Scholastica is a private English medium school in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, offering

pre-school A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or learning space Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical s ...

A level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

courses. It was founded in 1977 by businesswoman and former advisor to the government, Yasmeen Murshed. The school follows the Cambridge International Curriculum set by the

Cambridge Assessment International Education Cambridge International Education (abbreviated CIE, informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CAIE, Cambridge Assessment International Education and CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a pro ...

for Grade 9 to 12 and offers the GCE O Level, GCE AS Level and the GCE A Level qualifications. It is prominently recognised as one of the elite schools of Bangladesh, boasting a strong alumni network.

History

Scholastica was founded in 1977 to meet the demands for schools having English as the medium of instruction, but emphasising equal proficiency in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

. At the time of its founding, the school comprised a single campus for junior-level students (grades PG to Class 2) in Dhanmondi. Since then, the school has expanded to six campuses: four for junior-level students, and two senior-level campuses. Both the Mirpur and

Uttara Uttara, which means "north" in Sanskrit and many other South Asian languages, may refer to: Places *Uttara (town), Uttara, a neighbourhood north of Dhaka, Bangladesh *Uttara Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh *Uttara East Thana *Uttara West Thana ...

campuses are now considered the school's main campus.

Curriculum

Scholastica offers a complete primary, elementary, secondary and high school program leading to the

General Certificate of Education The General Certificate of Education (GCE) is a subject-specific family of academic qualifications used in examination board, awarding bodies in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Education in the Crown dependencies, Crown dependencies and a few ...

examinations which are conducted by the

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. Since the 2008–09 academic session, the school's O and A Level examinations have been administered by

, replacing the

Edexcel Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board in the United Kingdom. It ...

system of schooling.

Laboratory

Laboratory facilities are provided for all the science classes. The senior laboratories are inspected and approved by the representatives of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

to meet its standard for the practical requirement of the 'O' and 'A' Level examinations.

Extra-curricular activities

Scholastica's extra-curricular activities include drama, debating and public speaking. The school also offers a large number of both teacher and student-run clubs. School teams participate in inter-school and national competitions. Theatrical presentations are performed in English and Bengali, and it is well known for its annual dramas. Several after-school programs are offered beginning in middle school. The school is also famous for its renowned

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

(Model UN) conferences, known as "SCHOMUN" in its Uttara Branch, which was also the first school-affiliated Model UN conference in the country. The conference is managed by the school's Model UN club, founded in 2015 with Shadman Shakib serving as the club's president during the 2015-2016 and 2016–2017 academic sessions. The school's Mirpur Campus also hosts its conference known as "SMUN". The school is also known for hosting the Scholastica Business Summit or "SBS."

Notable alumni

* Tania Amir, lawyer and senior advocate of the

Supreme Court of Bangladesh Supreme Court of Bangladesh () is the highest court of law in the country. It is composed of the High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, High Court Division and the Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division, ...

Wasfia Nazreen Wasfia Nazreen () is a Bangladeshi mountaineer, activist, social worker and environmentalist. Nazreen is the first Bengali and Bangladeshi to scale K2, the world's second highest and most dangerous peak becoming one of the 40 women in history ...

, first Bangladeshi and Bengali to the complete the

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...

record * Shazia Omar, Bangladeshi English-language novelist * Iresh Zaker, a Bangladeshi advertising executive, television and film actor, and a musician. * Nizam Uddin Jalil John, former Member of Parliament *

Tulip Siddiq Tulip Rizwana Siddiq (born 16 September 1982) is a British Bangladeshi politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Highgate, previously Hampstead and Kilburn, since 2015. She served as Economic Secretary to the T ...

, British Member of Parliament, Politician, and niece of

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

* Lutfey Siddiqi, Special Envoy of the Government of Bangladesh * Ishraque Hossain, politician and engineer * Sunerah Binte Kamal, Bangladeshi actress and model

Notable faculty

* Zafar Sobhan taught

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

at Scholastica for a year.

References

External links

Scholastica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scholastica Cambridge schools in Bangladesh Schools in Dhaka District Educational institutions established in 1977 1977 establishments in Bangladesh Schools in Dhaka Scholastica (school)