Pre Prep

‘When I read great literature, great drama, speeches, or sermons, I feel that the human mind has not achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings and thoughts through language.’
James Earl Jones

At Harrow Bangkok, our aim is to ensure high standards of language and literacy by equipping students with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. Our English Curriculum is rigorous with a clear progression in teaching the basic skills such as phonics, spelling, grammar and punctuation. These expectations are woven throughout all aspects and subjects within the wider curriculum to ensure students are able to apply their skills and knowledge effectively.

‘Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.’ 
Albert Einstien 

The Harrow Bangkok Maths curriculum ensures our students develop as confident, strategic mathematicians. The skills of mathematics are vital for life opportunities and therefore we ensure our Maths Mastery curriculum has been developed to ensure every child can achieve excellence in mathematics. We teach students to build resilience whilst problem solving; determination whilst calculating complex maths concepts and a sense of achievement as they build upon their maths skills and create depth in their understanding. We have a huge focus on mathematical language and ensuring our students can discuss their understanding with others. Most importantly, we promote a love of mathematics and a real passion for the subject by ensuring our students know that maths is everywhere and how it relates to them at Harrow Bangkok and beyond.

“Progress is made by trial and failure; the failures are generally a hundred times more numerous than the successes, yet they are usually left unchronicled.”
William Ramsay

The Harrow Bangkok Science Curriculum provides the foundations for students to understand the world through their study of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. We aim to develop scientific skills, promote scientific knowledge and encourage an enquiring mind in all our students. We believe that science is vital to the world’s future prosperity and so we provide an exciting range and depth of experiences and ensure that there is a progression of scientific skills as students move through Pre Prep. Through their studies, students are encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave and analyse causes.

‘A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots’.
Marcus Garvey

The History curriculum at Harrow Bangkok guarantees that our students foster an appreciation for how the past has an impact on the world at present and encourages an inquisitive mindset. Through historical inquiry we are able to transform the way in which students view the world around them. We aim for our students to have a deep understanding about how the developments and successes of the past have impacted their lives today. Through carefully chosen Units of Study, students will gain an appreciation for the history of their country of residence as well as the wider world. 

‘You can travel the seas, poles and deserts and see nothing. To really understand the world, you need to get under the skin of the people and places.’
Michael Palin

Our Geography Curriculum aims to inspire in our young Harrovians a curiosity and fascination about the world that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Students learn about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments. As students progress, they begin to consider our mutual dependence, and the need to conserve and protect our resources. Teachers focus first upon the immediate environment of school and home and then expand to draw comparisons between our environment and contrasting environments in Britain, Thailand and the wider world. Sources of information such as maps, aerial photographs, books, and the internet are used to develop the skills of interpretation and enquiry.

‘Every human is an artist.’
Don Miguel Ruiz

The Harrow Bangkok Art curriculum ensures our students develop a strong sense of curiosity and promotes risk-taking with their creativity. Our students gain the understanding of creating art which holds value, emotion, meaning and significance to them and we provide students the opportunity to build upon their skills and deepen their understanding of important artists, movements and styles. We aim for students to feel confident in expressing their creativity and equip them with the skills, knowledge and vocabulary to articulate their critiques on the work of others.

By the end of Lower School, students will have developed a deep understanding of technical skills using a range of mediums including but not limited to sculpture, painting and drawing. Our students will be able to name a range of different artists and movements which have influenced art today. Students will have interacted with a range of art and will have experience of art beyond the walls of Harrow Bangkok.

‘Good buildings come from good people, and all problems are solved by good design.’
Stephen Gardiner

DT prepares our future leaders to take part in the development of a rapidly changing world. Our DT Curriculum requires our students to use their creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. In Design and Technology, pupils talk about how things work and draw and model their ideas. Students learn to use tools and techniques for making products, and how to evaluate and improve their work.

PSHCE aims to provide students with the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values they need to lead confident, healthy, and independent lives. It helps them to understand how they are developing personally and socially and addresses some of the issues that are part of growing up. Through PSHCE, we teach students about how to have successful relationships with friends and family and how to look after themselves, for example through healthy eating, physical and mental health, SRE, and drug education. PSHCE is taught in various ways including explicit lessons within the classroom, embedded in units of study, circle time, and Pre Prep assemblies. Embedded in this curriculum are the statutory Relationships/Physical Health and Wellbeing objectives. 

