As a reflection of our truly international student body, it is natural that children joining the school have a wide range of ability in their English language skills.
The BSN has a dedicated English as an Additional Language (EAL) department within each site, specialising in providing individual help, support and tuition, tailored to the age and needs of each child. The extent of the EAL support provided varies as students are withdrawn from class and tutored in small groups or individually for significant proportions of the day.
These programmes are designed to ensure that, wherever possible, children remain involved with the day to day activities of their class. They may initially be withdrawn from class and tutored in small groups, but as their ability and confidence increases, the programmes are modified to allow in-class support from specialist teachers and then reduced to allow eventual integration into the full curriculum.
Intensive EAL Support (for Senior School students)
In the event of a child joining the Senior School with extremely limited or no English, it may be deemed necessary to provide intensive individual EAL support. This will take the form of a personal Language Support Assistant working on an individual basis with the student.
In the event of such an application, a full EAL assessment will be undertaken prior to a student starting at the BSN as part of the school's admissions process. Following this assessment, parents will be informed of the level of support required. There is a termly fee for this intensive support, which is reviewed at the end of each term as the student's English skills improve.