How the International British School of Bucharest (IBSB) is using CENTURY to drive independent study and student engagement

IBSB is an all through school from ages 3-18. They use CENTURY to support the teaching of the English National Curriculum at primary, as well as supporting students to prepare for the IGCSE at secondary. During our annual Winter Cup competition, which ran for the month of November, one of their students placed second globally and the school came third in their category for overall usage for their school type.

Aliviana Sanders, a Year 6 teacher, explains how they have embedded CENTURY successfully and use competitions to motivate learners.

What initially prompted your school to use CENTURY?

We had already been trialling self-paced learning in some of our primary classes, and it was very time-consuming for the teachers to prepare everything. One of the things we were really excited about with CENTURY is that you don’t have to do any of the prepping because it’s all there. 

How was the process of setting up CENTURY?

My colleagues and I found the onboarding process very easy and very straightforward. Our account manager is always quick to help if we have any questions. 

How does the school use the platform?

Different teachers use the platform in different ways. We often use the diagnostic as a baseline at the beginning of a unit. Students then complete nuggets from their pathway. Most teachers use it for homework, either setting specific nuggets to the class or letting students work through their Recommended Path independently. I like to use it to support knowledge reviews prior to assessments.

The Recommended Path is great for younger students as everything is all in one place. Older students don’t need as much direction, so we also encourage them to use My Courses to search for nuggets that they’d like to improve on.

How did you introduce the idea of the Winter Cup competition to the school?

When we introduced the competition, we linked CENTURY usage to house points and certificates. Individual teachers then decided how they want to use CENTURY with their classes; one class teacher assigned CENTURY as designated homework. Throughout the competition, we put the onus on the children. It’s up to them how much they engage. For some of the kids, it’s very motivating, like the student who placed second globally in our school category. What I found most surprising, after 10 years of teaching, was how motivated students are by certificates! 

What are your plans for going forward with CENTURY?

One of my jobs this year is to centralise more and really look at how we go from the beginning of the year to the end of the year and highlight student progression. We’re looking forward to taking advantage of refresher training provided by our account manager, particularly the dedicated session, “Harnessing Data”, where we will be diving into our students’ data. Also, parents really, really like it; they love it for homework especially and even request more! We’re also looking to share the Parent Video Guide with parents so they understand the full benefits of CENTURY.

For more information on how to make CENTURY work for your international school, click here. Book a demo here.