Clifford School Guangzhou

Clifford International Program

Clifford International School Program has been in operation for the past ninth years. This year we will graduate our sixth International Grade 12 class. There are some very important considerations for parents when looking at a prospective program for their child or children. These are outlined below for your information and to help you make a good choice for you childs education.

Curriculum C Our curriculum is a Canadian curriculum that follows the Province of Manitoba program of studies. The course content follows the Western Protocol, which has been established for the Western Provinces (B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) although, each province, and in many cases school district, choose their own resources. This is extremely important for the following reasons: course content is regularly evaluated by the curriculum branch of Manitoba Education and changed or updated in order to meet the frequent changes occurring in curriculum areas and reference materials are reviewed and also updated on a regular basis so students have access to the latest information in core subject areas and elective areas.

University Preparation C The courses offered at Clifford are oriented to university preparation so consequently they are more academic as opposed to elective areas. Students have a heavy course load in high school which includes English, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Math. Pre-Calculus, Calculus, History C World Issues, French or Mandarin, P.Ed C Leadership and one elective. Students are required to carry a minimum of two sciences and are not required to take Calculus. Students that successfully complete their grade 12 are awarded a Canadian High School Diploma from the Province of Manitoba. All but one of our students was accepted to a university last year and four of our students received significant scholarships at the universities they are attending.

School Term C The school term is designated by the Province of Manitoba. We are required to have a minimum of 190 teaching days. This is longer than most other International School Programs. In addition the school day contains eight periods or 320 minutes per day in order to meet the minimum teaching time for each full credit class. A full credit requires a minimum of 110 hours of instruction. At Clifford a full credit class receives 120 hours of instruction.

Teachers in the International Program are required to meet certification criteria from Canada. This means all teachers have a minimum of a Bachelors degree in Education or a degree plus two years of Education or a Masters degree.

External Examinations C All of the International students are required to write two external examinations from Manitoba C Math. Pre-Calculus or Applied Mathematics and English - Comprehensive Focus. This provides important information for us in terms of providing a comparison for our students with all grade 12 students in Manitoba and is an important factor in reporting student marks to universities.

Dual Credit and AP C presently we are able to offer up to 12 credits of university credit through a special program arrangement between Manitoba Education and the University of Manitoba Distance Education. In addition we will begin the Advanced Placement Program in the next school term in one academic subject area. Students opting to choose this course will write the external exam prepared by the College Board and if their marks are high enough, will gain university credit for their course work.

Elective Program: At present we have a well established and successful Art Program. Two of our students won at a National Competition in the past year and all of the art work in the school is produced by students in the art program. This year we will also change the focus of our music program and hopefully expand into choral and an instrumental component. Our P.Ed program in terms of extra curricular sports has also seen an extensive growth. We have participated in a scheduled sports program including: Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer, Badminton and Track and Field at both the Junior and Senior levels. This included both league and tournaments play with several International Schools in both Guangzhou and Shenzhen. We hope to expand this to include opportunities...