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International Primary Curriculum

Subject divisions are nowhere to be seen; instead of sitting down to a geography or history lesson, primary children find their subjects integrated under one broad heading. Be it chocolate, treasure, or fashion, their landscape of learning is looking different from what might traditionally be called "school". Called International Primary Curriculum (IPC), it is a common way of teaching in international schools, but one that is increasingly being piloted around this country.

Now the first primary school in London, the Sir William Burrough school in Tower Hamlets, has introduced it. Praise and criticism has been tossed at the approach in equal measure, but Ofsted has commended the school. Yet is it just a case of throwing out the science books and ripping up the history lessons, or is it a radical methodology?

The origins of the IPC lie in the Shell petrol company. Martin Skelton, a former headmaster, was commissioned by the company to create a curriculum for Shell International schools. He had to develop something that suited a high turnover of students who, under the national curriculum, were missing out on swathes of work if they moved from one school to the next.

Soon all Shell schools were working under a topic based system called Shell Primary Curriculum. This was the germ of the IPC, which is now independent from Shell.

Skelton and his team say they are trying to prepare pupils for the world of work, no matter how far away that seems. "When our five-to-11-year-olds get into the workplace, they will need the ability to change, and to be internationally minded," he says.

For this, however, there is a fee: a one off payment of £8,000 for the package (which can be paid in instalments), and £500 every year after that.

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International Primary Curriculum