Chile has always demonstrated a welcoming air towards different cultures, displaying a high degree of tolerance towards different customs and traditions. The flavour of local custom and tradition in Chile is readily observable in the numerous colourful religious festivals that take place at various localities throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of spectators are drawn to these processions. But that is just one of the many draws this Latin American country has. Another one of which is the rapidly developing education network in the country.
Chile’s educational system is structured around the lines of 19th century French and German models and highly regarded among Latin American countries. This can be accredited to innovative and perseverant educational institutions that focus on providing the finest quality of education. An exemplar of such institutions that emphasize on giving the epitome of holistic education, is the Chartwell International School.
Founded in the year 2017, Chartwell International School is the daughter school of Chartwell International School Belgrade, Serbia, Europe, which has been in existence for over 20 years. The school is ranked as one of the top 10 schools in Central Europe and acknowledged by Queen Elizabeth II as ´world class´. The school has been accredited by the Cambridge University as an official Cambridge School.
Inception
The idea of the founder was to promote the school ethos, ‘home-away-from-home’ personalized concept, core values, love for learning, multiculturality, internationalism and academic excellence achieved in Europe could also be developed and sustained on the South American continent.
From day one, Chartwell International School has been a tremendous success and is soon to become one of the leaders and innovators in education in Chile, doubling in size every year in terms of number of students and always maintaining the degree of personalization and quality of education.
Today, at the beginning of its fourth academic year, offering the EYFS (early year foundation stage) preschool program and a primary school education based on the British national curriculum, Chartwell International School is home to around 130 students.
School Life
Chartwell International School Community has children and staff members from all around the world – over 40 different nationalities are under the same roof, sharing the same values and a passion for learning.
Chartwell International School is all about happy, hardworking children having fun while trying to reach their own personal best achievements in all areas of school life. Chartwell International School is more than an academic institution. Its philosophy encompasses the student’s whole personality and emphasizes balanced development with the following aims:
- to provide students with a strong academic education which will encourage them to excel within their own capabilities, whilst at the same time promoting active participation in the arts, sports, and the community.
- to foster the development of responsible and caring future world-citizens.
- to instil in students a strong sense of self-discipline, justice, and industriousness.
- to prepare students to thrive in a rapidly changing and increasingly technological and multicultural society.
- to enable students to meet challenges with confidence and enthusiasm, utilizing the whole range of problem-solving skills.
- to provide students with a supportive and constructive student-centred learning environment.
- to engage a qualified and dedicated teaching staff, well provided with appropriate resources, in a safe and attractive physical environment.
Teaching methods are based on:
Encouragement – The essential task of a school is to teach the child to learn, to seek independently and find the knowledge and skills that he/she needs in all of life’s situations. To do this, the school must develop a love for learning in all its students, an enthusiasm for enquiry that spills over from school into all aspects of the child’s life.
Motivation – Encouragement and motivation are keywords in Chartwell’s teaching philosophy.
Personalized approach – Class sizes are small enough for teachers to tailor the curriculum to the needs of each child. All children are different, and all need just the right challenges to make every day an experience of growth and development. This individual attention is an essential part of Chartwell’s approach.
Thematic and creative approach –Student’s ownership of the learning process is assisted by a thematic approach realized through project work that involves research into several subjects and sets objectives to be attained. Students can achieve concrete results of which they can be proud.
Academia and Fun Activities
Chartwell International School, like many other international schools offers the Cambridge International Education, realized through the Cambridge International Curriculum which prepares students to be global citizens of this world. The primary language of the school is English – all the classes are taught in English and all communication with the students and the parents is done in English.
However, Chartwell International School is unique in many ways. It is a truly international school nurturing diversity and multiculturalism. With up to 15 students in class, Chartwell offers a personalized approach, where, with the help of a teacher and assistant, each child is able to achieve his/her maximum potential in all areas of life. Chartwell is a home away from home for its students – they are not just numbers in the e-diary or registration book, every staff member knows each student by name and is there to help them through any obstacles that a school day may set before them.
Chartwell School is ready to welcome any student with open arms and embrace them. The school’s selection policy is based on their philosophy: ‘a school is successful if its students are happy and therefore if a student is happy in our school, we are the right school for them’.
Apart from the regular academic curriculum offered in school, the students also can enjoy the afterschool activities such as drama, ballet, dancing, music classes, Spanish language and many more. Moreover, throughout the year there are series of events celebrated together as a community, as well as diverse school trips and excursions offered to fortunate children of Chartwell.
Dynamic Educators
Although the Chartwell management team (Founder, General Manager, Headteacher, Coordinators) lead the way, the success and the heart of the school are the Chartwell teachers. They come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, but what they all have in common is empathy for their students, a commitment to their education and a love for teaching. All are well qualified for the role they play and are above all dedicated to what they do.
“The essential task of a school is to teach the child to learn, to seek independence and find the knowledge and skills that it needs in all of life´s situations. To do this, it must develop a love for learning in the child, and enthusiasm for enquiry that spills over from school into all aspects of the child´s life. Encouragement and motivation are keywords in Chartwell´s teaching philosophy.” – Nenad Gazikalovic, Founder.
“I have been honoured to have the opportunity to develop our school together with the founder and our teams from Europe and Chile from scratch. We have become so much more than just an international academic institution. We have become a ‘Home-Away-from-Home’ for our students, their families and our staff.” – Misa Tomasevic, General Manager
Moulding Autonomous Learners
The multi-cultural environment of Chartwell International School allows students to hear, share, and learn about cultures and places that are different from their own from a young age itself, thus giving them a global outlook from day one. The teachers strive to nurture and guide students to become autonomous learners and this is supported by the top tier classroom facilities equipped in accordance with the demands of contemporary world education.
Challenges – Then and Now
As Chartwell International School was in the early days after foundation, the biggest obstacle the school had to face was to gain the trust of the first parents. Being a new school, and despite the strong international background, the school was constantly bringing in a new methodology and concept. It was natural that it would take time for the school values to be recognized and adopted.
Nowadays, the biggest challenges faced by Chartwell is to cope with the ever-growing demand for the school, and at the same time maintaining the highest quality of education.
Weathering the Storm
Despite the very difficult situation presented by the global pandemic, the school focused on being able to support their students emotionally and to continue educating them by maintaining daily routines through online platforms from the very first day that the schools had to close.
Chartwell provided top quality online education to its students during the seven months Chile was in quarantine, constantly innovating and introducing, apart from group classes, individual one on one online classes in order to assure motivation and encouragement necessary for the effective learning process.
Finally, in October 2020 Chartwell International School was one of the first schools to reopen its doors and restart the in-person classes. In order to assure maximum safety for the students the school reorganized itself to become the very first outdoor school in Chile. Tents were set up outside and all the activities took place outdoors where the risk of infection was at its lowest.
Apart from being outside, groups were organized and separated assuring no contact between them. Measuring of temperature at the entrance and a stimulation of utilization of masks were among many other measures undertaken to reduce any risk of potential infections.
The school has remained open ever since and do plan to continue operating outdoors until the weather conditions allow, as well the pandemic situation dictates the need for this.
Aspiring for a Holistic Future
The school anticipates the next four years to be very crucial for the further development and improvement of Chartwell reaching excellence in almost all areas. In 2022, Chartwell international School plans to open doors to the secondary school level for the very first time. In 2024, the school plans to implement a plan to integrate all their school buildings in one campus developed and designed for the preschool, primary school, and secondary school students all in one unique place tailor made for their entire community.
