthy physical body and active lifestyle through a wide range of sports and activities.

PSHE is based on the UK National Curriculum programme through which pupils gain the knowledge, understanding, and skills they need to manage their lives. They learn how to live healthy, safe, productive, responsible and balanced lives and how to transition into further education and make career choices. This programme gives students the opportunity to reflect on and clarify their values and attitudes. Three core themes overlap: Health and Well-being, Relationships, and Living in the Wider World (‘Internationalism’).

We offer French and Vietnamese Foreign Language options in Lower Secondary. 

Both are taught as second and mother tongue languages. Upon consultation with the school, the family may choose the language pathway for their child. Students are placed by the school in the appropriately levelled classes for instruction. Families whose child’s mother tongue is French and who wish to have additional French lessons during the week may elect to enrol their child in our French Mother Tongue programme at an additional fee after which students may choose to study French 1st language IGCSE.

Green Shoots also offers English as an Additional Language (EAL) to students who require help to develop their English as a language of instruction.

Our Art and Design programme is centred on the world around us with a focus on local Vietnamese art and design techniques. Students develop the skills to evaluate and analyse art and design and are introduced to practical artistic techniques so that they become proficient with a range of different materials and media. In developing evaluation and analytical skills, they strengthen the visual impact and application of their own creations.

The aim of this course is to develop a love and appreciation of the performing arts - music, drama and dance - across different genres, styles, traditions, and cultures. It combines the study of theory, which gives students context for their learning, with solo and group performances of modern and historical works that provide inspiration and encourage creativity and self-confidence. Secondary students develop an annual performance to showcase the skills they have learned. Their hard work is showcased for the school and the community at their final performance.