Overview

This programme follows the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CIE) curriculum — a world-recognised standard trusted by top universities globally.

A — Academic Excellence

OVERVIEW

At TOWIS, Academic Excellence is the first pillar of the ACE Approach, and it means far more than examination results alone. It is about ensuring students excel in all examinations because they develop the learning skills, knowledge, habits, and resilience needed to succeed.

Through high expectations, exceptional teaching, honest assessment, and timely intervention, we aim to ensure every student makes real progress, whatever their starting point. We want our students not only to achieve strong academic outcomes, but also to grow as confident, independent, lifelong learners.

Academic Excellence means students learn how to think critically, solve problems, innovate, collaborate, and apply their learning in meaningful real-world situations. These are the skills that will stay with them long after school and help them succeed in university, careers, and life itself.

The Cambridge International pathway, from EYFS to IGCSE, is the framework through which we deliver Academic Excellence. Cambridge is one of the world’s most respected educational frameworks, used in over 160 countries and leading directly to university entry pathways around the world. It challenges students to think independently, analyse critically, and communicate with precision — skills that matter long after the examinations are over.

THE FOUR KEY QUESTIONS

Everything we do in relation to learning and teaching at TOWIS is driven by four key questions. These are not abstract principles — they shape every lesson plan, every assessment, and every conversation between teachers and parents.

1. What do students learn?

The curriculum at TOWIS is built on the Cambridge International framework, taught alongside the Myanmar national curriculum. From EYFS to IGCSE, students follow a carefully sequenced programme of knowledge, skills, and understanding across all subjects. Curriculum overviews for every year group — from EYFS to Year 11 — are shared with parents at the start of every academic year and updated each quarter via ClassDojo.

2. How do students learn?

Pedagogy is key and at TOWIS, the answer is Quality First Teaching — the TOWIS standard for every lesson, every day:

1. Clear learning objectives so every student knows what they are working towards
2. Active, engaging tasks that challenge every learner, whatever their starting point
3. Regular retrieval practice to strengthen long-term memory and embed learning
4. Differentiated and adaptive support so no student is left behind and no student is unchallenged
5. Oracy — discussion, explanation, and debate as tools for deepening understanding, not merely demonstrating it
6. Feedback that moves learning forward: not just a grade, but a specific next step
7. STEM projects, Global Perspectives, and cross-curricular learning that connects knowledge to real-world contexts

Lessons are 60 minutes long, with 5 lessons per day across a 36-week academic year. Secondary students have double lessons for Science and other subjects where extended investigation is required.

3. How do we know students are learning?

Assessment at TOWIS is ongoing, multi-layered, and always honest:

1. Daily formative assessment — observation, questioning, classwork, and a four-colour marking system (Green: objective met; Orange: misconception — corrective task set; Space Blue: extension challenge; Pink: careless error to correct)
2. Summative end-of-unit tests and term assessments, weighted increasingly towards summative as students move through the school
3. QUEST standardised assessments — five tests (Reading, GPV, Spelling, Arithmetic, Mathematical Reasoning) administered three times per year, providing national comparison data and more importantly progression.
4. Quest cognitive ability tests — administered on entry and periodically, setting personalised targets for every student
5. Cambridge Primary Checkpoint (Year 6) and Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint (Year 9) — international benchmarking
6. IGCSE Mock Examinations — end of Quarter 3 (March) for Year 10 and 11
7. Quarterly Progress Reports — issued four times per year using the A–E grading scale, with Next Steps in Quarters 1 and 3

Our five-band grading scale:

1. A — Space Blue: Well Above Expected Standard — Outstanding
2. B — Sky Blue: Above Expected Standard — High
3. C — Green: Expected Standard — exactly where every student should be
4. D — Amber: Below Expected Standard — support begins, parents contacted immediately
5. E — Red: Well Below Expected Standard — intensive intervention, senior leadership involved

4. What if students are not making progress?

Intervention at TOWIS is early and swift. No child is left to fall behind in silence. Our principle is clear: below Green, it is time to intervene.

1. Wave 1 — Quality First Teaching: every lesson is differentiated and adapted to meet all learning needs. This is the foundation for all students, including those with SEND.
2. Wave 2 — Targeted support: for students graded D (Below Expected Standard). Parents are contacted immediately. Targeted in-class or small-group support is put in place.
3. Wave 3 — Intensive specialist support: for students graded E (Well Below Expected Standard). Senior leadership is involved. A formal parent meeting is arranged and an individual support plan is developed.

LEARNING APPROACH

How We Teach

Our approach to teaching and learning is grounded in research, refined through experience, and guided by the Cambridge Teacher Standards. Every teacher at TOWIS is expected to deliver Quality First Teaching in every lesson.

Key features of the TOWIS learning approach include:

1. Retrieval practice — regular low-stakes recall of prior learning to strengthen long-term memory
2. Visible learning — students know the learning objective and the success criteria for every lesson
3. Effective questioning — teachers use open and probing questions to uncover and deepen understanding, not just check recall
4. Independence — students are progressively expected to manage their own learning, particularly in Secondary and IGCSE
5. Collaboration — structured group and pair work that develops communication and interpersonal skills alongside subject knowledge
6. Homework — purposeful and manageable: daily reading, weekly spelling and times tables practice (Primary); reading to prepare for lessons, flipped classroom tasks, and revision (Secondary). All homework is designed to be completable independently, without a private tutor.

LEARNING JOURNEYS

Year Group Handbooks

Every year group at TOWIS has its own Learning Journey Handbook — a guide for parents and students explaining what is taught, how it is taught, and how progress is measured at that stage of the Cambridge pathway.

Download the handbook for your child’s year group below: