Fundação Anglo Brasileira de Educãção e Cultura de São Paulo

and bicultural school, offering a high quality education for pupils of all nationalities. This document summarises the unique story of the School, its past, its present and its direction for the future.


2. History 2.1 Origins St. Paul 9s School was formally opened in February 1926, as the Escola Britânica S.A.


The concept of such a school can however be traced as far back as 1867, when thirty children of expatriate railway employees building the British-owned São Paulo-Santos Railway line were given education classes by Canon Morrey Jones at St. Paul 9s Anglican Church. The number of British families arriving in São Paulo then grew steadily from 1867 to 1926 as British engineers, accountants, bankers and industrialists came to work in the growing city.


The Escola Britânica S.A. was established to run a non-denominational school along commercial lines, and to provide a sound education for the sons and daughters of British parents. The School began with facilities for sixty pupils and accommodation for twelve boys as boarders.


The principal concern of the Board of Directors then became the purchase of land for the new school. Negotiations were successfully concluded early in 1927 with the Mahfuz Brothers, who owned a large amount of land in Jardim Paulistano. The Escola Britânica S.A.


bought 18,000 square metres facing Rua Juquiá for 50 contos, which Mr. Jorge Mahfuz used to buy shares in the School and which he subsequently donated. 2.2 Development During the early years of the School, a dual system of education was introduced, whereby boys and girls were taught separately.


The following years saw the steady development and expansion of the School, with Portuguese language lessons and some Brazilian History and Geography brought into the curriculum. Later still, a modified form of co-education was introduced. Girls were allowed to become boarders, and boys and girls shared the same lessons.


It became increasingly clear to the Headmaster that more British children would be completing their education in Brazil and not going to the UK, so the Brazilian Curso Ginasial was introduced in the School. This course was taught in the morning, and lessons in English were given in the afternoon. In addition to the adaptation of the curriculum to meet Brazilian educational requirements, discussions were held from 1947 onwards between representatives of the British Community Council and the Board of Directors of the Escola Britânica S.A.


about changing the legal structure of the School from a Limited Company (S.A.) to a Foundation (Fundação). This culminated in the unanimous recommendation in 1951 that the Fundação Anglo-Brasileira de Educação e Cultura (FABEC) should be set up in accordance with Brazilian law to be managed by a Board of Governors. The statutes of the new non-profit Foundation stated that its objective was to further the development of the education and the culture (intellectual, physical and spiritual) of young people of both sexes in the State of São Paulo.


During the 1960s and 1970s the School was run as a co-educational day school for pupils from the age of 4 to 16. As such it was essentially a preparatory school and the pupils would have to move to other schools in Brazil or overseas to complete their pre-university studies. It became increasingly apparent to the Headmaster and the Board of Governors that the School should extend its scope to include a Sixth Form where pupils up to the age of 18 would be prepared for university entrance.


Accordingly in the early 1980s two important decisions were taken. To meet the needs of the pupils who would be studying abroad the School introduced the International Baccalaureate Diploma. This was chosen in preference to the UK cA d level examinations as it was more suitable for the international nature of the School population.


In addition to being accepted as an entrance qualification by UK universities it was also recognised in other European countries and the USA. The first six pupils to complete the two-year IB Diploma course in the Sixth Form did so in June 1987. To meet the needs of those pupils who intended to go to university in Brazil it was important for the School to play its part in the São Paulo educational framework.


Accordingly in 1983 the School was registered with the State of São Paulo Education Authorities under the name of Escola Britânica de São Paulo. This registration enabled St. Paul 9s Schoolto offer an education suited to the needs of the whole Community whilst retaining its fundamental aims.


Official recognition was further granted in 1985 for St. Paul 9s Schoolto function as part of the Brazilian Educational System as Escola de Ensino de Primeiro Grau (up to 15 years) e de Segundo Grau (up to 18 years). (Autorização: DRECAP-3 de 4-1-1983, publicada em 6-1-1983; Reconhecimento: Portaria COGESP, publicada no DO de 10-9-1985.) This procedure led to the first Sixth Formers receiving the Segundo Grau certificate in 1984.


2.3 Present Day Today St. Paul 9s School has evolved to be a genuinely Anglo-Brazilian, bilingual and bicultural school, still offering a high quality education for pupils of all nationalities. The School is maintained by a non-profit Foundation and is registered with the educational authorities of the State of São Paulo according to Federal and State legislation as the Escola Britânica de São Paulo.


The Foundation and the School are under the responsibility of a Board of Governors whose members are appointed by representatives (or trustees) of the British community. The Board of Governors includes parents of current or former pupils, a representative of the British Commonwealth and Community Council, and ex-officio members. Her Majesty 9s Ambassador to Brazil is the Honorary President of the Foundation.


