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