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No school is an island…but St Luke’s Academy, Barbados, is striking out on its own. Starting from this September, St Luke’s Academy will be the first school in Barbados to follow our International Curriculum, implementing the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) for children moving up from its Montessori pre-school. We caught up with the leaders of St Luke’s Academy about the IPC, the Montessori method and joining an international education community.
Tell us about your school’s story
We were founded fifteen years ago by Angelique Edwards as Casa Dei Bambini, a Montessori school for 3-6 year olds. After seven years working at local schools, Angelique felt that the traditional system – which aims to funnel children towards the national Secondary School Entrance Examination – was too restrictive, without any freedom for movement or exploration. While setting up Casa Dei Bambini, she wanted to ensure that the curriculum was balancing academics with enrichment, so she opted for the Montessori method, which allows children to follow their passions. In 2016, Angelique expanded Casa Dei Bambini into St Luke’s Academy – an elementary school for children up to 11 years old following the syllabus set by Barbados’ Ministry of Education.
Why did you choose to implement the IPC?
We use the Montessori method of learning for children aged three to six years old, then move them into a more traditional classroom setting. We wanted a way to continue the creative, play-based approach beyond our Montessori pre-school classrooms alongside meeting Barbados’ curriculum requirements. Because the IPC is locally adaptable, it enables us to give children a smooth transition into more traditional learning, while retaining the independent learning skills they’ve learned in Montessori. People often forget that children need to learn how to learn – by moving to a new teaching method, they’ll be able to learn new skills and ways of working, but by choosing a play-based curriculum we can help them build adaptability while remaining curious and creative.
How are you preparing your staff for the change?
At first, our staff were a little nervous when they heard we were implementing a new curriculum, but they were reassured by the ICA’s supportive onboarding process and the professional development opportunities beyond that. Now, our teachers are excited about it; they’re looking forward to implementing a curriculum where they won’t be bogged down working exclusively towards exams, and their pupils will be excited to come to school and learn things from a new perspective.
How does it feel to be the first ICA school in Barbados?
The IPC is perfect for Barbados because it does a really good job of adapting to local cultures while teaching children what it means to be a citizen of the wider world. We’re really pleased to be able to offer that worldly understanding to help prepare our students for the world beyond the school gates.
We are extremely proud to be the first school in Barbados to subscribe to the ICA. It places us at the forefront of developments in education. The Ministry of Education is currently undertaking a significant overhaul of its programmes and exploring a redesign of the curriculum within government schools. As a private school, we are aligning in this direction – the IPC is an excellent fit and ensures we remain well positioned for these evolving changes. It also naturally follows on from and plays to the strengths of our Montessori program as students continue on in our elementary program.
