About NCBIS

New Cairo British International School

“Bringing out the best in everyone.”

The Principal’s Welcome

A message from the Principal

Firstly I would like to thank you for considering joining our wonderful school.
My name is Trudie Masterson and I am originally from the UK. I have been
fortunate enough to work as a Principal for the last 16 years in good schools
both in the UK and internationally and having recently joined NCBIS I feel
privileged for the opportunity to lead such an amazing school.

NCBIS is a friendly community where we all support each other and work
passionately to bring out the best in everyone.

NCBIS was established in 1978 by a group of parents, most of whom were connected with the World
Health Organisation (WHO). The school has operated since that time as a “not-for-profit
organisation” under the auspices of the Heliopolis Society for the Cultural and Social Care of English
Speaking Foreigners (‘The Society’) and is managed through a Board of Directors elected from
amongst the parent community.

Our school, which caters for children aged 3-18, has a student population of approximately 700 pupils
and is made up of over 60 nationalities. Egyptian dual nationals represent approximately 35% of our
enrolment while 65% of our students are full expatriates.

NCBIS strives to bring out the best in everyone. We make learning fun, challenging and relevant in an
environment that is welcoming, safe and stimulating. We provide a holistic education based on the
types of learning we feel is important for students in the 21st century; international mindedness, the
attributes and attitudes of the IB Learner Profile, and a highly meta-cognitive approach to teaching
and learning form the foundation of our instructional programmes.

We use the High Performance Learning philosophy and framework in our school. This means that we
believe that all the students can be high performers, and we teach with these expectations in mind.
Using the research-based High Performance Learning approach helps us to systematically build the
cognitive competencies that lead a young person to thrive in school and later life. We embed the HPL
philosophy throughout our school. We never tell our students they cannot achieve; it is just they are
not doing it yet but with practice and perseverance it will happen.

Our primary school is comprised of two streams: International and Dutch. Both streams follow the
follow an inquiry-based curriculum, based on a bespoke course of study that prepares students to be
active participants in a lifelong journey of learning. Both streams teach their respective national
curriculum for English / Dutch and Mathematics. Students from both streams come together regularly
for learning activities, assemblies, events and trips.

In our secondary school, our Key Stage 3 (Year 7 – 9) students work with the British National
Curriculum as its’ framework whilst also integrating learning ideas that promote independent learning
and strong research skills. In Year 10 and 11 we offer a combination of GCSE and IGCSE
programmes and examinations, while we offer the IB Diploma Programme as our pre-university
qualification. Our students are very successful in achieving extremely good results.

Alongside our academic programme we educate the whole child in preparation for the future. We,
therefore, include after school clubs, opportunities for creative, action and service programmes,
International Award and Junior International Award opportunities as well as our Challenge and
educational trips. Our students are future-ready!

We pride ourselves on the excellent teachers we have, both in terms of their academic excellence as
well as their professional relationships with the children. Most of our academic staff come from the
United Kingdom, or The Netherlands in the case of our Dutch Stream. All our teachers are qualified
and have at least 3 years of experience before joining us. We also have some staff members coming
from Australia, Canada, USA, Germany, Spain, South Africa and France. We have a strong team of
learning support staff and EAL teachers the school; all classrooms in the primary school have a
dedicated teaching assistant.

Our school is evaluated and accredited by COBIS, BSME, CIS, IBO and the Dutch Ministry of
Education. These regular inspections and evaluations from independent organisations quality assure
the standard of our teaching and learning, as well as the care we provide. Our last ISI inspection
report (October 2019) graded the students’ academic development as good and the students’ personal
development as excellent.

Our school is very fortunate to have a very active ‘Parent Teacher Group’. The PTG also welcomes
new families, offers shopping and cultural visits, and is involved in a multitude of other social events
to benefit the community. They are a very important part of our school as they bring a wonderful
community feel to NCBIS.

NCBIS is a school where we bring out the best in everyone; come and join our community. We look
forward to welcoming you to our school.

Trudie Masterson
Principal

NCBIS Mission

To provide a learning environment that supports academic achievement whilst promoting personal growth through the attributes of the IB Learner profile, within a caring international community committed to the traditional values of honesty, courtesy, respect, integrity and fair play.

NCBIS Vision

In 2027 NCBIS will be the first school of choice in Cairo, providing unrivalled experiences that will enable all students to follow their passions and become successful, caring citizens and leaders in tomorrow’s world”.

NCBIS Patron, Sir Geoffrey Adams

As our Patron, Gareth will use his considerable experience and influence as a way of supporting the school, he will also be invited and attend certain NCBIS functions each year. As a non-member of the Board of Directors, he will not make decisions on behalf of the school or carry any responsibilities or liabilities.
Gareth Bayley was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt in May 2021. He took up his appointment in September 2021.

Gareth was the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Director for South Asia and Afghanistan from 2017 to May 2021.

Gareth joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1995. He worked on the Middle East and North Africa, the United Nations, EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and Conflict/Post-Conflict Transition. Previous assignments include:

Chief of Staff to Quartet Representative Tony Blair (2009 to 2010)
the UK Mission to the UN (2006 to 2009)
Deputy Head of FCO’s Iraq Department (2005 to 2006)
British Embassy Baghdad (2004 to 2005)
British Embassy Cairo (1998 to 2002)
Gareth was the UK Special Representative for Syria from October 2014 to October 2017.

We welcome Gareth to the NCBIS family.

NCBIS Values

NCBIS is guided in all its actions and decisions by its commitment to:

Providing quality education in a safe, secure and caring environment.

Promoting academic and personal achievement.

Developing each student’s unique talents to help them achieve their potential

Ensuring choice and challenge both within the curriculum and the extra-curricular programmes.

Inspiring intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and enthusiasm for learning.

Maintaining an internationally diverse community of open-minded people.

British Values

The UK government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, and these values have been reiterated by the UK government since. At NCBIS these values are reinforced regularly:

NCBIS is committed to serving its globally-minded, internationally rich community. It recognises the multi-cultural, multi-faith and ever-changing nature of our international setting. It also understands the vital role it has in ensuring that groups or individuals within the school are not subjected to intimidation or radicalisation by those wishing to unduly, or illegally, influence them.

It follows equal opportunities guidance which guarantees that there will be no discrimination against any individual or group, regardless of faith, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, political or financial status, or similar. NCBIS is dedicated to preparing students for their next stage of life beyond the formal examined curriculum and ensuring that it promotes and reinforces British values to all its students.

The UK Government emphasises that schools are required to ensure that key ‘British Values’ are taught in all UK schools and as a British International school, we endeavor to do the same. The UK government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy.

The school uses strategies within the written curriculum and beyond to secure such outcomes for students.