Haileybury's second Kazakh school opens

Haileybury’s second school in Kazakhstan has opened in Astana. The president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, opened the first school in Almaty in 2007, and visited the new international day and boarding school ahead of Knowledge Day on 1 September 2011. Click here to see the video.

Children at the new school are taught three languages at a time. Multilingualism is something young people are encouraged to practise by Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the knowledge which they gain at the school will help them develop their country in the future.

According to Michael Gatenby, the Chairman of Haileybury Astana Board of Trustees, the school’s curriculum is based on British standards of learning and the certificate which Kazakhstan’s children will receive upon leaving the school, will enable them to enter any university in the world.

Along with the British curriculum, compulsory subjects in school will include the literature, history and geography of Kazakhstan. According to President Nazarbayev, special attention should also be given to learning the state language, which is Kazakh, as well as the culture and traditions of Kazakh people.

The international school is equipped with state-of-the-art teaching facilities. There are six laboratories, three recording studios, a workshop, 10 music classes, a dance studio, the school’s own theatre with 780 seats, as well as a gym, two pools, four tennis courts and a football field which complies with UEFA standards.