An international school differs from a state school in teaching style, assessment and, above all, language. State-system English is taught as grammar and vocabulary; an international school uses English as the tool for learning and thinking. Papers are set in English, so weak English loses marks directly - and in a fully English-medium school it means not following the lesson at all. A summer spent preparing is the difference between joining the class and chasing it.
Build the English first
- Listening, at least an hour a day. Podcasts, recorded university lectures and English-language drama all work; the point is daily immersion before lessons are delivered this way.
- Academic vocabulary. Science subjects carry terms a state-system course never taught - biology is the extreme case, where unrecognised terminology makes questions unanswerable. Work through an academic word list deliberately.
- Speaking, out loud. International classrooms run on discussion. Retell one event from the day in English, or give a one-minute view on a news story, and record it - progress is audible within weeks.
- Reading, with a pen. One properly annotated novel beats ten skimmed ones. To Kill a Mockingbird is a strong choice: courtroom argument, registers from formal to colloquial, and themes that force thinking in English rather than translating.
- A language test, early. Students bound for study abroad will need IELTS or TOEFL eventually; sitting it early clears the calendar for subject grades later. Choose by target country.
Choose the courses deliberately
International curricula - A-Level, IB, AP - offer real subject choice, which rewards students who arrive knowing what their school teaches. The school's own website and official account usually publish the curriculum and subject list; IGCSE syllabuses are public and searchable by subject, so pre-study is possible before day one. Interests do not need to be settled into a career plan yet, but a student who has read the syllabus starts the term ahead of one who has not.
How the systems differ - and which suits which student - is set out across our international curricula pages.