The overall task of the Board of Governors is to ensure that the School runs successfully and smoothly in accordance with its stated aims. The Board of Governors meets approximately once per month and is responsible for overseeing general educational policy, development of infrastructure and financial control. The School occupies the same 1.8 hectare site acquired in 1927 and is situated in the leafy residential area aptly named Jardins.


It seeks excellence and modernity in all contexts, including the provision of all services and amenities. The School 9s facilities are constantly refurbished to the highest standards. Most recent improvements include: the creation of a self-contained Pre-Preparatory School on the ground floor of the main building; increased security arrangements including the redesign of the School entrances; a new administration block; the upgrading of IT infrastructure; and the creation of a media centre which integrates IT facilities with the School Library, which has over 32 000 items on its database including books, CD-ROMs, video and audio tapes, career brochures and a wide selection of magazines and newspapers.


The School also has an impressive Art Centre, a spacious theatre and drama studio, music rooms, a Sixth Form Centre, an ecumenical place of worship, two swimming pools, a multi-purpose sports court, a football pitch, seven science laboratories, a gymnasium, fully air-conditioned dining facilities, and an underground car park. The M. T.


M. Casey McCann Centre and the ecumenical place of worship were inaugurated on 5th May 2001 by His Excellency, Her Majesty 9s Ambassador to Brazil, Sir Roger Bone KCMG, on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the School. Today St.


Paul 9s School is a busy and hardworking place for pupils up to 18 years old and over 200 academic and administrative staff. Standards are high, as are expectations, and these are maintained by regular visits by inspectors from renowned educational accreditation organisations such as HMC (Headmasters 9 and Headmistresses 9 Conference), IAPS (Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools), LAHC (Latin American Heads 9 Conference) and MEC (Ministério da Educação) representatives. The School has earned the reputation of being one of the foremost academic establishments of its type, capable of holding its own with the best in Brazil, Latin America and the UK.


3. Educational Philosophy and Mission Statement 3.1 Fundamental Principles and Values Education influences and reflects the values of society, and the kind of society we want to be. It is important, therefore, to recognise a broad set of common values and purposes that underpin the School 9s philosophy, methods and curriculum.


The underlying principles and objectives of the Brazilian and British educational systems have much in common. The Brazilian system as expressed in the LDB 9394/96 and supplementary legislation, and the British system, summarised in cThe Core Principles d published by the Department for Education and Skills, are both founded on the same principles of freedom of expression, equality of opportunity, and the development of the young person as an individual, a future citizen and a working professional. Foremost is a belief in education, at home and at school, as a route to spiritual, moral, social, cultural, physical and mental development, and thus the wellbeing of the individual.


Education also implies inclusion, a route to equality of opportunity for all, a healthy and just democracy, a productive economy, and sustainable development. Education should reflect the enduring values that contribute to these ends. These include valuing the individual, the family and other relationships, the wider groups to which we belong, the diversity in society, and the environment.


Education should also reaffirm the commitment to the virtues of truth, justice, honesty, trust and a sense of duty. At the same time, education must promote interaction between individual and environment, responding positively to the opportunities and challenges of the rapidly changing world. In particular, young people need to be prepared to participate fully in society as individuals, parents, workers and citizens and be capable of dealing with economic, social and cultural change, the continued globalisation of the economy and society, new work and leisure patterns and the rapid expansion of information and communication technologies.


The School has a clear vision of its educational objectives and the principles and values on which they are based. Furthermore it has developed strategies and policies to achieve these aims. These are described below in the School 9s Mission Statement.


3.2 Mission Statement 3.2.1Mission St. Paul 9s School aims to provide pupils with a high quality British academic education and a balanced set of values, in a bilingual and bicultural environment based on the best of British and Brazilian educational principles, so as to prepare its pupils for higher education and thereafter for citizenship and professional life in a world of diversity, competition and change. 3.2.2 Strategy The School aims to achieve its purpose by 1.


Ensuring pupils encounter and master the core and relevant foundation subjects and skills of the Brazilian and British National Curricula and the IB Diploma Programme; 2. Preparing pupils for the successful completion of their academic studies for the award of the Certificado do Ensino Fundamental and the Certificado do Ensino Médio, the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma; 3. Developing pupils as individuals and enabling them to fulfil their academic, artistic and sporting potential; 4.


Providing all pupils with the enriching experiences of field courses, the Extra- curricular Activities Programme and Community Service; 5. Providing all pupils with possibilities for personal moral development, opport