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Cambridge International School
SRIS is a Cambridge International School in Bishkek, which means we use books endorsed by Cambridge and follow the Cambridge curriculum, which ensures international standards. The Cambridge syllabuses are rooted in modern education research and systematically develop students to be ready for today’s work environment.
This concept of systematic and age-specific development is called Cambridge Pathways. Silk Road International School has been a certified Cambridge International School since 2016. Due to the change in ownership we got recertified in 2020 as a Cambridge International School in Bishkek.
Cambridge final exam results are externally tested by Cambridge Assessment International Examinations (CAIE) to ensure each school is in compliance with the standards set by Cambridge International Education.
Cambridge in a nutshell
What does it mean to be a Cambridge International School in Bishkek?
Cambridge is an international education system. It consists of standardized teaching plans (syllabuses), endorsed school books and teaching materials and, last but not least, a standardized test system.
Cambridge Assessment International Education, so the official name, is part of the University of Cambridge. It works like a franchise system. Cambridge provides the standards and procedures for quality teaching. They use quality control to make sure the schools meet their minimum standards. They also control and maintain the assessment system, which is the basis achieving any of the Cambridge certificates.
SRIS became one of the first certified Cambridge schools in Bishkek in the year 2016. By deciding to teach the Cambridge curriculum at Silk Road International School, we help your child stand out from the crowd and access the best study opportunities to achieve their dreams.
SRIS students take the IGCSE exams in 10th grade.
The IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) certifies the knowledge level of a student. SRIS learners take the exam in usually between five and eight IGCSE subjects, receiving a grade for each subject.
Cambridge IGCSE is the world’s most popular international qualification for 14 to 16 year olds. It is taken in over 150 countries and in more than 4800 schools around the world. There are over 800,000 subject entries for Cambridge IGCSE exams each year.
Read more about our Cambridge IGCSE Program at SRIS.
SRIS students take AS Levels in 11th grade
Cambridge Advanced is a preparation program typically for learners aged 16 to 19 years who need advanced study to prepare for university and higher education. It offers Cambridge International AS & A Level.
Each syllabus is split on two blocks: The first year of study in 11th grade is examined by Cambridge separately and ends in an AS Level certificate. Students can continue to study the same subject in 12th grade and go for the A Level in this subject.
SRIS students take A-Levels in 12th grade
Cambridge Advanced is a two year preparation program for students who need advanced study to prepare for university and higher education. It starts in 11th grade with the AS level block of the syllabus.
After passing the AS Level students continue the second year of the Cambridge syllabus in grade 12. At the end of this school year the learners that the A Level exams, which together with their AS Level grades gives them their final A Level grade and their Cambridge A Level certificate.
Cambridge Certificates
Our students receive internationally accepted Cambridge IGCSE, AS-Level or A-Level certificates.
College Counseling
Our career counselor assists our students with the often complicated online applications at international universities.
Esteemed global citizens
Cambridge Pathway explained
Cambridge Pathway students at SRIS have the chance to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to achieve here at Silk Road International School, and later at the university of their choice and in their career beyond.
The four stages lead seamlessly from primary to secondary and pre-university years. Each stage – Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary, Cambridge Upper Secondary and Cambridge Advanced – builds on the learners’ development from the previous one, but can also be offered separately.
Cambridge Primary
implemented in SRIS Primary
Students develop skills and understanding in 10 subjects including English, mathematics and science. Progression tests help teachers check their progress.
Cambridge Primary is from grade one to five with our students typically being between 5 to 11 years old
Cambridge Lower Secondary
implemented in SRIS Middle School
Students develop skills and understanding in 10 subjects including English, mathematics and science. The Cambridge benchmark tests help our SRIS teachers to check their progress and plan accademic interventions.
Cambridge Middle School is the three years from grade six to eight.
Cambridge Upper Secondary
implemented in SRIS High School
SRIS has build a broad learning programme from a range of over 70 subjects and preselected locally relevant choices. In each subject, our SRIS students work towards Cambridge IGCSE, the world’s most popular international qualification, for 14 to 16 year olds. The IGCSE is examined by Cambridge at the end of the two year program, starting in 9th grade and ending in 10th grade.
