In Chinese, 'curriculum' is translated as 'journey of study.' In Latin, 'curriculum' is a path in which students walk in small steps. The Pao School curriculum is the beginning of a life-long journey in which students will need the knowledge and skills to make good decisions and contribute positively to society. As a bilingual Chinese-English programme, Pao School’s Middle School curriculum is designed to bridge the sequence between the school’s Primary and High School curricula, providing students with a programme that honours and respects Chinese cultural tradition, while incorporating the best practices from international education.
The Chinese programme is based on Shanghai curriculum standards, it combines basic Chinese culture and Chinese Literature courses. The main goals of the Chinese programme allows students to appreciate the beauty of Chinese characters, improve their ability to use Chinese, cultivate their ability to study Chinese independently, understand and inherit Chinese culture, accommodate different cultures and promote whole person development. The ‘Basic Course’ comprises the main part of the Shanghai Chinese course. The ‘Chinese Culture Course’ and the ‘Classics Reciting’ component from the ‘Basic Course’ complement each other, while the ‘Literature course’ helps students enjoy literature works from different countries.
The English course enables learners to communicate confidently and effectively and to develop the skills to respond to a range of information, media and texts with understanding and enjoyment. Learners will develop a high level of language competency in English based on a curriculum designed to be successful in any culture and to promote cross-cultural understanding. The curriculum reflects the teaching targets for each year group and each unit provides comprehensive learning objectives. The learning objectives provide a structure for teaching and learning and a reference against which learners’ ability and understanding can be checked. We have an international benchmark enabling teachers to:
The curriculum is based on Shanghai standards and is comprised of three areas: Basic Content, Extended Content and Special Subject research and practice. These areas are further divided into five strands; Number and Operations, Algebra and Equations, Geometry, Functions and Analysis, Statistics and Probability. The curriculum focuses on principles, patterns, systems, functions and relationships, so that learners apply their mathematical knowledge and have a secure foundation for future study.
The curriculum covers four content areas: Scientific Enquiry, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Scientific Enquiry is about considering ideas, evaluating evidence, planning investigative work, and recording and analysing data. The Scientific Enquiry objectives underpin Biology, Chemistry and Physics, which are focused on developing confidence and interest in scientific knowledge. The programme is taught in Chinese and English by two Science teachers each year to develop academic fluency in both languages.
The main purpose of the Humanities curriculum is to enable students to understand the world around us, the environment in which we live, culture, history as well as the ideas behind culture and history. The main purpose of the Geography course is to help students understand our natural environment so that students can acquire the basic knowledge, skills and abilities. Students will establish a concept of environmental ethics, form a global consciousness and patriotic emotion as well as cultivate a scientific and humanistic understanding. The history component helps students better understand events of the past and different cultures. Through the study of Humanities, students will understand the main development trends of human material civilization, political civilization, and spiritual civilization.
The Music programme fosters music skills as they relate to listening, performing, theory, history and composition. Our curriculum focuses on playing instruments, singing, basic music literacy and theory. A listening strand running throughout the year in each year level exposes students to various musical styles and genres. Through this exposure, students gain an understanding of the basic elements of music. Composition and improvisation will be integrated into all year levels, where students apply knowledge of musical elements to their own creations.
Drama is an art form, a practical activity and an intellectual discipline. Through engagement in drama, students apply their imagination and draw upon their own personal experiences. Their knowledge and understanding will grow throughout the Middle School programme, allowing them to explore and gain a better understanding of the elements of drama, thus enabling them to effectively shape, express and share their ideas, feelings and responses, making use of language, space, symbol, allegory and metaphor to create dramatic effect and purpose. The curriculum standards for the Middle School Drama are linked to the following strands:
The Visual Arts programme offers a distinctive way of learning in which seeing, feeling, hearing, thinking and creating are combined in a powerful form of visual and tactile communication. Through the Visual Arts, students work both cooperatively and individually, and will have opportunities to research, identify and discuss issues, as well as provide insight, perspectives, solutions and resolutions that reflect upon, appreciate and evaluate works of art. Visual Arts enables students to establish connections between subjects, cultures and different areas of experience. The programme also offers a unique mixture of psycho-motor skills, factual knowledge and understanding, a combination which promotes intellectual, emotional and social development. The Visual Arts curriculum includes techniques such as drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and photography. Students will use a combination of techniques and work in a variety of media.
The PE curriculum is designed to encourage enjoyment in physical activity by providing learners with an opportunity to take part in a range of physical activities and develop an understanding of effective and safe physical performance. This helps learners to develop an appreciation of the necessity for sound understanding of the principles, practices and training that underpin improved performance, better health and wellbeing. It is also allowing scope for students to develop the interpersonal skills such as communication, collaboration and leadership.
One aspect of Pao School’s mission is to develop students’ full potential. In order for students to achieve this, they must be healthy of both body and mind. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as ‘a complete state of physical, mental, and social wellbeing.’ The goal of the Health Curriculum is to give students the tools to attain this state by teaching them to practice health-enhancing behaviours and reduce risks to health.
The ICT curriculum has been developed around three key areas: Computer Science, Computer Programming and Physical Computing. The main objectives are to develop skills and knowledge in these key areas whilst applying this knowledge to real world scenarios.
