Academic Programme

MSIS Academic Operations

MSIS is a fully accredited University of Cambridge Assessment Centre. We follow the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) curriculum from the Junior School to the Senior School (Cambridge Early years, Cambridge Primary to Cambridge Upper Secondary).

mount sinai primary school

Cambridge Early Years (Reception Class)

The Cambridge Early Years curriculum follows a holistic approach that focuses on the whole child and connects their development with the world and people around them. It is built around four key areas of early childhood development.

  1. Physical development
  2. Cognitive development
  3. Language and communication development
  4. Social and emotional development

The curriculum develops knowledge, understanding and skills and helps learners to meet internationally established milestones for early development. Although children develop at different rates, the curriculum provides a structure for teaching and learning that will help you to monitor and support each child’s progress. The curriculum prepares learners to easily transition into Cambridge Primary.

Cambridge Primary (Year One to Year Six)

Cambridge Primary, typically for learners aged 5 to 11 years, gives schools a world-class curriculum to develop learner skills and understanding in English, mathematics and science. It enables teachers to assess children’s learning as they progress with two optional assessments: Cambridge Primary Progression Tests and Cambridge Primary Checkpoint. The Cambridge curriculum frameworks for English also include an ‘English as a second language’ option.

Cambridge Primary helps identify a learner’s strengths and weaknesses and can be used to support learning and development. It prepares learners for a smooth transition to Cambridge Lower Secondary and beyond.

mount sinai lower secondary

Cambridge Lower Secondary (Year Seven to Year Nine)

Cambridge Lower Secondary develops skills and understanding in English, Mathematics and Science for the first three years of secondary education. It combines a world-class curriculum, high-quality support for teachers and integrated assessment. The curriculum frameworks for English also include an ‘English as a second language’ option.

Cambridge Lower Secondary provides excellent preparation for Cambridge Upper Secondary and other educational programmes. Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint tests can be used to monitor learners’ readiness for the next stage of education.

Mount sinai upper secondary cambridge

Cambridge Upper Secondary (Year Ten to Year Eleven)

Cambridge IGCSE is the world’s most popular international qualification for 14 to 16 year olds. It is recognized by leading universities and employers worldwide, and is an international passport to progression and success. Developed over 30 years ago, it is tried, tested and trusted by schools worldwide.

The Cambridge IGCSE curriculum offers a variety of routes for learners with a wide range of abilities, including those whose first language is not English. For schools, Cambridge IGCSE offers a flexible and stimulating curriculum, supported with excellent resources and training. For learners, Cambridge IGCSE helps improve performance by developing skills in creative thinking, enquiry and problem solving.

Cambridge IGCSE assessment takes place at the end of the course and can include written, oral, coursework and practical assessment. This broadens opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning, particularly when their first language is not English. In many subjects there is a choice between core and extended curricula, making Cambridge IGCSE suitable for a wide range of abilities. Grades are benchmarked using eight internationally recognized grades, A* to G, which have clear guidelines to explain the standard of achievement for each grade. Cambridge IGCSE examination sessions occur once a year, in June at MSIS and results are issued in August.

The Cambridge International education programme is the most popular programme followed by international schools in Malawi. Cambridge International Examinations is the world’s largest provider of international education programmes and qualifications for 5 to 19 year olds and has more than 9000 accredited schools in over 160 countries. MSIS is not only a fully accredited Cambridge School, we are also a fully accredited Cambridge examination center and all external examinations are administered on the school campus. MSIS believes in the Cambridge mission to provide excellence in education and their vision that all Cambridge learners become confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged.