CLLC Turkey is a private school in Beykoz teaching from kindergarten through to grade 8. The primary stage covers grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 — the four years in which a child learns to read and write, tries working on their own, and forms their first idea of what learning is.
We teach the Turkish curriculum in full. Alongside it we add the English language teaching experience CLLC has built over more than twenty years in Canada. Neither one stands in for the other; they run together.
The primary years go by quickly, but the habits formed in them last a long time. We put three things first.
Reading and writing do not fall into place for everyone in the same month. We set the programme by where the child actually is, not by the class average. The child who is behind is not left waiting, and the one who is ahead is not held back.
A child who has memorised a topic and one who has understood it can score the same mark on the same test; the difference between them shows up the following year. We build lessons so that a child can ask why it works that way.
An anxious child does not learn. Building a classroom where nobody hesitates to ask a question, to make a mistake, or to say "I don't know" is work as important as the curriculum itself.
The four primary years are not repetitions of one another. Each year asks something different of a child, and the programme changes accordingly. We have set out each grade separately.
The year reading and writing are learned in five stages. A child begins, for the first time, to carry a task through on their own.
Explore grade 1Learning through a cycle of curiosity. A single theme runs across five different subjects, and a child sees how they connect.
Explore grade 2Project-based learning begins. A child learns to research, to tell a good source from a poor one, and to use digital tools.
Explore grade 3The STEM design cycle, and getting ready for middle school. The last primary year runs like a rehearsal for the stage ahead.
Explore grade 4Every subject in the Turkish curriculum is taught. Added to them are English, social and emotional learning, and project work.
English in this programme is more than a subject on the timetable; it is a language spread through the day. The aim is for a child to learn English in order to use it, not to pass a test. We move forward without giving any ground on Turkish; the two languages are not rivals.
What wears parents down most in primary school is not knowing: is my child all right, are they struggling, how are their friendships? We talk about these without waiting for report-card time.
No. Our programme is built for the child who does not speak English. The language is learned inside the lesson and in the flow of the day; no starting level is expected of a child. For students joining mid-way through primary school we also plan extra support.
No. The Turkish curriculum is taught in full and the Turkish language is at the centre of the programme. The risk in any bilingual programme is that one language weakens the other; to prevent exactly that, we track progress in both languages separately.
Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4. Before it comes the kindergarten stage, and after it the middle school stage covering grades 5 to 8. All three stages are on the same campus in Beykoz.
We assess these case by case, depending on places available. For applications of this kind we hold a meeting to understand the level the child is at, and plan a settling-in period if one is needed. The best thing is to get in touch and talk it through.
Yes, and we particularly recommend it. The truest sense of a school comes from walking through it and talking to the teachers. To arrange a visit, fill in the application form or simply call us.
A decision about primary school is not made from a brochure. See the classrooms, meet the teachers, ask your questions face to face.