OF the over 4000 international British schools in the world only 60 of them are “Outstanding in every aspect” according to official British school inspectors.
These are usually found in places like Madrid, Barcelona or Dubai and parents can expect to pay sometimes over €20,000 a year to get a place in one of these prestigious institutions.
In Tenerife, your child can have the same privileges for about a quarter of the price.
The official inspection report, after a three day long investigation by four professional school inspectors that analysed the quality of education, teaching and assessment, the standards achieved by students, the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, welfare, health and safety of the students and leadership and management of the school – and even had meetings with parents and pupils, have declared Wingate School to be “Outstanding in every category” for the second time running.
This means that from 2022 to 2028 (at least), this school is officially one of the best International British schools in the world.
With nearly all their teachers being native English speakers, and the fact that 65% of their students are international, all the children attending the school are surrounded by a high level of English at all times, ensuring that most leave school with a native level of English and even a British accent.
This is something unprecedented, even in the top British school around the world.
The inspectors concluded that ‘The school succeeds in creating an inclusive community, shaped by British values, where positive relationships underpin a high quality of education and the relentless focus on the welfare, health and safety of young people ensures the optimum conditions for academic success and personal growth.’
Jonathan Green Harris, the owner of the school says, “Of the long list of items that the inspectors say we do well, the one I am most proud of is where they say: extremely positive ethos and culture, underpinned by values of kindness and exemplary behaviour; and the creation of a school community, where young people feel safe and relationships are strong. A lot of schools focus solely on academic achievements, but we want our students to be happy. Happy at school and happy in their future lives, fulfilling their ambitions wherever they lie.”
That is not to say that the academic side is of secondary importance.
Children who are happy, feel valued, and are listened to individually tend to find it easier to achieve academically as well.
Our recent international exams prove this.
Of the 700,000 students who took the international British IGCSE exams all over the world, Wingate students took 12 Best in World and Best in Spain awards.
Best in the World for English and Best in Spain for Spanish (with one student achieving both)!
The representative for the examination board, to whom the exams are shipped off to for marking, said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life! An amazing achievement — that must have been a really special cohort.’
One of the clearest indicator of the quality of a school is the pupil to teacher ratio.
The smaller the number, the more individualised attention each child can get.
This not only helps with their self-esteem, but the personal interaction with the teaching staff and targeted lesson planning ensure that the top students reach their goals and the rest thrive.
Wingate classes are limited to 24 students, and with their 3-level streaming in most subjects, most classes are much smaller.
The current teacher-to-student ratio across the whole school is 13:1.
If you include teaching assistants, this drops down to 11:1.
Wingate children seem happy, you can hear it when you visit.
This is especially true during playtime, where they can be seen playing on the courts or on the green grass underneath the shade of the trees in their beautiful park area.
Happy children become happy, successful adults.
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