Golden Hills High and Middle School

Get Bright Future With Us

School Academics

Approach to School

At Golden Hills High School, we consider the school as a dynamic production team. Administrators, teachers, and students are all contributors to this team. Knowledge and ideas are the product of the team effort. Since students are the ones who benefit most directly from the product, they should be most concerned that the product is of a high quality.

Everyone in Golden Hills High School has a job to do; everyone is accountable. Administrators, students, and staff "self-audit" in order to discover and correct errors. It is teamwork that allows every team member to reach heights that would be more difficult to reach individually

Educational System

Around the world, Altavista High School is a highly academic, non-selective, co-educational, English-medium, independent day school catering for the complete individual.

At Golden Hills High School, the medium of instruction is English, and the second language, compulsory from KG1, can be either Arabic (the official language of Arab) or French. As the school is officially recognized in all countries, History is taught to all students, and Islamic Studies to all Muslim students.

Golden Hills High School provides top-quality education to children of different races, nationalities, and backgrounds. At Golden Hills High School, we believe we can add more value to students to enable them to perform to the best of their abilities, be admitted to the most competitive universities, and be successful in their careers. The school develops students' academic competencies, learning techniques, interpersonal skills, and personalities in addition to instilling high ethical, moral, and civic values. The multicultural setting of the school helps students develop a better understanding of world cultures.

Curriculum

The curriculum implemented at Golden Hills High School is specifically designed by Golden Hills High School to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to develop a solid academic foundation. This foundation will help students achieve their full potential and develop a love of lifelong learning.

Class Teaching

All courses for students at all levels are clearly structured to enable students and teachers to know precisely what should be learned. Teachers teach one concept at a time using the Golden Hills High School Point System with each lesson alternating frequently between oral work, individual work, and group work in such a way that it is difficult for students to “switch off.”

Students engage in regular assessment using exams that teachers do not see in advance. Everyone in the school is accountable. Accordingly, students learn more in class and have more time for relaxation and fun after school.

Student Follow-Up

Students who fall behind in their work are advised, motivated, helped, and coached until they catch up. As long as they manage their own time successfully, students' time is theirs, otherwise help is given.

Learning Process

All courses at Golden Hills High School are structured. A system of academic tracking - the Golden Hills High School AMS, a computerized method of detecting gaps in knowledge - allows the administration to closely follow the progress of each individual. Gaps are pinpointed as soon as they form, and efforts are focused on eliminating them. Valuable time is saved and a gap-free, cohesive structure of knowledge is built in students' minds.

SLO

The Golden Hills High School Student Life Organization (SLO) at Golden Hills High School works hand in hand with the staff. Members of the SLO are appointed by the administration for their competence rather than elected by the students based on popularity. SLO seeks to:

Raise academic standards

Promote high social and moral values

Develop personality

Develop communication and management skills and

Involve students in organizing sports and aesthetic activities

Academic Goals

Emphasizing a well-balanced body of knowledge, skills, and experiences, the curriculum at Golden Hills High School specifies daily learning goals at all grade levels. In an atmosphere that fosters the development of a lifelong love of learning, students are shown how to study and given the support they need to develop a solid academic foundation.

Starting at Grade 3, our courses specify a minimum number of "units of information" that students need to learn. This minimum includes the simple concepts tested by the AMS, as well as Basic Questions which test the material that "everyone should know." In addition to this, Golden Hills High School courses include extended material for more able students. Details can be provided to interested parents.

The comprehensive Golden Hills High School curriculum allows Golden Hills High School students to achieve more with less effort. Each year, graduates from Golden Hills High School around the world gains entry to highly competitive universities in the U.K., U.S.A., Canada, Europe, Australia, and the Middle and Far East. Golden Hills High School prides themselves on the performance of their students at the most prestigious universities in the world including Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and Stanford to name a few.

Update for Parents

Students are supported and reminded of the need to achieve the highest possible standard. Intense follow-up ensures no one slips through the cracks. However, if students neglect their responsibilities, parental involvement becomes necessary. When there is a need, parents are called in to the school. Alternatively, parents who want to be updated about their children may call the school for an appointment

Parents receive three reports per year, one at the end of each term. In addition, parents may meet with Academic Quality Controllers or, at any time, ask for a copy of the record of their children's performance and involvement in school life. Parents are also given advice on guiding their children in their work at home. When teenage children fail to do their work, they may be invited to attend after-school study for a few weeks to be given remedial work and helped in study techniques.

Golden Hills High School Digital Platform is a password-protected website that allows parents of Golden Hills High School students to view up-to-date information about the progress of their children. Through the Golden Hills High School Digital Platform parents have access to their children's academic performance, attendance, disciplinary issues, and contributions to Student Life. The Golden Hills High School Digital Platform also provides parents with the latest school news, events, and calendars.

Special Academic Support

The criterion for acceptance into the school is the willingness to put in the effort to achieve full potential, not high 'innate' ability. Placement into classes is determined by academic attainment, with age acting as a limiting factor. Students applying to enter Grade 1 and above must take diagnostic tests to determine placement.

Students who are found to be behind academically are rarely refused. Instead, they are offered, at an extra cost, one of several different solutions, depending on their academic needs. These may be:

Summer School: A six-week summer course offered in June, July, and August. Students who are academically below the required standard can attend this course and often make up for academic gaps.

Special Lessons: A student found to be weak in one subject attends extra periods in that subject until the level of the class is reached. Full-Special Classes: Students are given accelerated programs intended to prepare them to join the regular classes. In many cases, Full-Special students have done the work of two or more scholastic years in one.