As you know, St. Paul’s Foundation offers a unique opportunity to join St. Paul’s School, a British School Overseas with an international curriculum. But what does it mean to be part of this community? How big is the opportunity to study in a school with an education different from the Brazilian model? We spoke with the teacher and Scholarship Mentor Mr Augusto Neto, to learn more about the topic.
What makes an international education different from traditional Brazilian education?
Mr Augusto Neto: The great factor of international education is that it can transform a student into someone ready for the world during their school years. So, a student who has experienced an international education is one who will usually speak two or three different languages, who is already ready to act in a global presence using English, and suddenly also using a third language that he came to learn. That makes a lot of difference.
Also, thinking about the natural transition from school to university, the international school already has all the mechanisms for the student to make this transition easier. Thus, it is possible to leave an international school in Brazil and access a university in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, etc. A classic example is that a student who graduates from High School here in Brazil with a High School diploma cannot access a university in the United Kingdom with direct entry; it is first necessary to do a year of preparation to enter the university then. But if that student comes from an international school like St. Paul’s, which offers the required qualifications, such as the IGCSE, the IB or the AP, for example, he can already enter straight into the first university year without doing a foundation year.
Another situation in many countries – in Portugal, for example – is a Year Zero program for Brazilian students who graduated from Brazilian schools. Those who come from international schools do not need to go through Year Zero, whether in Portugal, the Netherlands or other European countries, for example.
What advantages does the international curriculum add to a Brazilian student?
Mr Augusto Neto: I think not only to the Brazilian student, but to any student in the world who is attending an international school – who has this non-insular view, who looks at the world, the great advantage is to be ready for what the world is today. As much as the globe has its barriers and borders, these borders today are much more in maps and atlas than in reality. The world today needs adults or young adults who are mobile, capable of travelling, and changing between countries and localities, between realities. The international school, which is usually accompanied by an international group of students, even if it is here in São Paulo, and the company of these colleagues from other nationalities prepares the student to interact in the globalized world increasingly and more efficiently too.
The application window for the August 2024 entry of St. Paul’s Foundation scholarship program are open! Check out all the details, the regulations and the application form on our website. Do not miss this opportunity; the registration deadline ends at 17h on March 13, 2023.