Yarm School receives prestigious award for global outlook

Yarm School has been awarded the Foundation level of the British Council’s International School Award for demonstrating a commitment to international learning.

Established in 1999, the award champions exceptional work in international education recognising schools like Yarm for their dedication to incorporating global perspectives into their curriculum.

Most notably, the award has recognised Yarm’s commitment to “bringing the world into the classroom”, enhancing the educational experience by providing students with the international outlook necessary to thrive globally.

The school has a range of global themed activities including the European Day of Languages where competitions are run across year groups and senior linguists organise an assembly held entirely in different foreign languages. Careers at Yarm has a Languages Career Cluster scheduled in the Autumn Term looking at the numerous career opportunities which will feature many former pupils who studied languages at university.

A cornerstone of Yarm’s international approach is its strong language program. All pupils are required to study at least one language up to GCSE level, with around one-third choosing to study two languages. Pupils are introduced to languages at 3 years old as part of our Prep School curriculum, and go on to explore French, German, Spanish and Latin in the First Year of Senior School to give them more choice on their language study journey at Yarm.

In summer 2023 40% of all French GCSE grades were 8 or 9, and two thirds were 7 or above. In German, 95% of all grades were 7 or above, and for Spanish 100% of results were grades 7 or above. The results at A Level are equally impressive with 5 pupils in the last five years going on to study languages at Oxbridge and many others pursuing languages at prestigious institutions to degree level.

Dr Huw Williams, Headmaster at Yarm said: “We are honoured to receive the Foundation level of the British Council’s International School Award.

“This recognition not only celebrates our ethos of bringing global perspectives into our curriculum and classrooms, but also reflects our determination to ensure that our pupils are ‘world-ready’ when they leave Yarm.

“Integrating international themes into our curriculum and ensuring that all students engage with at least one foreign language allows them to thrive and succeed in diverse environments.”

Shannon West, Head of UK Schools for the British Council, said: “Yarm School’s international work has earned the school well-deserved recognition with the British Council International School Award – Foundation Certificate.

“We are delighted and proud that Yarm is committed to developing a whole school approach to embedding and celebrating international work. The dedication from everyone is enriching education and supporting globally aware young people and the development of key skills.

“We thank all involved in this important work; embedding an international ethos across a school can lead to International School Award accreditation, which is the highest level of the award. Schools looking to join this supportive and engaging global network should contact us at the British Council.”