Curriculum

One of the multiple meanings of the term “curriculum” refers to “road/route”. The essence of the Avenor College curricular and co-curricular route consists of reconfiguring the National Romanian Curriculum by focusing education on the student. Adaptation of teaching to individual learning needs involves the use of complementary educational strategies along with varied and interactive teaching materials.

Thus, education at Avenor College is founded on a skill-based curriculum, where teaching and assessment by means of project based learning (PBL) create real opportunities of progress through a series of direct and indirect learning experiences in formal or informal contexts.

Nursery Primary School Middle School High School

IGCSE – International General Certificate of Secondary Education

The IGCSE level covers the first two years of high school – Grades 9 and 10 in the Romanian system / years 10 and 11 of KS4 in the British system. IGCSE is a two-year course with 8 official examinations held at the end of the cycle*.

The subjects offered in the 9th and 10th grades at Avenor High School can be found in the IGCSE Booklet, which can be accessed here.

Advanced AS/A2

The Advanced Level Examination has two parts: AS and A2. The Advanced level covers the final two years of high school – Grades 11 and 12 in the Romanian system/ Years 12 and 13 of KS5 in the British system – and prepares students for University entrance.

Students will study 3 or 4 subjects at AS and 3 subjects at A2 level. The choice of subjects studied should be closely linked to future university study plans. There are examinations* at the end of each year of study, and AS must be achieved in order to progress to the full A Level.

The subjects offered in the 11th and 12th grades at Avenor High School can be found in the A Level Booklet, which can be accessed here.

*IGCSE and A level examinations are scheduled for May/June and/or October/November and are prepared by Cambridge International Examinations. The completed papers are then returned to Cambridge where they are marked by specialist examiners. The results are announced officially in mid-August each year.

All class teachers contribute to an observation record for each child in their group. These observations help to track a child’s progress. We believe observations are more valuable in child-led, rather than in adult-led, activities. We closely observe a child’s current interests rather than basing our conclusions on topics chosen by adults in which a child is not fully expressing his/her own will. Regarding assessment, we feel that the most critical time is during the settling-in period and we focus on how the child responds to routines and transitions, such as at snack time, lunchtime or going to the toilet.

A progress report/assessment record is completed twice a year (end of January and end of June). This is shared with parents after the term assessment process is completed. This process includes also an individual parents and class teachers meeting, to discuss the progress made by the child during the term.

As Assessment for Learning is a continuous process, the report will also focus on individualised ‘next steps’ to support learning and development.

In middle school, teaching methods and principles specific to international education are applied, adapting resources, content, and assessment techniques to meet students’ individual learning needs according to the curriculum and international educational materials.

The British education system’s approach to learning enhances students’ ability to communicate clearly and confidently, fostering critical and creative thinking, as well as the capacity to use information from different sources and media in practical, real-world situations.

Drama and PSHE (personal, social and health education) classes are examples of the special attention given to the value of individual potential, beyond that of age.

Self-study hours in the classroom and at home function as an intellectual discipline designed to reveal various skills, such as the habit of studying, of collecting information, of deepening the understanding of material studied in the classroom, but also to stimulate initiative, independence and responsibility of students.

The cross-curricular approach requires the overcoming of certain borders and the elimination of rigid frames, in order to explain the phenomena in a deeper way; thus achieving a coordination of various points of view, instead of the predominance of one of them.

Regular individual consultations with parents as well as Feedback Days and Open Days events aim at strengthening the constructive communication channel about the educational pathway of the students.

In primary classes, the requirements of the Romanian National Curriculum – standards, reference objectives and competences -, as well as learning contents and evaluation forms are followed. Equally, teachers are prepared to use teaching methods and teaching principles specific to international education to tailor the resources, contents and methods of teaching / assessment to the individual learning needs of students according to Cambridge’s curriculum and educational resources.

Drama, Science, Art and PSHE (personal, social and health education) classes are examples of the special attention given to the value of individual potential, beyond that of age.

