Beaconhouse School System

Beaconhouse School System
Location
Pakistan, United Kingdom, Philippines, Belgium, UAE, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia
Information
Motto Seek the Light
Established 2004
Enrollment Over 280,000 students[1]
Color(s) Blue and gold
Website www.beaconhouse.net

The Beaconhouse School System is one of the largest private school networks in the world.[1][2] Established in November 1975 as the Les Anges Montessori Academy for toddlers, Beaconhouse has since grown into a global network of private schools, institutes, and universities, giving education to over 274,000 students from pre-school to post-graduation.[1] Many of these students study at the group's flagship network, the Beaconhouse School System, while others are enrolled at The Educators,[3] a parallel school network operated by the group.

Beaconhouse School System has now grown into an international company with independent divisions in Belgium, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the UAE and the United Kingdom. Its activities extend beyond education in some countries. Most of its branches are located in Pakistan with 30 branches throughout the country.

History

The first Beaconhouse school opened in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1975. From its initial association in the 1980s with the Moray House School of Education in Scotland, to its teacher training programme initiated in 1993 in collaboration with the University of Bradford, Beaconhouse has organised in-service teacher training. Today, more than half its teachers have internationally recognised teaching certificates while the rest are enrolled in the permanent in-service programme. In addition, Beaconhouse sends senior academics to the UK annually to pursue master's degrees in education and professional development.

In 1996, the World Bank Group, through its private sector wing, the International Finance Corporation, entered into a financing arrangement with Beaconhouse aimed at the construction of new school campuses.

In September 2012, the founder and chairperson of the Beaconhouse Group, Mrs. Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri, received a "Pakistan Women Power 100 award".[4]

School network

Beaconhouse owns school companies and educational institutes around the world. Some of these are profiled below.

Pakistan

The first Beaconhouse school, Les Anges Montessori Academy, opened in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1975. Today, Beaconhouse has established over 146 private schools in more than 30 cities across Pakistan.[5] These institutions collectively provide preschool education, primary education, secondary education and preparation for the international General Certificate of Education (GCE) and local Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations.

Beaconhouse operates campuses for students of varying ages in the following Pakistani cities: [Bahria enclave] Abbotabad, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Islamabad, Jhang, Jhelum, Karachi, Kharian, Lahore, Mandi Bahauddin, Mardan, Mirpur, Multan, Nowshera, Okara, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Quetta, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Sadiqabad, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Sukkur, and Wah Cantonment.[5]

Beaconhouse has also helped fund or manage several other educational programs in Pakistan:

  • The Educators, a separate private school network[3]
  • TNS Beaconhouse, the first school in Pakistan to embrace the Reggio Emilia approach[6]
  • Gymboree Play and Music, an international franchise of play centres for which Beaconhouse is Pakistan's franchisee[7]
  • The Early Years, a child development centre in Lahore, Pakistan[8]
  • Bubbles, a playgroup programme developed by Beaconhouse, offered at selected schools
  • The Discovery Centre SmartSchool in Karachi, Pakistan
  • Beaconhouse National University, a private liberal arts university in Lahore, whose establishment was assisted by a US$6 million contribution from Beaconhouse.[9]
  • Concordia Colleges, a group of college campuses established in 2014 in several cities in Pakistan[10][11]

United Kingdom

Headquartered in London, Beaconhouse Educational Services Limited, or BESL, was set up by Beaconhouse as a school management company. It also serves as a holding company for Beaconhouse schools in Asia and the Middle East. BESL manages the conceptualisation and construction of start-up schools, the acquisition of existing schools, and day-to-day school operations.

BESL currently owns and operates the following schools in the UK:

  • Cherub Nurseries and Preschools: Based in Yorkshire, England, Cherub is a group of three nurseries and preschools within half an hour of each other. The Cherub group was established in 1976.
  • Pocklington Montessori Nursery: Pocklington Montessori Nursery is also based in Pocklington Yorkshire.
  • Newlands School: Acquired by BESL in July 2009, Newlands School is an independent, coeducational day and boarding school set on a 21-acre property in Seaford, East Sussex. The school caters to students from prep school through sixth form. In 2011, following its acquisition of Newlands UK, Beaconhouse introduced the Newlands UK Activity Programme for Classes VI to X, giving Beaconhouse students the opportunity to attend two and six-week residential trips to Newlands School.

Malaysia

The Beaconhouse School System was the first Pakistani education system to cross borders to Malaysia.[2] Beaconhouse Malaysia Sdn Bhd was established in 2004 to operate schools in Malaysia. Beaconhouse owns eleven schools in Malaysia, all of them in or around Kuala Lumpur. Of these, seven are preschools and four – Sekolah Sri Inai, Sri Lethia, Sri Murni and Beaconhouse-Newlands Kuala Lumpur – are primary and secondary schools.

Philippines

In late 2005, Beaconhouse acquired Dame Theresiana de Montealegre School, a private school based in Manila, Philippines, that offers English-medium education to over 200 students in an upper-middle income suburb of the city.

Beaconhouse acquired a second school, St Paul Learning Centre, in Cebu City, the second largest city in the Philippines.

In early 2012, Beaconhouse entered into a partnership with the Angels in Heaven school in Cabuyao, Laguna, south of Manila. Divided over two campuses located close to each other, the school caters to students at kindergarten, elementary and high school level.

