Learning models
Academy, Bridge and Foundation
There are three ways to be an IWS student. Families choose between them by fit: how much live teaching and flexibility a student needs, and how much responsibility IWS holds for the student’s education.
Academy
Every lesson is live.
Bridge
One live lesson in each subject, the rest recorded.
Foundation
Every lesson is recorded.
Academy, Bridge and Foundation are three ways to take part in the same IWS academic philosophy.
Which model fits your family?
We always begin with a few plain questions, because the answers tell us which model fits. There’s no wrong place to start.
If yes: Academy
Are you choosing IWS as your child’s school?
Academy is the complete IWS school experience, for families choosing IWS as the student’s school.
If yes: Bridge
Will your child combine IWS with another school or a more complex schedule?
Bridge is a guided hybrid learning model, with selected live learning and the flexibility to fit around the rest of the week.
If yes: Foundation
Does your child need greater control over time and pace?
Foundation is a structured asynchronous model: recorded teaching and guided materials, studied when the student chooses.
How the three models compare
Read across a row to see how each model handles the same part of a student’s week.
The complete IWS school experience
Academy
Every lesson is live.
How the lessons are given
- Live
Best for families who want IWS to be their child’s school.
- Live lessons
- 12 to 15 live lessons a week, depending on year group
- Recordings and materials
- Recordings and structured materials
- Marking and feedback
- Full marking and feedback
- Academic support
- Extra academic support when a student falls behind agreed goals, for as long as it’s needed
- Mentoring
- Well-Rounded Mentoring
- Designed to give
- Community, opportunities, the Well-Rounded Programme and whole-person development
Bridge
One live lesson in each subject, the rest recorded.
How the lessons are given
- Live
- Recorded
Best for students who also go to another school, or have a busy schedule.
- Live lessons
- One live lesson in each subject every week, so up to 5 a week
- Recordings and materials
- Recordings and course materials
- Marking and feedback
- Scheduled feedback
- Academic support
- Structured academic guidance
- Mentoring
- Progress Mentoring
- Designed to give
- Flexibility
Foundation
Every lesson is recorded.
How the lessons are given
- Recorded
Best for students who need to choose their own time and pace.
- Live lessons
- Recorded teaching, at the student’s own time and pace
- Recordings and materials
- Structured academic content and recorded teaching
- Marking and feedback
- Assessment suited to the model
- Academic support
- Guided materials and activities
- Mentoring
- Study Mentoring
- Designed to give
- Control over time and pace
Every model includes mentoring. The Well-Rounded Programme is part of Academy.
Who is responsible for what?
A learning model also settles how responsibility for a student’s education is shared between the school and the family. Each model sits at a different point.
The school
Academy
IWS is the student’s school. When a student falls behind an agreed goal, IWS takes accountability for helping them recover progress.
Bridge
IWS shares educational responsibility with the student’s wider pathway.
Foundation
The student and family carry greater responsibility for timing, routine and the wider educational context.
The family
Every model includes mentoring.
Every IWS student receives mentoring that fits their learning model.
What it’s for changes with the scope of IWS’s relationship with the student, so each model asks its own question.
Academy
Well-Rounded Mentoring
Who is this student becoming?
Mentoring connects academic learning, personal development, goals, opportunities and the Well-Rounded Profile.
Bridge
Progress Mentoring
Is this student progressing, and what should happen next?
Mentoring keeps a student on course when IWS is one part of their education.
Foundation
Study Mentoring
Is this student studying effectively, and what is getting in the way?
Mentoring keeps a student organised, in good study habits and moving forward.
Every stage offers all three models
The stage a student studies and the model they learn in are separate choices. Every model is open at every stage, so a family can choose the programme first and the way of taking part second.
Talk it through with us
Book a consultation and talk it through with our admissions team. You’ll be able to try a 30-minute lesson with a qualified teacher before you decide, at no charge.