Christian education: A parent's guide

Curriculum guide

Christian education

Christian international schools cover a wide spectrum — from evangelical Protestant schools to Anglican, Baptist and non-denominational Christian schools. They pair a mainstream academic programme with daily worship, Bible-based teaching and a whole-school Christian ethos.

Primary

Bible foundations

Daily prayer or devotional, weekly chapel, and age-appropriate Bible teaching threaded through the school week alongside the academic programme.

Secondary

Worldview, ethics and service

Older students explore Christian worldview, apologetics and ethics; many schools have a service-learning or missions component.

Christian

The many types of Christian schools

"Christian school" covers a very broad spectrum. Evangelical schools often teach a young-earth curriculum in science; mainline schools generally follow standard science. Anglican and Lutheran schools tend to have gentler, more sacramental worship; Baptist and non-denominational schools tend toward stronger daily devotional life. Ask about the specific denomination and worldview before you enrol.

Is Christian right for your child?

It tends to suit families who…

•Are practising Christian families
•Want daily worship and Bible teaching in school
•Value character formation alongside academics
•Are drawn to a specific denomination or tradition

It may be less ideal if…

•You'd prefer a secular school for your child
•You object to compulsory chapel or worship
•The school's theology (e.g. young-earth science) conflicts with your views

Common questions

FAQs about the Christian curriculum

Do Christian schools accept non-Christian families? +

Most welcome families of all faiths and none. Non-Christian students usually take part in chapel and Bible lessons but there's often pastoral flexibility for prayer and expressions of faith.

What academic curriculum do they use? +

Almost always a mainstream one — American diploma + AP is common for evangelical schools; British IGCSE / A-Level for Anglican schools abroad; IB is used by both. The Christian layer is the ethos and RE, not a separate academic syllabus.

Understanding international school curricula