Sandford International School, Addis Ababa

The children in the Primary School follow a curriculum which utilizes elements of the International and British National Curriculum where appropriate. Teaching is focused on the 'process of learning' although 'knowledge acquisition' is an important curriculum component. A great deal of the content presented is cross-curricula and is taught through an activity based approach.

Since English is a second language for the majority of students, the teaching of English is considered particularly important across the curriculum especially for the younger children.
Amharic ( the Ethiopian national language ) is taught to all Ethiopian students, and French is taught to international students from Year 3 upwards.

In Early Years all classes have a fully trained teacher and most also have a local assistant, some of whom have excellent local or international qualifications. There are English as Second Language (ESL) teachers who provide support in the classroom, in small withdrawal groups or on a one-to-one basis. The teaching assistants are also involved in teaching Amharic and ESL, and provide Library support work.

There is a through school Music specialist who teaches, or oversees the teaching of, music in Years 1 and 2. In Middle Primary School Years 3 and 4 classes each have a full time Teacher Assistant. The four Year 5 and 6 classes share two Assistants. A non-teaching Library Assistant maintains the Library resources.