LICEF School

By the end of pre-school, children will have developed important and desirable skills and concepts in readiness for primary school. The school has spacious and well equipped play areas where special attention and care is given to each child to avoid injury.

The average number of pupils per class is 25 to 30 and handled by a class teacher and a teacher aide for grade one and two while grades three to seven are handled by a grade teacher and an assistant teacher handling specific subjects.

This section comprises of Grades 1 to 7. Grades 1 and 2 follow the nursery school timetable and comprise of a mixed gender class. From Grade 3 upwards, the genders are strictly separated, and housed, in different sections of the school premises, each gender having its own facility in most of the disciplines. Classes are of a mixed ability and the average enrollment of 25-30 in a class is handled by one class teacher and a teacher aide.

The subjects in the curriculum include English language; skills in grammar; reading; creative writing; comprehension; mathematics; social studies and environmental science. Text books based on the new Zambia Basic Education syllabus are used, supplemented, particularly for English language and reading, by books published in the UK. Where text-books are not available, workbooks are produced by the school as substitutes.

Learners visit the Extension Reading Library from where they are encouraged to take home readers appropriate to their reading age and parents are expected to take part actively in this programme. An audio-visual room provides for OHP, VCR and CD Rom facilities. The teachers have been encouraged to use the Media Centre and other innovative teaching approaches to make lessons interesting. Reinforcement of class work is given in the form of workbooks and homework sheets in which pupils do their work and compile in file form.

Afternoon classes are occasionally held in the afternoons, specifically for remedial and reinforcement purposes, as is the case for classes during the term one and, or term two holidays.

Each term report constitutes 40% towards the final assessment and promotion to the next grade in the primary section. Monthly evaluation tests are given and a formal examination is held in the last week of all the terms. Term Reports are made available at the end of term, but interim reports are also given for the upper primary in the homework diaries.

Extra-curricular activities in the form of organised games, clubs or remedial lessons are held once a week in the afternoon for those pupils not attending the religious classes at Madressa. Parents may see the class teachers on any Tuesday afternoon to discuss specific problems of their child’s academic performance. Strict adherence to Home Work Diary and Home Work Schedule ought to help the parent diligently monitor the child’s work.

Secondary school – grade nine to eleven

The secondary section is housed in separate boys’ and girls’ blocks in sectors on the same campus. It provides for double streams in sections from Grades 8 to 11 and grade 12 only for boys .

Muslim pupils have their Islamiyaat education in the morning session while their non-muslim counterparts, during other periods. There are separate science laboratories, libraries, play areas, tuck shop ities and even pupils’ pick up points for boys and girls.

School Libraries

There are two separate libraries for boys and girls respectively. These are the school’s text book centers. All text books are provided to the students from the school free of cost returnable at the end of an academic year. Commencement of Grade 8 and 10 begins immediately from the beginning of the school year with enrollment being given provisionally,dependant on respective checkpoint results.

Students in Grade 8 and 9 are prepared for the Junior Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examination (JSSLE) conducted by the examinations Council of Zambia which is held at the end of Grade 9.

‘Arabic’ continues in the Junior Secondary as a compulsory subject and a second language for all Muslim students. It is compulsory to pass in this subject. Non-Muslim pupils take Office Practice in lieu of Arabic. No student taking Arabic at the primary school is allowed to drop it in the secondary section.

Promotion to grade 10 is based on six best passes inclusive of English, Maths and Science plus Islamiyaat for Muslim students at grade 9, school check point examination plus a record of good behaviour in the junior school.

Senior Secondary

Two year and three year programs at the senior secondary level: The Grade 10 boys are prepared either for a 2 year programme by writing Cambridge International Ordinary Level examination (General Certificate Examination) at Grade 11 or a 3 year programme the latter writing it in Grade 12. The selection into a two year or three year program is based on merit and percentage of marks obtained at the Grade 9 internal check point examination, though the students also write the JSSLE / GRZ Examination.

There is no three year program for girls and hence the Grade 10 girls are prepared for the Cambridge International Ordinary Level examination at Grade 11 over a 2 year period only.

Apart from English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Commerce pupils may choose any two further electives from Comp. Studies or History and Accounts or Geography. Islamiyaat being compulsory for all Muslim students, Non Muslims can take Literature in English or Art in lieu of Islamiyaat. However Islamiyaat is not examinable at Cambridge but Literature/Art is. Admission to Computers and Accounts is based on a cutoff percentage obtained at the Grade 9 Check point set by the school management. Pupils unable to qualify for Computers and Accounts will have to go for the other options such as history and geography respectively.

A system of continuous assessment is maintained where the performance from homework and monthly tests are taken into account when determining the results at the end-of-the-term report.