The cross-curricular approach requires the overcoming of certain borders and the elimination of rigid frames, in order to explain the phenomena in a deeper way; thus achieving a coordination of various points of view, instead of the predominance of one of them.

Regular individual consultations with parents, biannual Morning Coffee meetings as well as Feedback Days and Open Days events aim at strengthening the constructive communication channel about the educational pathway of the students.

The activities are initiated either by teachers or children, involving people, objects, ideas, experiences and situations that engage and motivate them for sustained periods of time.

We believe in creativity and stimulate it through all the areas of development. At Avenor, our care, affection and trust encourage all children to take risks and experiment. We learn from mistakes, assume responsibilities and try again tomorrow with a smile on our face. We turn everything into play and re-enact reality at a small scale in our role-play areas. Every month we change themes and resources to enable children to turn into doctors, firefighters, rocket scientists, farmers, Eskimos or proud protectors of the environment, learning how to handle tools used by adults.

We apply the characteristics of effective learning inspired by the philosophy of British education:

Playing and exploring – we motivate children to investigate and experience things, and to ‘have a go’;
Active learning – we encourage children to concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
Creating and thinking critically – we empower children to have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies to enhance their own learning.

After some time spent at Avenor, a marked improvement in your child’s intellectual progression should be noticed in areas such as:

Prime Areas of Learning: Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Physical Development; Communication and Language.
Specific Areas of Learning:Literacy; Mathematics; Understanding the World; Expressive Arts and Design.

Assesment

Out teachers will use a variety of methods to assess each student’s progress: reports, essays, quizzes, sample exam papers, individual and group presentations, and a wide range of tasks depending on the requirements of a particular subject.

Nursery Primary School Middle School High School

All class teachers contribute to an observation record for each child in their group. These observations help to track a child’s progress.

A progress report/assessment record is completed twice a year (end of January and end of June). This process includes also an individual parents and class teachers meeting, to discuss the progress made by the child during the term.

As Assessment for Learning is a continuous process, the report will also focus on individualised ‘next steps’ to support learning and development.

At Avenor College, we use different grading systems for each key stage: For high school (grades 9 – 12), teachers respect the Cambridge system grading scale using letters from A to G. A failed exam is marked with the letter ”U” (Ungraded)

Grades A*-G for IGCSE in Grade 9 and 10

Grades A-E for AS in Grade 11

Grades A*-E for A2 in Grade 12

We also monitor student progress through interim and summative reports using the following indicators:

Effort

Progress

Attainment

Target Grade

The effort made in class is monitored by a qualitative assessment:

The Exceeding expectations value indicates that the student is involved and motivated in class and has an exemplary positive attitude towards learning all the time.

The Meeting expectations value indicates that the student is motivated and interested enough to progress, but can do better.

The Below expectations value indicates that sometimes the student shows lack of involvement and motivation towards learning.

The Not applicable indicates a constant lack of interest, involvement and focus during lessons.

Progress shows whether the teacher believes the student is “on the right track” to achieve the learning goals and the desired outcome.

Attainment is the official grade and represents the level at which the student is currently working. It is a “snapshot” of the overall school performance and reflects the test results, homework, projects, etc. that the student has achieved during the learning and evaluation period so far.

Target Grade is an indicator of the average grade targeted for the end of the school year; this is the goal the teacher has set based on previous results.

Students’ assessment will be uploaded to the online Engage platform – Avenor College’s information management system. Students will receive interim reports and a final annual report, which aims to evaluate and monitor their progress. Parents are also informed about their children’s progress via scheduled meetings with teachers, either individually or during the Feedback Days event. At the end of the two years of the IGCSE study, respectively at the end of Grade 11 and Grade 12, for the Advanced Level (A level) course, students sit the official examinations. IGCSE and A level examinations are scheduled for May/June and/or October/November and are prepared by Cambridge International Examinations. The completed papers are then returned to Cambridge where they are marked by specialist examiners. The results are announced officially in mid-August each year.

At the end of the two years of the IGCSE study, respectively at the end of Grade 11 and Grade 12, for the Advanced Level (A level) course, students sit the official examinations.

