An Interview With Richard Wijeratne - Director of XIC

How have you managed to keep such a positive atmosphere during lockdown?

Our children have been magnificent and reacted in true XIC style. They are at the centre of all that we do, and I am extremely proud of how they adapted to their new style of learning. In addition, the synergy amongst all staff has contributed to an outstanding team effort. Working together they have supported each other daily and this has enabled our children to achieve great things. Without the loyalty and support of our parents, none of the above would have been possible. I thank them all profoundly. To ensure the quality of learning for our children, all teaching staff throughout the college were not placed on ERTE. This allowed them to fulfil the needs of our children.

How has XIC adapted to online learning?

Our seamlessly implemented online teaching platform has allowed us to continue to deliver a top quality full curriculum to our children. Fortunately, the College has been providing children between the ages of 7 and 16 with an individual tablet for years. This has been a vital instrument in supporting their online tuition. It was essential for us to respect each child’s learning, regardless of circumstances, to ensure that there would be no gaps in their learning as they progress to their next academic level.

How is the College prepared for a return to school?

The safety of our family, children and staff will always be our absolute priority. We want them in School safe and happy. We are in the process of implementing all of the health and safety requirements as advised by the Ministry for Education. When we move the College to three sites, we will have the ability to provide lessons with ample social distancing with no more than 10 to 12 children in each class. With exciting times ahead, we will take advantage of all our strengths at XIC to create unique learning opportunities. Should we have to revisit lockdown we are fully prepared and ready with both online learning and social distancing measures.

You will have three sites, how will this work?

By moving the Secondary department to the new facilities, the entire current secondary site will be adapted for use in its entirety by children in their Early Years and Key Stage 1. Pupils in Key Stage 2 will enjoy the whole of the Primary facility, entirely for themselves. As the College has grown in recent years, it has been vital to provide this extra space to our children at all levels. In their new surroundings, happy children will achieve amazing things.

Despite the changes, we will not compromise our values in College and our commitment to small class sizes. In providing extremely competitive rates and interesting discounts for our families, the College continues to grow and spaces in many levels are at a premium. If you are interested in enrolling your children, we would be delighted to meet them and share our vision with you.