The school is characterized by high quality teaching in small classes where every child is known and encouraged to work to the best of his/her ability. Great emphasis is placed on students to develop confidence and fluency in English.

The school is affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi.

Our Philosophy of Education

At St. Matthew’s School we believe that learning is not just a path to university and a career, but it is also a path to pleasure. The books we read, the science we absorb, the languages we learn, the artistic, sporting and musical skills we acquire are the tools that enable us to fulfill our potential.

The best education is not about cramming for exams but preparing young people for life in all its aspects. Our aim is to help each child in our school community reach their aptitude.

We achieve this by rigorous attention to academic outcomes, combined with an extensive co-curricular program. Our co-curricular activities include a highly respected music, dance and drama program, sporting opportunities, a House program, unsurpassed pastoral care, a well defined code of behaviour and a well developed sense of community.

Our students' achievements are testament to the dedication and expertise of our teachers, who enjoy a close relationship with their students at all year levels. This personal knowledge gives them a good appreciation of what each student needs, educationally and socially. We continue to be justifiably proud of the well-rounded, well-educated, considerate and community-minded young people who constitute our past and present student body.

Pre-Primary (Pre-Nursery to HKG)

In the pre-primary curriculum, the school provides a learning environment where the natural curiosity and wonder of young children is encouraged and enhanced by skilful guidance from our professional team. Learning opportunities and experiences are designed to support the delivery of quality programs at all levels.
Our programme includes quality educative programs in literacy and numeracy. We also believe that play is a fundamental component of early learning and for the all round development of children in their formative years.

Each room is designed to enrich and extend students’ learning. Excursions and visits promote opportunities for hands on experiences in many curriculum areas. Students are encouraged to explore and investigate concepts arising from these visits, with teachers supporting learning.

Developing children’s confidence in their abilities, resourcefulness and resilience are the primary goals underpinning the early year activities and experiences. Our younger children particularly enjoy music and dance. Participation in a developmentally appropriate program provides opportunity for interaction with peers and promotes self-confidence in meeting new challenges. Brain research shows that daily music enrichment is a brain building block for science and mathematical understanding.

Further, the school offers a Phonological Awareness Program to LKG and HKG students. This early intervention literacy program identifies students at-risk and then supports them with a specialist program designed to meet their specific needs. Pre and post-test results demonstrate significant improvement.

The installation of computers in these younger classes has added another dimension to classroom learning. Students have been fully engaged in the e-learning opportunities offered by this technology.
The program offered to the children in Nursery, LKG and HKG at St. Matthew’s School is based on a developmental approach to Early Childhood Education. The underlying philosophy of this approach trusts children and treats them as partners in the learning process. This curriculum reflects the interests of the children and builds on their prior knowledge in the daily learning activities. It recognizes the need for different types of activities to accommodate individual learning styles.

The classes are divided into three groups. This enables the teachers to work closely with the children. This approach makes the children confident as they get to talk to the teachers in detail, teaches them to share things with their friends and wait for turns. This type of curriculum removes the need for all children to have a chair and a desk. Rather it concentrates on developing different learning areas within the classroom – an area for dramatic play, a sensory area, a collage/creative area, a writing/communication area, an area for reading, and a construction area. These areas are flexible and work to extend the needs and interests of the children. Children learn best when their learning is meaningful, purposeful and fun.

In practical terms this means longer periods of active engagement and short, developmentally appropriate teaching, with a strong emphasis on reading and counting. A developmental curriculum allows children to develop at their own pace. It is not an unstructured learning environment. It is a program that bases itself on planned learning experiences that recognize the individual developmental levels of the children in the group. It is no less rigorous than other programmes, it is simply a different way of engaging children to learn.

Primary (Classes 1 to 5)

Our primary school students actually look forward to returning to school after the summer break!

Children, for the most part, enjoy their learning, engage in the programs, like to be challenged and thoroughly immerse themselves in the many co-curricular activities available at St. Matthew’s.

The strong culture for success in the primary school is reflected in the ‘Have-a-go’ attitude adopted by students and encouraged by teachers. Students are challenged to do their best at every opportunity. Teachers structure all activities to allow for individual levels of attainment and progress.

The core academic priorities of Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, General Knowledge and Science studies are presented in a manner that celebrates understanding, exploration, and skill development. This helps foster areas of personal interest and growth. A variety of learning strategies ensures that all learning styles are catered for. The use of overhead projectors provides motivation and a variety of learning experiences.
Teaching staff continue to explore new ways to enhance learning with this technology.

The ‘You-can-do-it’ program assists students with skill development in the areas of resilience, getting along with others, persistence, confidence and organization. This program helps students to accept responsibility for their own learning and encourages skills and attitudes that lead to more efficient use of their time and then, greater success.

