Building skills through discovery

Traditional methods of education are increasingly being found to fall short of what is needed in a global workplace.

Looking to the Future

Employers and universities need schools (and parents) to give children the right skills to thrive in this changing world. And, although we cannot predict the future, the pattern of its evolution highlights the need to meet its challenges with greater creativity and compassion.

Nurturing the Growth of 21st Century Skills

If we focus only on teaching students how to pass exams and remembering huge amounts of information, we do so at the expense of crucial life skills.

Looking to the future, sustainable careers and lifelong employability will require much more than a deep understanding of your subject. People will need to possess flexible, transferable talents such as complex problem-solving, resilience, leadership, tolerance and cross-cultural team working – all skills that need to be developed as a child grows.

Globally Aware

Now more than ever, being globally aware is crucial. Future generations need to be equipped with not only the skills and values to successfully shape their own lives, but also to contribute positively to the lives of others and the planet.

The Academic pages of our website detail how we are cultivating this. Our aim is to run a broad and exciting curriculum both inside and out of the classroom where each individual can grow and flourish. Developing cultural understanding and global engagement are part of the fabric of the School curricula, not just as an add-on. We have therefore created an educational programme for our pupils rich in experiences and opportunities that are essential for the 21st century. To represent this, we have chosen the Ghaf Tree as it is a UAE symbol of resilience, adaptability and life itself.  

The primary branches of our curriculum

 

The Ghaf Tree

The Ghaf Tree starts life as a seed which grows roots in search of water. With children the first thing that we must nurture is confidence. In the first incidence it does not hugely matter where it is found, what is important is that confidence gives the individual the chance to grow, break the surface, branch out and flourish.

Identifying the skills that are needed in the 21st century, agreeing, embedding them and then mapping our extended curriculum is our priority at Cranleigh. Offering a wide range of different opportunities makes it easier to find and maintain the individual’s confidence. Without confidence and the input of the right skills, the leaves wither, growth slows, and the tree struggles to survive.

Setting high expectations, building confidence, providing the right balance of skills, communicating, supporting and reflecting, help the modern generation of Cranleighans adapt in a way that their predecessors have done for the past 150 years of the School’s history.