Tree of Life International School offers their students a curricula, aligned with Cambridge standards. As certified Cambridge school we prepare students to achieve skills that will assure them success in their exams.
Ana Sofía, Cambridge Exam Officer, shares her view about the importance of this program. “We would like that our students develop curiosity and discover their skills. These exams give them opportunities to grow and the tools to have success in their careers. We are part of a community of school that work towards better curricula thus giving much more value to the content of the projects they work with.”
Andrew Clements, a student from our school, was awarded an ICE Certificate with Distinction, and is aiming to apply at early age to universities with an orientation in Math and Sciences. Andrew´s strong skills are logical thinking and as such, the school supported his outstanding performance to help him develop them at his own fast pace.
Andrew told us about his experience in Tree of Life and the Cambridge program and he said he found lots of support from the school to prepare for the IGCSE exams. “We read the text stuff and we also did some past papers, and we covered all the material.” He got a A+in Computer Science, Spanish as a Foreign Language and Cambridge International Mathematics. Asked about his good results, he told us he doesn´t really have a methodology to study, it just depends on the exam, but he has a strong skill in Math, “My careers plans are that I´m going for either Math or Computer Science so I was happy to get an A star in the IGCSE for International Mathematics and Computer Science,” he said.
At 16 years old, he already has taken several A levels exams and, as we asked him about the level of difficulty, he told us that his challenge was to do them faster.
“I was a bit more rushed on the A levels trying to do them faster, they cover topics that come after the IGCSE, my sense was that I was trying to do them faster”.
According to Angela Jarman, Tree of Life International School Academic Director: “Cambridge exams focus on 21st century skills, challenging students’ to develop further their thinking and communication skills. It also opens the possibility for students to work at their level. With a student like Andrew, it was clear that working through math and sciences, grade by grade, would waste his time. He was ready for more by early Middle School. Having access to the Cambridge curriculum, which allows students to extend their skill-level right through to the level of first year university, means motivated or gifted students have full range to develop in their area of interest”.
Andrew is a successful student, he is a boy that skipped courses and studied most of the time with older students, he is inward oriented and quite reserved. His goals are about to be achieved, he found the flexibility and support from the school to be encouraging and helpful for his career accomplishments.
Text and interview by Alicia Nieva
Photographies by Leandro Natale