Our Accelerated Reading Program supports students’ interpretive reading skills, while fostering enjoyment in the reading process. More than 7,600 titles are available to students in this Program.

The profile of Mathematics has been raised during the past few years by extending the regular classroom program. Activities, including Problem of the Month, Math’s Competitions, Math’s Olympiad, Abacus, Vedic Math’s, Math’s Problem Solving Day and Chess Club, have complemented the real life, hands on and formal aspects of classroom study.

Our approach presents students with foundation learning in a planned topic and then allows them to explore this knowledge further in ways that interest them.

Teachers plan these sessions using tools such as Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and Bloom’s Taxonomy, developing assessment tasks and extension activities and questions. The school uses this exploratory approach to curriculum areas that include Science, Technology, Civics and Citizenship, Information Technology, Health and Personal Development.

Secondary School (Classes 6 to 10)

The time spent in the secondary school is a unique period of student growth and development. The St. Matthew’s School program is designed to extend students' academic skills, promote personal development and encourage attitudes of responsible citizenship through a variety of learning experiences. This includes interdisciplinary learning across the academic and pastoral programmes.

Our teaching philosophy and practice is based on the understanding that during these years students undergo significant physical, emotional, social and academic development. The diversity of curricular and co-curricular activities available to students enables them to accept increasing levels of responsibility for their own learning and behaviour.

Students learn through teacher instruction, group activities and field trips. Seminars and workshops also form an integral part of the School Curriculum. Teachers use a student-centered style which instills confidence, initiative, and the development of critical and analytical skills.

Guest Speakers are also invited to the schools to familiarize the students on various academic, scientific, social and cultural issues.

All students in the secondary school have access to computers. Information & Communications Technology is integrated into all areas of the curriculum. Systems are being placed where students will be able to access their assignments and homework online via ‘Learning Point’. This learning management system will allow parents, too, to keep track of their child’s deadlines and assignments.

There are many opportunities for students to experience leadership challenges within the secondary school. In classes 7 and 8 students work across a number of specific briefs and assist in a range of activities. All students are encouraged to develop their leadership skills.

Senior Secondary School (Classes 11 to 12)

As students enter the senior secondary school they begin the last phase of their secondary schooling. It is a time when students need to prepare for life after school, whether that is full time employment or higher education.
Students are encouraged to make the most of their individual strengths and abilities. Students are presented with an environment where they are able to achieve their highest potential in academic, sporting and artistic endeavors. Within this supportive, structured environment we aim to produce independent learners who are well prepared to cope with future challenges and the world beyond school.

An equal stress is laid on preparing students for the prescribed CBSE syllabus and on preparing the students for the various competitive entrance examinations. Result oriented training is imparted by experienced professionals who target for total development and desired success.

The following two academic streams are available to the students after Grade X

Science: Physics, Chemistry, Math’s/Biology, English and Physical Education
Commerce: Accountancy, Business Studies, Economics, English and Physical Education

Career guidance

Choosing a career is not an easy process. Beyond gathering information on factors such as different career options, the eligibility and the quality of the institution, variables such as attitudes, abilities and inclinations are important for any senior student.

At St. Matthew's we help improve the self-confidence, self-esteem, communication skills, inter-personal skills, conflict resolution, positive reinforcement and goal setting of each student. Along with this, personality tests, group discussions and mock interviews are introduced to help the students grow holistically.

English Reading Skills (Library)

The huge state of the art library is at the heart of our school community. It enables, encourages and empowers teaching and learning for all members of the school community. The role of the library is to provide a dynamic and flexible space. It is innovatively designed with best practices and research in mind where students can explore and use various resources in different formats. Students are encouraged to grow and become passionate learners and individuals where the world of knowledge opens up to them. At St. Matthew’s, books are highly valued. From Nursery to Class XII we encourage a love of reading, both for the sheer joy of it and because it is the most useful tool in the student's range of skills. In addition to formal reading spaces, the Library has digital books and also quiet story-telling corners. Our reading material comes from a variety of sources from India and abroad. Our Library has a reading corner for our younger children, a study area for our older students, access to current and archived periodicals, and the latest books of fiction, non-fiction and academics. Library and reading time include teachers working with small groups for guided reading. The library is equipped with over 8,000 titles.

Distinct Features of our School

• Special classes are available for slow learners, after school. These classes help and encourage the students to reach their full potential.
  
• The strength of students in each class is less compared to other schools. If in a class the number of students is more then the class is divided into sections to maintain the student-teacher ratio.
  
• The teachers use more practical and interactive methods of teaching. These include presentations, projects, role plays, smart-board learning and various other activities. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation is implemented in the school which focuses on skill development rather than the method of rote learning.
  
• There are no exams for classes Nursery to II, however, they do have monthly assessments through worksheets.