About NCBIS

New Cairo British International School

“Bringing out the best in everyone.”

The Principal’s Welcome

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the website of NCBIS.

I hope the information in our website gives you a good overall picture of what our school hold, but I recommend that you come to visit us and experience for yourself the school’s wonderful atmosphere and all that it offers our students. After leading and teaching in various schools in the UK and around the world for 30 years, and as a parent myself, I can safely say NCBIS is a school where your children will love to be.

NCBIS was established in 1978 by a group of parents, most of whom were connected with the oil industry and 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 730 and is made up of over 60 nationalities. Local Egyptian nationals and 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.

Our primary school is comprised of two streams; International and Dutch. Both streams follow the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP), a 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 but apply the PYP pedagogical approach of inquiry based learning to these areas of the curriculum where possible. In each case the school has adapted these curriculum requirements to its international setting to ensure its relevance to our student population. 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. Based on the University of Durham ‘Value Added’ scores, our students on average achieve in the 90th percentile (better than 90% of their peers) on their examinations.

It is not just the academic we focus; we educate the whole child in preparation for the future. We therefore include as part of our educational offer after school clubs, opportunities for creative, action and service programmes, International Award and Junior International Award opportunities as well as our Challenges Week and educational trips. Our students are future ready!

We pride ourselves on the excellent teachers we have, both in terms of their academic excellence and also in their professional relationships with the children. The vast majority 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 across the school; all classrooms in the primary school have a dedicated teaching assistant.

I am pleased that our school is very fortunate to have a very active ‘Parents’ Group’. The Parents’ Group 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.

Finally, as a parent of three children myself, I know that choosing a school is one of the most important decisions you will make. As such, you need to feel safe in the fact that our school is evaluated and accredited by COBIS, BSME, CIS, IBO, ISI 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.

NCBIS is a school where we bring out the best in everyone; come and join our community.

I look forward to welcoming you to our school.

John Bagust, the 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, Sir Geoffrey 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.

Sir Geoffrey Adams has been British Ambassador to Egypt since September 2018. He was educated at Eton College and Oxford University, where he studied Arabic and Islamic History before taking his degree (BA Hons.) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Sir Geoffrey joined the Diplomatic Service in 1979, and spent his early career on postings to Saudi Arabia, France and South Africa, and at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London. He was posted to Cairo in 1998-2001 as Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission.

Thereafter he was Consul General in Jerusalem, Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, and Ambassador to Iran.
Sir Geoffrey then served as Political Director General at the FCO (2009-12), and subsequently as Ambassador to the Netherlands (2013-17).

We welcome Sir Geoffrey 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.