CISB Chairman Francis Pang and President Douglas Prescott show the school's newly won trophy - the C21 Canada Shifting Minds School Award.[Photo/China Daily]

Offering a wide array of language programs and internationally recognized courses, the Canadian International School of Beijing aims to cultivate "a cross-cultural understanding" among its students, said school Chairman Francis Pang.

Founded in 2005, the school now has 1,200 students representing more than 50 countries and regions around the world.

The school has an educational system that includes a Montessori preschool for children as young as 18 months as well as a full K-12 program. It offers multilingual instruction in such languages as English, Chinese, French and Korean.

The curriculum is well rounded to equip students with the academic, social and personal skills that will be vital to their success, said the chairman.

"We are trying to provide the best education to prepare them to be future global citizens," he said.

The school is authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization, a globally recognized education program for students aged 3 to 19.

Known as IB for short, it helps develop their intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills, preparing them to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.

Pang said that the school already has the IB Diploma Program for 16 to 19-year-olds, which enables students to gain early admission and scholarships from the world's leading universities.

It will soon implement the Primary Years Program and the Middle Year Program, making it a full IB school for children of all ages covered by the program.

The program can help international students "seamlessly resume their courses" as they move from one country to another, Pang said.

"When a student is transferring from Beijing to Bangkok, he goes to a Bangkok IB school, and he finds the curriculum is the same," Pang explained.

"And when a student comes from the Bangkok IB school to Beijing, he can just come to us, and we know his background exactly."

The school encourages its students to compete in various international mathematics and science competitions, to make

Learning the skills to cope with life	City guide (April 6-21)