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FAQ
Q.1 Why is year 10 in the English curriculum aligned with Grade 8 in the Somaliland curriculum
A1. When analysing the content overlap across both curriculums, it was established that the completion of the year 10 UK curriculum will ensure students have a significant advantage in maths, science, English and social studies, this advantage is balanced by the natural disadvantage our cohort of students enter school with in Arabic and Somali medium subjects; which are notably key contributors to the Grade 8 Somaliland examinations. Our unique alignment reduces the pressure of multiple international and national exams, whilst still maintaining academic excellence on both fronts.
Q2. Can my child not focus on the Somaliland and the English grade/year 8 curriculum simultaneously?
A2. We have a large ‘extra-curricular’ English based curriculum we teach alongside the Somaliland curriculum. Due to curricular differences, there are not enough hours in the day to teach both the Grade 8 Somaliland curriculum, whilst simultaneously teaching Year 8 in the UK curriculum. As this would create unnecessary pressure on students and compromise academic attainment of national examinations. We have therefore aligned the curriculums so that a student who wishes to take the Somaliland Grade 8 examination will do seamlessly in our chosen alignment.
My child has already completed grade 8 but needs to do their GCSEs, how will this alignment work?
If a student has completed the Somaliland grade 8 exam in a previous school (this could be in Somaliland or internationally- evidence needs to be provided), they are not required to repeat grade 8 in Somaliland.
My child arrived to Somaliland this year, can they be entered for the Somaliland Grade 8 exams?
Similar to the GCSE exam, Somaliland’s Grade 8 exam content relies heavily on more than one year’s content. It is for this reason that students are not accepted for the Somaliland grade 8 exams at BIC, unless they have completed grade 7 in Somaliland; an additional entry test may be taken to verify their Arabic, Islamic and social studies levels. For parents who would like their child to only focus on the Grade 8 Somaliland examinations, we feel our school is not best fit to meet that need. Please explore other local options that are better fit to meet your child’s needs.
How will my child be assessed?
Somaliland has a two semester school year, whereas our UK curriculum is composed of three terms, each term containing a half term. For the national curriculum (Somaliland) subjects, assessments are required twice yearly (this may be increased at the schools discretion, in particularly for our target subjects). Somaliland curriculum assessments are usually conducted in December and June. Our acadmic year ends in July, students not completing the academic year can request a mid-term transfer, but will not be given a ‘completion of the year certificate’ or any confirmation to that effect unless both the academic year was completed and all fees were paid in full- please refer to the fee structure.