Cambridge Advanced
implemented in SRIS High School
Students develop the deep understanding and thinking skills they need for university. They work towards Cambridge International AS & A Level qualifications – giving them the choice to specialise, or study from a range of 50 diverse subjects.
The AS Level part of these Cambridge courses is taught in 11th grade and the A Level part is taught in 12th grade. Students usually take three to four balanced A Levels, which qualifies them for immediate subject studies at most international universities.
Cambridge Pathway offers a clear path for educational success from age 5 to 19: Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Secondary 1, Cambridge IGCSE, and Cambridge AS and A Levels.
Five elements lie at the heart of a Cambridge education: international curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, international recognition and global community.
Cambridge Pathway
Why choose the Cambridge Curriculum?
Established over 150 years ago
10,000 schools in 160 countries
Nearly a million Cambridge students
Up to date international curriculum
Independent Assessment by Cambridge
International recognition
Cambridge Assessment International Education
How does the Cambridge System work?
Who is Cambridge Assessment International Education?
Cambridge Assessment International Education, so the official name, is part of the renowned research University of Cambridge, established in 1209 (811 years ago) as the second oldest university in the english speaking world.
Over 150 years ago the University of Cambridge formed the ‘Local Examinations Syndicate’, later referred to as Cambridge International Examinations, now known as Cambridge Assessment International Education, or ‘CAIE’ for short.
For the first time in 1858, 370 school candidates in 7 English cities sat exams set by the University of Cambridge. Today this has risen to more than 8 million candidates a year in 160 countries.
Today Cambridge programs and qualifications set the global standard for international education. They are created by subject experts, rooted in academic rigour and reflect the latest educational research.
The research used includes valuable input from the Cambridge university’s Faculty of Education. Cambridge has been at the forefront of education research for the last 150 years. However CAIE is a valuable resource for research itself. With each international exam they also collect valuable data about the performance of students. Some of their insights are published to Cambridge schools as ‘examiner report’ after each assessment cycle. These reports give our teachers at SRIS valuable information about what students understand easily and with what kind of questions they struggle with.
To keep the fees for the final exams low, CAIE is efficiently organized and operates as a not for profit organization.
How do Cambridge Assessments work?
Cambridge Assessment addresses this problem by providing worldwide testing, three times a year. They produce around 8 million question papers each year. These Cambridge examinations are marked by around 10,000 highly skilled examiners which are anonymous to the partner schools and located worldwide.
This ensures that the exams are held everywhere under comparable circumstances and that the school can only influence the grades by preparing the students well.
How are the Cambridge Exams conducted at SRIS
Our exam officer receives the Cambridge exam papers in sealed envelopes – one for each test. These papers are directly deposited in a dedicated safe, so no one can get access to them.
For each test at least one of the school’s teachers is assigned as an invigilator. The invigilator makes sure that no cheating occurs in the room during the Cambridge exam.
Right before the exam, the exam officer delivers the sealed package. The invigilator inspects that the package is untempered with and testifies this towards Cambridge, by signing a dedicated form. Only now, in the presence of the exam officer and at least one invigilator, the question papers are unpacked and handed out to the students. This two-man rule ensures that no one can get an advantage by knowing the questions before the official Cambridge exam time.
Using the same two-man rule at the end of the exam, the candidate’s papers are immediately sealed and sent back to Cambridge Assessment and Education for grading.
Since the exam papers do only contain candidate numbers, both the student and the examiner stay fully anonymous. This guarantees that each candidate is measured solely by his/her knowledge and the quality of his/her answers.
The SRIS approach to teaching the Cambridge curriculum.
At Silk Road International School we understand that just following the Cambridge Pathway is not enough. To train excellent students that perform with high scores in Cambridge Exams, we need to give them a wide and deep understanding of each subject.
Here at SRIS we achieve that by keeping classes small and hiring great and experienced international teachers. We use the newest materials and modern technology in our classrooms to make our lessons interesting and get our students to engage in the subject.
This is why Cambridge students at Silk Road International School can develop a passion for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and other subjects.
Supporting and training the Cambridge teachers at SRIS
Cambridge Professional Development provides professional development for our teachers at Silk Road International School. They provided teach-the-teachers courses and helped our international staff to improve their performance and practice throughout their careers. At SRIS we encourage state of the art teaching practices that develop the ability of our Cambridge students to reflect on their learning and develop an understanding far beyond just memorizing the book.