In Pre Prep, this curriculum is supported by the Resilience Project Curriculum which is taught discreetly during timetabled Wellbeing lessons. This curriculum centers on Empathy, Gratitude, Mindfulness, and Emotional Literacy and teaches children the importance of these four character traits in developing positive mental health. It provides students with clear positive mental health strategies to help build resilience in order to flourish.  We also learn about and participate in Buddhist festivals such as Loy Krathong and Songkran as well as celebrating Diversity week, Anti-bullying week and E-safety week. The Harrow Value of Fellowship is also developed through the support of numerous local charities in our Christmas and Songkran charity events. 

‘If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday, we rob them of tomorrow.’
John Dewey

The Harrow Bangkok Computing curriculum ensures that our students develop life-long skills for learning in the 21st century workplace. The curriculum consists of three key elements: Computer Science (CS), Information Technology (IT) and Digital Literacy (DL). A core element of Computing is computer science. The curriculum has been carefully crafted and ensures our students understand the principles of computation; how digital systems work; and how to apply skills through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, students are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a wide range of multimedia content. Computing as a discipline also ensures that students become digitally literate, enabling them to express themselves and develop ideas through the effective use of information and communication technologies. Our teachers work with our Computing lead to embed digital literacy in all subject areas so students are equipped to develop their skills in all areas of the curriculum.

'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart'.
Nelson Mandela.

Thai Language and culture play an essential part in Lower School curriculum at Harrow Bangkok. The school deeply values and respects the identity of our host country culture and the development of Mother Tongue language and we believe it is crucial for maintaining cultural identity and developing their Thai language ability in four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. At Harrow, we believe students need to be critical and logical thinkers; respect and be aware of Thai cultural background; and be able to use Thai language proficiently to express themselves confidently and appropriately in Thai society.

Quote by King Bhumibol (Rama IX)
The Thai language is our national tool. Language is a tool for human beings.
It represents the way of thinking of people. It is exquisite, such as in literature.
Thereupon, we shall maintain our OWN Thai language. 

“ภาษาไทยนั้นเป็นเครื่องมืออย่างหนึ่งของชาติ ภาษาทั้งหลายเป็นเครื่องมือของมนุษย์ชนิดหนึ่ง คือเป็นทางสำหรับแสดงความคิดเห็นอย่างหนึ่ง เป็นสิ่งที่สวยงามอย่างหนึ่ง เช่นในทางวรรณคดี เป็นต้น ฉะนั้นจึงจำเป็นต้องรักษาไว้ให้ดี”

พระราชดำรัสในการประชุมทางวิชาการของชุมนุมภาษาไทย

คณะอักษรศาสตร์ จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย ๒๙ กรกฎาคม

'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart'.
Nelson Mandela.

As an international school, we believe it is important that our students learn foreign languages as an opening to other cultures. In both Mandarin and TFL (Thai as a Foreign Language) our curriculum starts students on their journey to be able to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond in the corresponding language both in speech and in writing. In Mandarin and Thai, our teachers provide opportunities for students to communicate for practical purposes and begin to read literature in the original language. Students also learn songs and activities connected to special festivals throughout the year. Our Mandarin Curriculum gives our students an introduction to this language, paving the way for later study in the Prep phase. Through Thai Studies lessons, students also learn to express appreciation and show respect for the unique culture and ways of life in Thailand.

“Music has a power of forming the character and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young.”  
Aristotle.

At Harrow Bangkok Pre Prep, our Music Curriculum inspires our students to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians. Students participate in a range of musical activities, which include singing, composing, listening and performing. As they progress higher up the Pre Prep phase, all students participate in our instrumental programme ensuring that every child learns to play various instruments and specialise in at least one. There are opportunities for students to join music clubs, choirs and orchestras and our music performances are legendary. In addition to the regular curriculum, Pre Prep parents can also choose to pay for one-to-one tuition in an instrument of their child’s choice.
 

‘Sana mens in corpore sano’ (a healthy mind in a healthy body)
Juvenal
 
At Harrow Bangkok  we strongly believe that all children should have access to a thoroughly planned, progressive Physical Education (P.E.) programme, which places a real emphasis on developing a wide range of physical competencies, while encouraging healthy competition and teamwork. Throughout their time at Harrow Bangkok, our teachers strive to equip all children with the necessary skills, knowledge and range of physical experiences to motivate them to lead lifelong active, healthy lifestyles in which they continue their participation in physical activity and sport. Through our curriculum students develop their physical skills, analytical and creative thinking, and consider the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle. Our highly qualified teaching staff and state-of-the-art facilities provide the optimum environment to nurture athletic talent.