Your Ultimate Guide To Barbados

History of The Codrington High School

Set on a hill overlooking Conset Bay, in the eastern, rural parish of St. John, amidst rolling fields and agricultural orientation, with a splendid vista of the Atlantic coast, is a set of buildings that, at first sight, standing in the shadow of the Anglican Church of the Holy Cross, appear the product of an age gone by, timelessly elegant in their renovated form. 

And, indeed, they are, for these lovely buildings house one of the more special schools in Barbados. They are the buildings of The Codrington School, which, with its global perspective and international dimension, offers a very special education both to Barbadians and to internationally mobile expatriate children who, for a few brief years, make Barbados their home.

Codrington began as a boarding school for girls back in 1917 and there are still many old girls, both from Barbados and all over the world, who have splendid memories of days of yore. Indeed, grown Codrington girls often dissolve into fits of laughter as they remember both the pomp and the pranks of the boarding school of yesteryear.

Sadly, in the eighties, the old Codrington closed its doors and it might have seemed that never again would the sound of ringing laughter from children at play be heard within the ancient walls. But, fortunately, there were people around who shared the Codrington Vision and who were determined to see the school alive again. Two swift metamorphoses followed before, in 2002, the new Codrington opened its doors, this time to both boys and girls, offering a curriculum based on the highest standards of Barbadian and international educational research and best practice, under the auspices of the International Baccalaureate (IB).

The pioneers of 2002 were led by the vision and determination of one woman, Sylvia Johnson, who is recognized by the Codrington community as the founder of the new Codrington. Sylvia had been a teacher at Codrington in the 1970s and shared that love for the place which seems to affect all who are privileged to see the school in all its loveliness, set as it is in three acres of wooded grounds, which include gardens and shady mahogany trees that are more than a century old. By her efforts, and those of a group of like-minded people, who shared both the nostalgia for years gone by and the belief that the school could rise again, the doors opened in September 2002 to a small group of children. Today, The Codrington School, staffed by educators with internationally-recognized qualifications and a deep love for children, offers an internationally authorized programme for primary school and secondary school children which is second to none and which offers students the opportunity of studying to the highest levels of national and international excellence. The personnel at Codrington are proud of the school and always ready to show it off to visitors. Appointments to view may be arranged through the school's admissions office.

Progressive Education With an International View

The Codrington School in Barbados is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School which is authorized to offer the IBs Primary Years Programme (PYP), for children generally aged three through eleven, and the IBs Diploma Programme (DP), for young people generally aged 16 through 18. It is also implementing the IBs Middle Years Programme for students generally aged between 11 and 16.

The school currently has learners from 24 different nationalities. Its well-qualified teachers come from 13 different countries. It is an international school whose philosophy and practices model and reflect those of the IB. Superior teaching enables the school to offer a liberal, progressive IB education, based on solid research and best practice, often using content drawn from the Barbados National Curriculum.

Pastoral Care

The Codrington School attaches great importance to the well-being of its students and their pastoral care, in which home room teachers in the primary school and form room teachers in the middle and upper schools, the heads of school, all teachers and other employees of the school, as well as all members the Codrington community, play a part. 

Pastoral care at the school is underpinned by three major principles:

The positive ethos of the school, the high expectations of all members of faculty and staff, the class and form community, a programme of assemblies, health and social education lessons and enrichment activities all contribute to this and help encourage a sense of community and belonging. 

Each student is seen as an important member of a close-knit family and it is expected that older students look to the welfare of younger children within the school community, providing a positive role-model as well as assisting and helping them in their daily school routine.

The Curriculum

The school is following the curricular framework of the Diploma Programme (DP). The DP hexagon of subjects is implemented and is taught with particular attention to the holistic nature of the programme, the notion of intercultural awareness and the importance of communication skills.

The Middle Years Programme (Girls & Boys - Ages 11-16)

The Middle Years programme (MYP)  at The Codrington School in Barbados comprises a wide range of curricular and extra curricular subjects and disciplines based on the content of the Barbados National Curriculum and adapting the International Baccalaureate Organization's philosophy of teaching and learning.

The school offers Middle School courses in years MYP one through MYP five (approximately equivalent to US grades six through ten / UK years seven through eleven). 

The school's philosophy of providing a holistic education in the Primary School is continued in the Middle School, as we believe that all children should be proper citizens and be socially and culturally respectful.

The class size of a maximum of 15 students per class is usually implemented school wide.

Diploma Years Programme (Girls & Boys - Ages 16-18)

The upper secondary school programme consists of a range of curricular and extra curricular subjects prescribed by the International Baccalaureate's diploma level. This comprises a continous two years course leading to international university entrance qualifications, called the IB Diploma Programme (DP).

As from September 2010, the school is offering upper secondary school courses in DP one through DP two (approximately equivalent to US grades eleven and twelve/ UK years twelve and thirteen.) The programme will culminate in the International Baccalaureate's Diploma for university entrance, with the school's first examination class being presented in 2012.

The school's philosophy of providing a holistic education in the Primary and Middle Schools is continued at Diploma level in a course which encourages international-mindedness, a positive attitude to learning and the development of the whole student, physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically. In addition, a rigorous external assessment with published global standards leads to qualifications recognized by universities worldwide.

The class size of a maximum of 15 students per class is generally implemented school wide.

Click here for further information on the Codrington High School in Barbados.

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