How Oxbridge International School (OXIS) combined in-person and online learning to broaden access to international education
OXIS launched online learning to complement its physical school and expand access to Cambridge education for students who might otherwise be unable to attend in person.
Dr Rolph Balgobin, Founder of OXIS Trinidad and Tobago, explains why the school introduced online provision and how it approached implementation.
Expanding access through online learning
OXIS is an approved Cambridge school following the Cambridge Pathway for students aged 3 to 19 years. It has physical premises in the city of San Fernando in Trinidad and Tobago, an island country in the Caribbean. The school also supports around 60 online learners from the local region.
To broaden access to international education, OXIS introduced its online programme to complement its physical school and widen its Cambridge offering.
‘We were aiming to fill a gap for access to quality international education,’ says Dr Rolph Balgobin.
OXIS Online provides an alternative for students who are unable to attend a physical school full-time. This includes learners in remote areas, those whose families travel frequently, and students who may benefit from a more flexible or independent approach to learning.
‘OXIS Online helps us reach students in remote areas and those who travel frequently because of the careers of their parents or guardians,’ Rolph says.
‘It can also work well for children with special educational needs and disabilities or injuries, and learners who are introverted and prefer self-study.’
OXIS Online also supports learners whose first school doesn’t offer the Cambridge curriculum and who want to study Cambridge programmes additionally.
‘The Cambridge programmes can reinforce these students’ existing learning or enhance their prospects for university and the world of work,’ he says.
Becoming a Cambridge online school
Rolph found that the process of registering as a Cambridge online school was straightforward and that the Cambridge syllabuses were easy to apply to online teaching and learning. However, he notes that online education requires particular skills and resources.
‘Initially, we thought Zoom, Teams, Google Classroom, etc were all that was required – basically an extension of the online meeting experience we already had,’ he says. ‘We quickly learned that this wasn’t nearly enough.’
The school found that both the technology and approach to teaching needed to be adapted.
‘The technology required was different, and the classroom programming and pedagogical requirements were very distinctive as well. We had to look at online as an initiative in its own right, rather than as an incidental activity.’
Key considerations for online delivery
Technical considerations included bandwidth, platform choice, device requirements, affordability and security.
From a teaching perspective, delivering an engaging online experience required a different approach.
‘We had to consider how to deliver an experiential curriculum online,’ Rolph says. ‘Online required shorter periods and more active study.’
Rolph also highlights handwriting practice as a particular challenge:
‘This is critical for exams, so we needed effective, innovative ways to do this.’
Cambridge was very supportive from the outset, he adds:
‘Cambridge answered our questions, put us in touch with schools that had had similar experiences, and took the time to understand what we were facing. I’d give them 10 out of 10 for responsiveness and helpfulness.’
Advantages for an existing Cambridge school
Being a modern Cambridge school provided a strong foundation for delivering Cambridge programmes online, Rolph says: ‘We already had a well-developed infrastructure, strong leadership, great IT skills and teachers who had been comprehensively trained in the Cambridge way.’
As with any change in a school, the human element required careful support. ‘We took very careful steps into this new realm, but once we had put the necessary resources in place and a culture of online was built, we had very positive results.’
Key features of online learning at OXIS
One hundred percent of OXIS’s online teaching is delivered live, with classes also recorded for students who are absent, Rolph explains.
‘We run a normal school day and we also use the technology to offer extra lessons and tutorials.’
Online learners have plenty of opportunity to interact with their teachers. ‘All students have direct contact with their teacher and can ask for help at any time,’ Rolph says. ‘This is extremely important.’
One condition for a physical Cambridge school to also offer online education is that the school only enrols online students who live in their local region. This means that OXIS Online students also have the opportunity to attend OXIS’s physical school if and when they can.
‘This option is heavily utilised, particularly by the children of parents who travel a lot,’ says Rolph. ‘They value this flexibility.’
OXIS as a second school
Students from the local region who attend OXIS as their second school to study Cambridge subjects not available at their first school join classes online on weekday evenings. They can also attend classes in person at weekends at the OXIS Notre Dame campus.
There are 23 Cambridge subjects available to the students: Additional Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Chinese (Mandarin), Economics, English, Enterprise, Global Perspectives, Information and Communication Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Spanish, Business, Digital Media, Marine Science, Sociology, Law, Biblical Studies, Islamic Studies, Hinduism, Divinity, Psychology, and Design.
Meeting parents’ expectations
Parents who register their child for OXIS Online are looking for learning that resembles the classroom environment and strong academic progress, says Rolph.
‘We develop and agree individual learner plans with parents and we don’t make a distinction between online and face-to-face students in terms of how much time the student is expected to work alone or in groups,’ he says.
‘All of this means online can be seen as complementary to the regular offering of in-person school. Parents are pleased with this approach.’
Parents are also looking for psychological and other support, he adds:
‘We partner with parents, we deliver to small classes and there is a big focus on wellbeing and child safety.’
Opportunities for social interaction
Social interaction remains a key aspect of children’s learning and this needs to be actively supported, Rolph says.
‘Social interaction is one of the biggest issues with a purely online model. In the online space, a school cannot rely on the type of socialisation that comes with the in-person experience.
‘We encourage learners to come onto campus if they can, or to meet nearby learners to do group work. We also try to facilitate links through sports, games and music.
‘We are very careful when engaging with parents about the particular needs of their child that, if they are considering online education, they are aware of the importance of this kind of social interaction.’
Advice for other Cambridge schools
Rolph has three key tips for physical Cambridge schools looking to expand into online education.
‘First I would suggest that they think about a blended model and how that would work, since many of the facilities required for an excellent in-person Cambridge education also facilitate online work.
‘Second, do not underestimate the technology – computers, servers, network, bandwidth and platform – or the training requirements, especially for teachers.
‘Third, get the home right – online education requires greater home support in various ways, starting with some level of supervision and extending to parents supporting the child in exploring the opportunities for social interaction.’
Expanding to offer Cambridge programmes online
If you are a Cambridge school with existing physical premises and would like to apply for an extension to offer Cambridge programmes online for students in your local region, visit the Direct homepage and complete the ‘Add eligibility to deliver Cambridge programmes online: Preparation – Form 9’. Online students sit their exams at their Cambridge school, in the same way as in-person students.
Read more about online education