The Cambridge professional development supports Cambridge teachers to become confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged.
Cambridge supports us with training, events, and teaching and learning resources to help teachers develop successful learners and improve their professional practice. CAIE also offers Cambridge Professional Development Qualifications for teachers and trainers.
Who is Cambridge Assessment International Education?
Cambridge Assessment International Education, so the official name, is part of the renowned research University of Cambridge, established in 1209 (811 years ago) as the second oldest university in the english speaking world.
Over 150 years ago the University of Cambridge formed the ‘Local Examinations Syndicate’, later referred to as Cambridge International Examinations, now known as Cambridge Assessment International Education, or ‘CAIE’ for short.
For the first time in 1858, 370 school candidates in 7 English cities sat exams set by the University of Cambridge. Today this has risen to more than 8 million candidates a year in 160 countries.
Today Cambridge programs and qualifications set the global standard for international education. They are created by subject experts, rooted in academic rigour and reflect the latest educational research.
The research used includes valuable input from the Cambridge university’s Faculty of Education. Cambridge has been at the forefront of education research for the last 150 years. However CAIE is a valuable resource for research itself. With each international exam they also collect valuable data about the performance of students. Some of their insights are published to Cambridge schools as ‘examiner report’ after each assessment cycle. These reports give our teachers at SRIS valuable information about what students understand easily and with what kind of questions they struggle with.
To keep the fees for the final exams low, CAIE is efficiently organized and operates as a not for profit organization.
Cambridge English
Cambridge English Qualifications help children around the world learn English.
In today’s business world english is key in many businesses and international projects. Also most of the scientific research is published in English first.
So to succeed in today’s world children need to develop all four language skills in English: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.
This is a long, step by step journey and we provide the perfect environment to give your child the best start. The earlier your children start learning English the natural way, the higher their level develops giving them a near native language level when they are adults. This enables them to effortlessly communicate complex concepts in English and take part in international projects or do business with partners from all over the world.
The most important thing to develop that high level of fluency in English is early immersion and consistent development of both the language skills and the knowledge of the world around them. Our Cambridge approach provides all that.
Cambridge Education brings opportunities that last a lifetime.
Paper grading
How Cambridge works out your results
The Cambridge exams get distributed to trained teachers for grading. They follow the Cambridge mark scheme and had to grade sample exam papers before to ensure consistency in grading. Cambridge tries to supply exam papers with the exact level of difficulty for every Cambridge test term and in every Cambridge time zone. However it is never perfectly possible to produce absolutly equivalent tests. To make sure each Cambridge test term students have the same chance, Cambridge takes all the raw marks and statistically analyses the actual difficulty of a specific test. The actual Cambridge grades are then corrected with a threshold variation to ensure the Cambridge students are graded fairly each Cambridge test term.
Mark Scheme
Cambridge ensures consistency in grading by providing a Mark Scheme to every teacher grading Cambridge Exams. These mark schemes describe what Cambridge expects in an answer and what to look for when grading. It also describes how certain aspects of the student’s answer is to be weighted in more complex questions or for exams where the student’s have to deliver an essay.
These mark schemes are later published to our SRIS teachers and are a valuable resource in planing lessons and mock exams to optimally prepare the students for the final Camrbidge exams.
Consistency Control
To ensure that each Cambridge student is treated equivalent, no matter at what test term and in which year they take their Cambridge exams, Cambridge trains their grading team with example papers, then monitors the work of each grading Cambridge teacher for consistency. If flaws are detected they are amended and the teacher is retrained. If that does not solve the situation, the specific teacher is removed from the grading team.
Exam Day
What to expect on the day of your Cambridge exam?
Cambridge Exams are very strict and conducted in complicance with clearly defined rules, set out by Cambridge International Education. This means candidates need to show up on time and only with the equipment allowed during cambridge exams.
Questions during the exam are not allowed. Also the time limit is strictly observed.
Neither notes nor textbooks nor communication devices, such as phones or smart watches are allowed during the exams.
How many students take the Cambridge Exams?
Every year over 1 million students take the Cambridge international exams.
How does Cambridge ensure that tests in different years are comparable?
