Students entering the Upper School (UK Key Stage 4) in Year 10 are firmly focused on the courses of study that they have chosen to take at GCSE level.  In many cases these decisions are critical to a young person’s plans and aspirations about careers and further education.  GCSE courses place great importance on a student’s ability to apply principles, theories, concepts and ideas to a variety of situations – not simply the ability to remember facts.  We have  high expectations of all of our students.  We use a variety of strategies to ensure that all students recognise their individual potential including but not limited to target setting, value-added analysis, individual meetings and revision lessons prior to examinations.  Every effort is made to ensure that students’ workload is well balanced.  All work is reviewed and marked promptly so that students can make necessary improvements when required.  Regular performance reports for parents help to ensure that everyone involved shares common values and are able to support the student in an appropriate way.

Normally nine examination subjects are studied over a two-year period with external exams at the end of Year 11.   Formal internal exams are taken at the end of Year 10 and mid-way through Year 11 (Mock GCSE examinations), which provide a good indication of student achievements and the foundation for a rigorous revision programme.

The school uses the EdExcel (London) GCSE syllabuses, which are used worldwide in international schools and are recognised as equivalent to the IGCSE for university entrance in Egypt and elsewhere.  The subjects at GCSE are: Arabic (native speakers),  Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Drama, English Language and English Literature (2 GCSEs), Geography, History, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages (Arabic, French and Spanish), Music, PSHE, Physical Education and Physics.