The students are introduced to the concepts of belief (Aqeedah), Islamic code of practice (Fiqh), and Islamic manners (Adaab) with reference to the Holy Quran and the practice of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him (Sunnah). The lower classes during primary years aim at building a solid knowledge base of the beliefs, values and traditions in Islam. During the upper classes students are given the opportunity to identify, investigate and respond to the fundamental questions around the purpose of life. Students at this stage are also encouraged to explore the diverse and contrasting opinions within Islam and within other religions as well as being well aware of the world’s other most influential religions. They are also prepared to sit the Islamic Studies’ GCSE course.
Language is a vital tool to communicate thoughts and ideas, and build cultural ties. The Arabic programme of study endeavours to create a genuine appreciation of the language to access and understand the culture of some 23 countries of the world. The school aims to develop an awareness of the importance of Arabic, and to prepare students to become confident users of this beautiful language.
No prior knowledge of Arabic is required as students are given an initial assessment on their registration day and grouped in different classes according to ability and age. Native and Non- native Speakers of the language are mixed and all students follow the same course of study; however, the Non-native Speakers are given extra support such as providing English translation of instructions and homework. Students are not obliged to sit the GCSE or any other mainstream qualifications at the advanced classes; but if they wish to obtain any qualifications they are supported by offering a special class that follows the Edexcel specification. In which case students register at their school Exam centre or a centre of their choice and we provide them the contents throughout the course.
A number of textbooks are used along with a variety of secondary resources. For the reception and primary classes we use the Al-Amal Arabic Book series, developed especially for children living in the West. The series are endorsed and approved by the International Centre for Pedagogic Formation (CIFOP) Each level of Al-Amal book series for Learning Arabic appears in two parts: Reading and Comprehension book, and Exercise book. The students are expected to:
The two books gradually teach children the Arabic language through rich contents that relates to them, their Arabic/Islamic cultural roots and at the same time, teaching this content in a manner reflecting their real lives in the west. As a result, it builds their lexical glossary and helps them to excel in their reading skills, and helps them in the ability to use and conduct it in a way that accommodates their age and cognitive level. The books also include a wide range of meanings and styles in order to have access to a wide range of vocabularies, specialty in their live communicative form, and to enrich the student’s linguistic, stylistic, and semantic knowledge. At the end of each book there is a fun, interesting, and useful story that encourages the students to read. The books are suitable for our modern times, liked and desired by children, who are surrounded by digital multimedia, as it uses lively, amusing, modern media and aids. There is a CD for each level to revise all written contents and activities. CDs are easily accessible and user-friendly, in the classroom - during the lesson - or at home, with or without the help of a teacher.
The main text books for the GCSE preparation are:
Edexcel specification covers the following topic areas: Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing.
The focus of the speaking unit will be chosen in consultation with the student and will relate to the following themes: Media, travel and culture or Sport, leisure and work.
In the writing GCSE exam, students will produce two pieces of Arabic writing in response to a choice of questions that relate to the above prescribed themes: media, travel and culture or sport, leisure and work. It is expected that a minimum of 12 written assignments of approximately 120 words each be submitted on the following topics (by students sitting the writing module):
These units draw on vocabulary and structures from across four specified common topic areas: Out and about; Customer service and transactions; Personal information; Future plans, education and work.
The objective of the course is to be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the target language; its grammar and vocabulary across the given topic areas as well as to be able to demonstrate an awareness of its culture. Lessons are conducted as much as possible in the target language and each of the four language learning skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are tested separately at the end of the course.