Cambridge exams are so valuable to universities, because they allow them to compare students from different regions and backgrounds. However it is impossible to create every exam equal.
Cambridge Exams are conducted in three different series, which themselves are conducted with three different timezone variations, to make cheating close to impossible.
Of course even these timezone variations of the same Cambridge test may be slightly different in how challenging they are to students.
However, So many Cambridge schools act as test centers and there are thousands of Cambridge students for each test series, that result into a vast data set for Cambridge International.
Key Times
What are key times for Cambridge exams?
Each Cambridge International School in a given timezone needs to conduct the Cambridge exams at the same time.
Cambridge publishes Key times. At this given time Cambridge candidates must be in the exam room, taking the specified exam or under Full Center Supervision.
This is part of the Cambridge system to make cheating at Cambridge exams virtually impossible.
What are Cambridge time zones?
Cambridge exams are taken in over 160 countries around the world. To handle this securely, Cambridge has divided the world into 6 administrative zones. Each zone receives a different version of the Cambridge exams and each school in this timezone needs to conduct the exams at the same time.
This way Cambridge ensures that cheating at Cambridge exams becomes virtually impossible.
What is Full Center Supervision?
If a school for technical reasons is not able to conduct an exam in a time slot that ends after the defined Cambridge key time, the school needs to keep students under full supervision until the key time has passed.
If you are required to spend time in Full Center Supervision, you must attend. Otherwise Cambridge will not issue a grade for your test. During Full Center Supervision students are allowed to talk to each other or study notes. However they are strictly prohibited from using any communications device. If they do so anyway, they will be disqualified from the exam.
Exam Papers
How does Cambridge create an exam paper?
The preparation of the six different Cambridge exam papers, neccessary for each Cambridge time zone, for each of the three exam sessions, starts as early as two years ago.
Experiences subject teachers and subject experts create a first draft for the Cambridge exam paper. They consider how students did in past exam papers and how well past questions were understood.
Next they decide on which chapters of the syllabus they are going to focus in the given exam session. It is impossible to cover a full syllabus in one exam, but Cambridge strives to cover the full syllabus over the years, so students are motivated to prepare for the full Cambridge syllabus.
How does Cambridge ensure that tests in different years are comparable?
Cambridge exams are so valuable to universities, because they allow them to compare students from different regions and backgrounds. However it is impossible to create every exam equal.
Cambridge Exams are conducted in three different series, which themselves are conducted with three different timezone variations, to make cheating close to impossible.
Of course even these timezone variations of the same Cambridge test may be slightly different in how challenging they are to students.
However, So many Cambridge schools act as test centers and there are thousands of Cambridge students for each test series, that result into a vast data set for Cambridge International.
What do Cambridge Exams look like?
Each subject has their own combination of Cambridge test formats. These test formats may be multiple choice, short written answers, longer essays of in a practical format.
How do Cambridge Assessments work?
When looking at applicants from all over the world, universities face a big challenge. They can not know for every country which curriculum is taught, nor do they know how rigorous the testing at any given high school is. Comparing applicants from different countries and making a fair decision would be impossible.
Cambridge Assessment addresses this problem by providing worldwide testing, three times a year. They produce around 8 million question papers each year. These Cambridge examinations are marked by around 10,000 highly skilled examiners which are anonymous to the partner schools and located worldwide.
This ensures that the exams are held everywhere under comparable circumstances and that the school can only influence the grades by preparing the students well.
FAQ
Frequently Asked
How do students benefit from Cambridge Pathway?
Cambridge Pathway prepares students for life – helping them to develop an informed curiosity and lasting passion for learning. It helps students develop thinking and learning skills – ready to tackle the demands of tomorrow’s world, capable of shaping a better world for the future.
That’s why success with Cambridge opens doors to the world’s best universities – in the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and beyond. It’s what you’d expect from an organisation that is part of the world-leading University of Cambridge.
How does the Cambridge Pathway work?
When Cambridge designs their programmes, they start by identifying what a student needs to learn.
Students have to demonstrate understanding and the core knowledge of a subject, as well as think critically. Exams are there to recognise, reward and encourage learning.
The Cambridge Pathway takes students on a journey through Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary, Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS & A Level. Students can join at any stage.
