Byron College - The British International School in Athens

This international school in Athens was established in 1986 by a group of idealistic parents and teachers who believed that there was a need for a school in Athens, that would provide a British Education that was egalitarian and inclusive and would pursue academic excellence, whilst maintaining the highest standards of self-discipline, behaviour and community participation.

The pupil body is now just over 400 and is divided fairly equally between Primary and Secondary pupils. These pupils come from over 50 different national backgrounds, with about half of their children being permanent residents of Greece.

The language of instruction is English and pupils follow progamme of study that is essentially based on the UK National Curriculum. Given the nature of their pupil body they have a strong EAL section, attention is paid to the needs of their Greek parents, a range of modern languages is offered and the History and Geography syllabuses are designed to reflect the international character of their pupils and the obligation to produce citizens with an awareness of global challenges that their society faces.

Byron College is one school, on one site and all children share the same day and the same school holidays. The school accepts children from the age of 3 and many stay until they leave to study at university, aged 18.

Curriculum

During their time, pupils from Nursery to Year 9 will follow a broad based curriculum that is based on the UK Key Stage modal and in Year 10 will begin a 2-year cycle of study leading to the sitting of IGCSE exams in Year 11. Their Sixth Formers (Years 12 and 13) are prepared for university and college entrance through the dedicated teaching of AS and A-Level GCE subjects.