IGCSE and A level examinations are scheduled for May/June and/or October/November and are prepared by Cambridge International Examinations. The completed papers are then returned to Cambridge where they are marked by specialist examiners. The results are announced officially in mid-August each year.

Assessment is an integrated part of the teaching and learning process. At Avenor College, assessment is connected to the curriculum and to the world beyond school in order to allow students to demonstrate conceptual (what they understand), competency (what they can do) and character (what they feel) learning in a variety of ways.

Assessment aims at:

Decreasing the judgement value and increasing the constructive value of the obtained performance;

Setting the outcome based on a clear set of criteria of which the students are aware of before assessment;

Completing the quantitative measure with qualitative appreciation (for instance, descriptive comments);

Focusing on progress, starting with identifying strengths, things to improve and adjusting to learning needs;

Completing the formal assessment with alternative assessment methods;

Highlighting the effects of learning.

At Avenor College, we use different grading systems for each key stage:

Preparatory grade A school-based 4-point scale/ criteria-based assessment: always, usually, sometimes, rarely

Primary school (grades 1 – 4): The national 4-point scale: Very good (FB), Good (B), Satisfactory (S) and Unsatisfactory (U)

We also monitor student progress through interim and summative reports using the following indicators:

Effort
Progress
Attainment
Target Grade

The effort made in class is monitored by a qualitative assessment:

The Exceeding expectations value indicates that the student is involved and motivated in class and has an exemplary positive attitude towards learning all the time.

The Meeting expectations value indicates that the student is motivated and interested enough to progress, but can do better.

The Below expectations value indicates that sometimes the student shows lack of involvement and motivation towards learning.

The Not applicable indicates a constant lack of interest, involvement and focus during lessons.

Progress shows whether the teacher believes the student is “on the right track” to achieve the learning goals and the desired outcome.

Target Grade is an indicator of the average grade targeted for the end of the school year; this is the goal the teacher has set based on previous results.

Informing parents about the progress of their children is an essential part of the family / school partnership and plays a vital role in raising the level of student achievement. Reporting to parents is carefully planned so that parents can interact with teachers each term.

Reporting to parents takes the following forms:

Interim assessment data and summative reports made available in the Engage Platform (Avenor College’s information management system)
Parent-teacher Meetings (Feedback Days, individual meetings)

Assessment is an integrated part of the teaching and learning process.

Assessment aims at:

Decreasing the judgement value and increasing the constructive value of the obtained performance;

Setting the outcome based on a clear set of criteria of which the students are aware of before assessment;

Completing the quantitative measure with qualitative appreciation (for instance, descriptive comments);

Focusing on progress, starting with identifying strengths, things to improve and adjusting to learning needs;

Completing the formal assessment with alternative assessment methods;

Highlighting the effects of learning.

At Avenor College, we use different grading systems for each key stage:

Middle school (grades 5 – 8) : The national grading scale using numbers from 1 to 10

High school (grades 9 – 12) The Cambridge system grading scale using letters from A to U Grades A*-U in 9, 10 Grades A-E in AS, Grades A*-E in A2

We also monitor student progress through interim and summative reports using the following indicators:

Effort
Progress
Attainment
Target Grade

The effort made in class is monitored by a qualitative assessment:

The Exceeding expectations value indicates that the student is involved and motivated in class and has an exemplary positive attitude towards learning all the time.

The Meeting expectations value indicates that the student is motivated and interested enough to progress, but can do better.

The Below expectations value indicates that sometimes the student shows lack of involvement and motivation towards learning.

The Not applicable indicates a constant lack of interest, involvement and focus during lessons.

Progress shows whether the teacher believes the student is “on the right track” to achieve the learning goals and the desired outcome.

Target Grade is an indicator of the average grade targeted for the end of the school year; this is the goal the teacher has set based on previous results.

Reporting to parents takes the following forms:

Interim assessment data and summative reports made available in the Engage Platform (Avenor College’s information management system)
Parent-teacher Meetings (Feedback Days, individual meetings)