The curriculum in each stage has aims and objectives that support students to become confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged. These are the attributes of Cambridge learners.
How are our students prepared for the future?
Cambridge learners build more than just a deep understanding of their subject. Being a student of Cambridge Pathway means developing the higher order thinking skills to apply what they’ve learned. Solving problems creatively. Thinking for themselves. Doing their own research and communicating it.
Working with other people on a project they’ve designed together. So we make sure our programmes encourage students to develop the attributes of the Cambridge Learner
– confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged. And help them to succeed in tomorrow’s world.
How does the Cambridge Pathway help students applying for university?
Success in Cambridge qualifications often give students admission to the world’s best universities – in the US, Australia, Canada, Germany and beyond. Cambridge qualifications are accepted and valued by universities around the world, including MIT, Harvard and Cambridge.
Cambridge qualifications are recognised as qualifications that prepare and equip students with the skills they need to succeed both at university and beyond. Universities value the independent research and critical thinking skills, as well as the deep subject knowledge that Cambridge qualifications bring.
Cambridge works with these universities when they revise their qualifications – getting expert advice to make sure the Cambridge curriulum continues to develop the skills universities require.
What do SRIS students study?
We want each student to fulfil their potential and make the most of their strengths and interests. So SRIS offers a range of subjects and let every student choose the subjects they love and the subjects they’re best at.
Cambridge designs programmes – with the help of expert educators in schools and universities – to challenge students, and get them excited about what they’re learning. They learn about the key concepts of each subject in depth, so they understand them inside and out.
We at SRIS assemble our curriculum with locally relevant subjects and give our students choices that are interesting and matter.
Cambridge Pathway programmes are flexible, so our teachers use examples that are relevant to students’ local context and culture. Students learn in English, and the Cambridge assessment is accessible to speakers of English as a second or foreign language.
Does SRIS accept private candidates?
These learners can register with us as a test center. If we are able to support the learner with tutoring needs to be discussed on an individual basis. Please contact our College Counseling department if you are interested.
Where is the Cambridge Curriculum used?
Worldwide more than 10,000 schools are part of the Cambridge learning community. The Cambridge curriculum is available in 160 countries across all continents. Cambridge schools are available in North America, Latin America, UK & Europe, Africa, Middle East and all over Asia.
Are there other Cambridge International Schools in Kyrgyzstan?
SRIS has never been the only school to offer Cambridge programs in Bishkek and that is part of the appeal of the Cambridge system.
Not only do students have the ability to continue with the same curriculum after moving to another country. Families also have the choice to move to another school within Kyrgyzstan. Not being locked in puts Cambridge schools in Bishkek in competition, pushing them to be better than their peers and delivering more then minimum standard.
As of today there are seven registered Cambridge schools in the Kyrgyz Republic.
COURES
Our Course Offerings
Language Courses
Middle School Preparation
Many Cambridge courses require a high level of English to succeed and also the foreign language courses, e.g. German, require a language level, which while possible to attain within two years, is hard for many students. To easen the load we start the language preparation in middle school, making sure our SRIS students have what they need to succed in the IGCSE and Advanced Cambridge exams.
IGCSE Courses
9th and 10th grade
At Silk Road International School we want to keep our curriculum relevant for our learner’s future career and interesting at the same time. This is why we work on improving our course choices each school year. Our Cambridge IGCSE page explains our current course offering and what we have in preparation for the following school year.
AS and A-Level Courses
11th ad 12th grade
Cambridge Advanced courses give students first university credit and allow them to bypass foundation year at many universities. This way they can apply directly for their main study course and dive right in.
ADDMISSION
Attending Our School
Applying Online
After filling out our application form online, we conduct an assessment with the student. This is usually an interview with the department coordinator.
After you submitted your application, we will get in touch with you to setup an appointment for a tour of the school campus and for the assessment.
College and Career Counceling
The College and University Counseling Department (CUC) at Silk Road International School helps SRIS students to navigate their career options and assists them in the often complex university application process.
SRIS Tuition
Since we are a non-profit organization, SRIS’s tuition fee is among the lowest of any accredited Cambridge International School in Bishkek, offering a full Cambridge pathway curriculum from Cambridge Primary to Cambridge Advanced at great value.
