A child’s mind is like a brand-new notebook, enthusiastically waiting for new paragraphs to be written on its pages all the time. School is the place where most of the essential content of life gets written in that notebook. The better the individual’s school experience, the better personality they develop to conquer life’s challenges ahead.
Various research suggests that the plasticity of children’s brains allows them to learn quickly and more readily. During the childhood and teen years, individuals’ brains are rapidly processing data that is coming at them from every corner. It provides an extraordinary opportunity for schools to let the children explore their various interests and qualities under the guidance of competent teachers.
The schools that encourage children to self-explore their likes and subject interests are rare, but once they are found, they are to be trusted completely for a child’s overall development. One such school is Chartwell International School.
Chartwell is an educational institution encompassing all three separate educational pre-school, primary, and secondary schools. Making Chartwell the place for overall development for every student is Aleksandar Ignjatovic. As an Executive Principal, he gives importance to providing a safe, caring, warm, and happy international setting for the students to grow, learn, and play.
Without further ado, let‘s explore interesting insights about Chartwell International School.
Top-notch Campus
Chartwell’s campus is spread across seven spacious facilities and is tucked away in the beautiful greenery of the residential area. The facilities combine the highest educational tradition with the most contemporary, top-quality teaching equipment.
Chartwell provides a safe and caring environment for all its students. With its sports fields, recreational areas, libraries, and labs, Chartwell is a place where students come to do more than study; Chartwell is a home away from home.
Passionate Teachers
For any educational establishment to be the best at providing a learning experience, having passionate teachers is the top requirement. While the management team of Chartwell (Owner, Heads of Schools, Coordinators, Finance, etc.) leads the way, the success and the heart of the school are Chartwell teachers.
Chartwell’s teaching faculty come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, but what they all have in common is a love of teaching, empathy for their students, and a commitment to their education. All are well qualified for the roles that they play.
Celebrating Cultural Diversity
Today’s times show us that the world needs more respect and tolerance toward cultural diversity. School is the best place where these values can be taught. At Chartwell International School, lessons are taught in English, but a variety of world languages are offered alongside. Cultural diversity is very important in Chartwell. The school traditionally celebrates UN Day, promoting tolerance and respect.
Poetry and music evenings are organized where children recite poems and sing in their mother tongues, and languages taught at school. British traditions are respected, celebrating Valentine’s Day, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Christmas, and Chartwell is the only school in Belgrade to celebrate Bonfire Night.
Emphasizing Extracurricular Activities
Realizing that education encompasses much more than the academic program, a lot of emphasis is placed on extracurricular activities at Chartwell. These activities are offered on a daily basis and range from sports to fencing, dance, drama, and languages.
Moreover, Chartwell’s students are involved in the life of the community as well by attending workshops, visiting exhibitions and theaters, as well as taking part in humanitarian activities, and helping orphaned and disadvantaged Serbian children through their traditional project, Something for Everyone-Children to Children.
A group of pupils recently visited the Royal Palace in Belgrade as part of a charity appeal supported by the Royal Family. “The students get really involved, organizing their own fundraising projects,” says Chartwell’s founder. “It is important that they understand there is a world out there that is not like their own.”
The Visionary Founder
The exemplary schooling atmosphere of Chartwell is based upon the progressive ideas of its visionary founder, Nenad Gazikalovic. “The future of education lies in the realization of the fact that education encompasses much more than academics,” he tells us.
In addition, he says, “Although schools group students according to age, class sizes should be optimized so that the academic program can be tailored to suit the needs of every student.”
“This will ensure that each and every one of them is challenged just enough to develop in accordance with their respective abilities.”
He believes that during school years, emphasis should also be placed on extracurricular activities, which should be offered daily and should range from sports to languages, drama, and much more. “Students should be involved in the life of the local community through humanitarian work, visits to exhibitions, theaters, etc.,” he tells us.
“The essential task of a school should be to teach the child to learn, to seek independently, and to find the knowledge and skills that he or she needs in all of life’s situations.” To do this, he points out that a child must develop a love of learning and an enthusiasm for inquiry that spills over from school into all aspects of the child’s life.
“This is what I had in mind when I decided to establish an educational institute that would bring in and combine the best world practices,” he reveals. “I do believe that I have managed to achieve that, for Chartwell offers all the above mentioned and a lot more, as encouragement and motivation are keywords in the teaching philosophy,” he affirms.
Practicing Excellence
Chartwell is accredited by Cambridge University as an international school and examination center. It is recognized by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia as an international educational institution. Chartwell is a member of COBIS.
“These are excellent references. We are extremely proud of them, and they can certainly assist parents in their decision as far as the right school for their children is concerned,” says Aleksandar Ignjatovic, Executive Principal of Chartwell.
The thing that is much more important for Chartwell is the smile on our students’ faces as they come to school in the morning and leave in the afternoon. “Happy children, children who feel loved, cared for, and secure are children who can develop academically, and this is what Chartwell students are,” he believes.
“Technological, demographic, social, environmental, economic, and political shifts are a great challenge for all education systems today. To keep up with the changes and yet remain true to the traditional values of education is something that is not easily attained,” he adds.
Creating Ideal Citizens of Tomorrow
Chartwell fosters a strong family atmosphere. Chartwell School is not governed by rules, but rather by respect for others and common sense. This is what makes the school a unique, tension-free environment where students and teachers chat during breaks, play sports together, resolve problems together, and participate together in various projects.
Regardless of their many cultural differences, students and teachers respect each other and work closely to achieve the best possible results. Chartwell’s students grow up alongside pupils from Japan to Jaipur, and they have an attuned understanding of what the world at large offers them. With strong, fully accredited academic results and a firm sense of self and responsibility, the school’s alumni leave their “little world” in Belgrade equipped to meet the challenges they will face in a rapidly globalizing and competitive world.
“Our graduating students leave us to go to universities around the globe, and they achieve good results. We are, of course, very proud of them. However, most importantly, we are proud that they have become good people. People with the right values, who respect themselves and deserve to do so, but also people who have learned to respect those around them regardless of the differences,” says the founder, Nenad Gazikalovic.
Aiming for a Bright Future
Chartwell aims to combine tradition with the most contemporary and top-quality standards in education. Its new buildings have been built and equipped to ensure the same. “Our goal is to provide our teachers and students with conditions in which each will be able to attain the best results,” Principal Aleksandar Ignjatovic underscores.
In line with the recent pandemic and the changes taking place worldwide, Chartwell has also invested a lot to enable top-quality remote learning. “We have invested in technology and in the education of our teachers,” tells the principal.
“The interest in the school is increasing every year, and, of course, we aim to enroll more students, but we will not sacrifice quantity for quality. We will continue to optimize class sizes to be able to tailor the curriculum to suit individual students’ needs.”