The Beaconhouse School System is one of the largest private school networks in the world. Established in November 1975 as the Les Anges Montessori Academy for toddlers, Beaconhouse has since grown into a global network of private schools, institutes, and universities, giving education to over 274,000 students from pre-school to post-graduation. Many of these students study at the group's flagship network, the Beaconhouse School System, while others are enrolled at The Educators, a parallel school network operated by the group.
Beaconhouse School System has now grown into an international company with independent divisions in Belgium, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the UAE and the United Kingdom. Its activities extend beyond education in some countries. Most of its branches are located in Pakistan with 30 branches throughout the country.
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History
The first Beaconhouse school opened in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1975. From its initial association in the 1980s with the Moray House School of Education in Scotland, to its teacher training programme initiated in 1993 in collaboration with the University of Bradford, Beaconhouse has organised in-service teacher training. Today, more than half its teachers have internationally recognised teaching certificates while the rest are enrolled in the permanent in-service programme. In addition, Beaconhouse sends senior academics to the UK annually to pursue master's degrees in education and professional development.
In 1996, the World Bank Group, through its private sector wing, the International Finance Corporation, entered into a financing arrangement with Beaconhouse aimed at the construction of new school campuses.
In September 2012, the founder and chairperson of the Beaconhouse Group, Mrs. Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri, received a "Pakistan Women Power 100 award".
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School network
Beaconhouse owns school companies and educational institutes around the world. Some of these are profiled below.
Pakistan
The first Beaconhouse school, Les Anges Montessori Academy, opened in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1975. Today, Beaconhouse has established over 146 private schools in more than 30 cities aross Pakistan. These institutions collectively provide preschool education, primary education, secondary education and preparation for the international General Certificate of Education (GCE) and local Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations.
Beaconhouse operates campuses for students of varying ages in the following Pakistani cities: [Bahria enclave] Abbotabad, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Islamabad, Jhang, Jhelum, Karachi, Kharian, Lahore, Mandi Bahauddin, Mardan, Mirpur, Multan, Nowshera, Okara, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Quetta, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Sadiqabad, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Sukkur, and Wah Cantonment.
Beaconhouse has also helped fund or manage several other educational programs in Pakistan:
- The Educators, a separate private school network
- TNS Beaconhouse, the first school in Pakistan to embrace the Reggio Emilia approach
- Gymboree Play and Music, an international franchise of play centres for which Beaconhouse is Pakistan's franchisee
- The Early Years, a child development centre in Lahore, Pakistan
- Bubbles, a playgroup programme developed by Beaconhouse, offered at selected schools
- The Discovery Centre SmartSchool in Karachi, Pakistan
- Beaconhouse National University, a private liberal arts university in Lahore, whose establishment was assisted by a US$6 million contribution from Beaconhouse.
- Concordia Colleges, a group of college campuses established in 2014 in several cities in Pakistan
United Kingdom
Headquartered in London, Beaconhouse Educational Services Limited, or BESL, was set up by Beaconhouse as a school management company. It also serves as a holding company for Beaconhouse schools in Asia and the Middle East. BESL manages the conceptualisation and construction of start-up schools, the acquisition of existing schools, and day-to-day school operations.
BESL currently owns and operates the following schools in the UK:
- Cherub Nurseries and Preschools: Based in Yorkshire, England, Cherub is a group of three nurseries and preschools within half an hour of each other. The Cherub group was established in 1976.
- Pocklington Montessori Nursery: Pocklington Montessori Nursery is also based in Pocklington Yorkshire.
- Newlands School: Acquired by BESL in July 2009, Newlands School is an independent, coeducational day and boarding school set on a 21-acre property in Seaford, East Sussex. The school caters to students from prep school through sixth form. In 2011, following its acquisition of Newlands UK, Beaconhouse introduced the Newlands UK Activity Programme for Classes VI to X, giving Beaconhouse students the opportunity to attend two and six-week residential trips to Newlands School.
Malaysia
The Beaconhouse School System was the first Pakistani education system to cross borders to Malaysia. Beaconhouse Malaysia Sdn Bhd was established in 2004 to operate schools in Malaysia. Beaconhouse owns eleven schools in Malaysia, all of them in or around Kuala Lumpur. Of these, seven are preschools and four - Sekolah Sri Inai, Sri Lethia, Sri Murni and Beaconhouse-Newlands Kuala Lumpur - are primary and secondary schools.
Philippines
In late 2005, Beaconhouse acquired Dame Theresiana de Montealegre School, a private school based in Manila, Philippines, that offers English-medium education to over 200 students in an upper-middle income suburb of the city.
Beaconhouse acquired a second school, St Paul Learning Centre, in Cebu City, the second largest city in the Philippines.
In early 2012, Beaconhouse entered into a partnership with the Angels in Heaven school in Cabuyao, Laguna, south of Manila. Divided over two campuses located close to each other, the school caters to students at kindergarten, elementary and high school level.
Thailand
St George's International School is a purpose-built school catering to the expatriate community in Bangkok. Built on a 3-acre (1.2 ha) site close to the new Bangkok airport, St George's caters to children aged 2 to 11, with plans to go up to senior school.
Indonesia
In 2010 Beaconhouse completed a strategic partnership with the SIS Group of Schools, comprising the popular Singapore International Schools (SIS) and its other national plus (private) schools. The Group has close to 3,000 students.
Bangladesh
The first branch of Beaconhouse in Bangladesh commenced its first academic year in August 2006 and relocated from Gulshan to Banani, a neighbourhood in Dhaka.
Oman
Beaconhouse established its first school in Muscat, Oman, in September 2006. This school has been established through Al-Kanz Education, a joint venture between Beaconhouse UK (which owns majority shares) and a local Omani group.
UAE
In 2009 Beaconhouse acquired the Gulf Nursery in Sharjah. The same year the Group also entered into a public-private partnership with the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) to improve the general performance of a cluster of government schools, with particular emphasis on ensuring significant improvement in students' achievement in English, mathematics and science. From September 2017, Beaconhouse Newlands school is commencing its operations in Al-Warqa, Midriff area in Dubai. Newlands School Dubai will initially cater for children aged 3 to 11 years, but will expand over the following years to include around 1,200 children up to the age of 18 years. Led by an experienced UK Head with a strongly multicultural, English-speaking faculty, Newlands School is designed to cater to a diverse student body including South Asian, Arab and Western expats along with Emiratis. The school offers the National Curriculum for England culminating in internationally recognised UK qualifications (IGCSE and A Levels) that will provide students with a dependable route to universities worldwide.
Notable Beaconhouse alumni
- Nadia Hussain, Pakistani actress and model
- Hassan Sheheryar Yasin (HSY), noted Pakistani fashion designer
- Ali Zafar, famous Pakistani actor and singer
- Mir Zafar Ali, Pakistani award-winning visual effects artist
- Sana Askari, Pakistani TV actress and model
- Ayesha Omer, famous Pakistani actress, singer and model
- Kamran Akmal, well-known Pakistani cricket player
TBT Online
Launched towards the end of 2011, The Beaconhouse Times Online is an interactive news portal developed by Mudassir Ali that connects the Beaconhouse community, including parents, across 9 countries. A network of student and teacher correspondents provides campus news on a regular basis, facilitating the sharing of achievements of Beaconhouse students, teachers and staff members across the world.
Other operations
The Beaconhouse Group is involved in a number of activities that extend beyond education.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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