Thailand

In 2014, Beaconhouse entered a partnership with the Yamssard School Group, which subsequently became known as the Beaconhouse Yamsaard Schools Group. The enterprise includes three bilingual schools, and one international school. The bilingual schools, BYS Ladprao in Bangkok, BYS Rangsit in Pathum Thani, and BYS Hua Hin, offer a mix of local and premium English programmes to a predominantly Thai market, with the premium programmes being offered at an international standard. Beaconhouse International School (BYIS) is a purpose-built international school catering to the expatriate community in Bangkok. Built on a 3-acre (1.2 ha) site close to the centre of Bangkok, BYIS currently caters to children aged 2 to 11, with plans to go up to senior school.

Indonesia

In 2010 Beaconhouse completed a strategic partnership with the SIS Group of Schools, comprising the popular Singapore International Schools (SIS) and its other national plus (private) schools. The Group has close to 3,000 students.

Bangladesh

The first branch of Beaconhouse in Bangladesh commenced its first academic year in August 2006 and relocated from Gulshan to Banani, a neighbourhood in Dhaka.

Oman

Beaconhouse established its first school in Muscat, Oman, in September 2006. This school has been established through Al-Kanz Education, a joint venture between Beaconhouse UK (which owns majority shares) and a local Omani group.

UAE

In 2009 Beaconhouse acquired the Gulf Nursery in Sharjah. The same year the Group also entered into a public–private partnership with the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) to improve the general performance of a cluster of government schools, with particular emphasis on ensuring significant improvement in students' achievement in English, mathematics and science. From September 2017, Beaconhouse Newlands school is commencing its operations in Al-Warqa, Midriff area in Dubai. Newlands School Dubai will initially cater for children aged 3 to 11 years, but will expand over the following years to include around 1,200 children up to the age of 18 years. Led by an experienced UK Head with a strongly multicultural, English-speaking faculty, Newlands School is designed to cater to a diverse student body including South Asian, Arab and Western expats along with Emiratis. The school offers the National Curriculum for England culminating in internationally recognised UK qualifications (IGCSE and A Levels) that will provide students with a dependable route to universities worldwide.

Notable Beaconhouse alumni

  • Omar Mansoor, International Couturier, graduated from Beaconhouse, Faisalabad
  • Ali Zafar, Pakistani actor, model and singer.
  • Salman Butt, a Pakistani cricketer, graduated from Beaconhouse Garden Town, Lahore
  • Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, Pakistani fashion
  • Ayesha Omer, Pakistani actress, model and singer .
  • Sana Askari, a TV personality and model graduated from Beaconhouse Gulshan Campus, Karachi
  • Nadia Hussain, one of Pakistan's supermodels, was a student at Beaconhouse Defence Campus, Karachi.
  • Mir Zafar Ali, a graduate of Beaconhouse Cambridge Branch, Karachi is a visual effects specialist. Ali was the Technical Director of the team that won an Oscar for best visual effects in 2007 for the movie The Golden Compass.
  • Kamran Akmal, a Pakistani cricketer, graduated from Beaconhouse Garden Town, Lahore
  • Umar Akmal, a Pakistani cricketer, graduated from Beaconhouse Garden Town, Lahore
  • Amanat Ali (singer), a Pakistani singer and an actor, graduated from Beaconhouse, Faisalabad
  • Ahsan Farooq Khokhar, a Pakistani born UK Entrepreneur, graduated from Beaconhouse Margalla Campus,Islamabad
  • Syed Shahzeb Alamdar Khalid, a Pakistani born business tycoon in the United States of America graduated from Beaconhouse Educational complex Rawalpindi

TBT Online

Launched towards the end of 2011, The Beaconhouse Times Online is an interactive news portal developed by Mudassir Ali that connects the Beaconhouse community, including parents, across 9 countries. A network of student and teacher correspondents provides campus news on a regular basis, facilitating the sharing of achievements of Beaconhouse students, teachers and staff members across the world.

Other operations

The Beaconhouse Group is involved in a number of activities that extend beyond education.

Beacon Energy Limited
Beacon Energy Limited is the group's power generation company that has leveraged on the Government of Pakistan's recently introduced alternative energy policy. It was the first publicly listed company from the Beaconhouse Group.
Premier Trading Services (Pvt) Ltd
Premier Trading Services, the Beaconhouse Group's commercial wing, comprises Premier Trading and Premier Bus Service. Premier Trading's business includes the production and distribution of school supplies and other products. Premier Bus Service, now a major division of Premier Trading, was started in 2003. It provides transportation services to the general public of Lahore, Pakistan.
Premier DLC
Premier Diverse Learning Concepts is an institute offering various professional training and certification programmes in Lahore. The institute is a joint venture between Premier Trading and the UK-based company DLC Worldwide.
Beaconhouse Estate
Beaconhouse Estate is the official housing society for the Beaconhouse School System and Beaconhouse National University.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Beaconhouse School System: About Us Archived 9 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. 1 2 Shahzad, Navid. "Schools of tomorrow". Archived 20 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Daily Times, Pakistan. 17 December 2005.
  3. 1 2 The Educators Archived 26 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine. (official website)
  4. ↑ "Women Power 100" (PDF). Pakistan Power 100 Awards. 2012. p. 69. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  5. 1 2 Beaconhouse South Asia. Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Official Beaconhouse School Systems website. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  6. ↑ TNS Beaconhouse (official website)
  7. ↑ Gymboree Pakistan Archived 18 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine. (official website)
  8. ↑ The Early Years Archived 12 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. (official website)
  9. ↑ Beaconhouse National University (official website)
  10. ↑ "Learning experience: Beaconhouse 'blending learning' college opens". The Express Tribune. 2014-06-12. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  11. ↑ Concordia Colleges (official website)

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