The British School of Costa Rica

The British School of Costa Rica is an independent day school offering academic levels from Early Years 1 (4.5 years) up to 12th Grade.  The School's mission is to provide an excellent, "all-round", bilingual (English/Spanish) education whereby British and International methods and programmes are employed and integrated into the Costa Rican Ministry of Education Programmes. 

Founded in 1981, the school is now : i) accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and has been accepted into provisional membership of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS); ii) recognized and authorized by the Costa Rican Ministry of Education (during sessions 126-84 and 24-92 of the Superior Council of Education); iii) a member of the International Baccalaureate Organization (Code No.0608); iv)  Centre CR002 for the University of Cambridge IGCSE Examinations; v) licensed by the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Scheme; vi) the Costa Rican Centre for "Philosophy for Children" and vii) a Charter Member of the International Primary Curriculum programme.

The founders, proprietors and Directors General are  Mr. David Lloyd and Mrs. Liliana Lloyd.  As an independent, proprietary school, it does not receive funding from any government, religious or political organization; it does not promote any particular religious or political philosophy, but it does promote those moral and ethical values that are common to most religions.

The teaching staff is composed mainly of experienced and qualified British and Costa Rican teachers; overall, 7 different nationalities represented.  The majority (85%) of the students are Costa Rican, but 23 different nationalities are represented  The School is officially registered in the Costa Rican Public Registry as a Limited Company (Colegio Británico de Costa Rica, Sociedad con Responsabilidad Limitada).

In preparation for the demands of the IGCSE and IB courses, there is a strong emphasis throughout the whole school on experimental science, investigation and language development towards reading skills and Literature; ultimately students in Senior school can study up to 4 different Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Environmental Systems) and 5 different languages (English, Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese and Latin).  The School is completely bilingual in that, throughout the whole School, the majority of classes are taught in English and the remainder in Spanish (or French).  It is one of the principal aims of the School that the students are sufficiently bilingual to work, with equal facility, in both English and Spanish before they enter Primary 3. In all levels there is a strong emphasis on learning through the experience of practical activities, many of which are realized outside of the classroom.  In the Primary School, the excellent “International Primary Curriculum” developed by Fieldwork U.K. for the schools of Shell Oil company has been incorporated in Early Years and Primary levels.  In 9th and 10th grades, we offer the curricula of the "International General Certificate of Secondary Education" (IGCSE) examinations from the University of Cambridge, England:  most of this programme is taught in English.   As the best pre-University preparation available, the School offers, in 11th and 12th Grades, the excellent curriculum of the International Baccalaureate.  The IB is a two-year English/Spanish bilingual programme.  As an alternative, Costa Rican students can take a 1 year National Bachillerato programme and graduate at the end of 11th grade.

A “Learning Support Team” exists to help students overcome learning problems particularly in Primary School, but we do not offer a complete remedial programme for students with serious learning difficulties.  For families located in remote regions of Costa Rica, week-day boarding arrangements for their children can be made with school families who live in the vicinity, but we do not offer boarding facilities per se.

We welcome applications from international families seeking the continuity of a British or IB-oriented education, however, our student population is very stable and we do not offer the support required by transient students registering with us on a short-term basis.  Moreover, our school year is out of step with Northern Hemisphere schools and, unless they needed to continue in the British National Curriculum, IPC, GCSE or IB programmes, we would be cautious about accepting students on a short-term basis (we would expect them to be staying for at least 2 years). At the same time, we are the only school in Costa Rica offering the "British" National Curriculum and the GCSE programme (Cambridge Board).  However, academically the School is ahead of most North American programs since we follow a British National Curriculum which commences in Early Years for 5 year-olds.  Most students enter at the pre-school levels after a basic test and an interview with parents.  Placement tests are an essential requirement for the admission of older students.