Our Students

Experiential learning is a vital facet of our teaching and learning programme. Our students learn skills that are needed in cross-cultural interactions that are critical for success in the globalised world. Students at OSC enhance their experiential learning in multiple ways both in the classroom and beyond.

Experiential education encompasses service as learning in PYP and MYP, and Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) in the Diploma Programme. It also includes the different learning experiences beyond the classroom. The Secondary School’s Experience Sri Lanka: Week Without Walls is a key aspect of this. Individual classes conduct field studies and fieldwork in our neighbourhood and nearby ecosystems. Highlights include long-term socio-economic surveys near the Sinharaja rainforest, urban wetland system studies in Diyasaru park, tourism studies in Galle Fort, and energy studies in the Central Highlands. These all contribute to a holistic approach to education and fulfil the School’s mission and vision.

CAS at OSC

The Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) component is a vital part of the educational experience for all DP 1 and 2 students at OSC. Our School recognises, as stated in the mission statement, that education neither begins nor ends in the classroom or the examination hall. In fact, the essential aspects of education may exist outside both of these. An international education must go well beyond simply providing information and is inevitably involved in the development of attitudes and values that transcend barriers of race, class, religion, gender, and politics. As per the IB design, CAS encompasses a broad range of extracurricular activities including SAISA sports, creative pursuits, activities such as the Colombo Operated Model United Nations (COMUN), and service to the community.

The defining aspect of OSC’s CAS programme is the use of blogs to channel student reflections. These are public spaces that DP students maintain to keep a running record of their goals and learning in the CAS programme. Students use online blogs as a reflective space while managing their activities and feedback through ManageBac. The reflective spaces are open to the community and offer a kaleidoscope of different styles and approaches to reflecting about the key aspects of the CAS programme. There are images, videos, written reflections and links to other sites. An effective CAS blog can provide important evidence of extra-curricular engagement that is useful for university applications. All student blogs going back to the Class of 2012 can be accessed on the School’s website, https://www.osc.lk/learning/secondary-geckos/diploma-programme/reflective-spaces.

DP students structure their CAS experience around seven learning outcomes stipulated by the IB. These are broad ideas that help students to focus their learning in the CAS programme and guide them effectively in goal setting, action, and reflection.

1. Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

4. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

5. Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively

6. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

7. Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions

Experience Sri Lanka:
Week Without Walls programme

The annual Experience Sri Lanka: Week Without Walls programme was successfully held in January 2023. In the 2022/23 school year, teachers, support staff, and the administration all worked hard to put on an exciting, learning-based programme that was appreciated by students and their parents. As has been the case in past WWW learning experiences, the success of this year’s WWW programme was the product of effective organisation, planning, and excellent teamwork on the part of teachers and administration. The programme was divided into a larger group WWW experience (for MYP1-4) and smaller groups with an element of choice (for MYP5 and DP1). Students were involved in excursions such as visiting historical sites in Kandy and Galle, cycling in the Cultural Triangle, rafting on the Kelani River, scaling the three highest peaks on the island, and watching birds in Bundala. This year an OSC group journeyed to Jaffna for an immersive learning experience entitled Northern Narratives.

Service Learning at OSC

Community service and service learning have a special place in OSC’s philosophy of education. At OSC, students are encouraged to develop a positive and active approach towards service. In the Secondary School, specific programmes that emphasise an awareness, concern, and responsibility for service in the community are offered to students. Some of these happen on a weekly basis after school, while others are part of the Week Without Walls programme, scheduled at the beginning of the second term. OSC has been working with several local charities and programmes and has an excellent relationship with these community outreach programmes. DP students are also expected to take on leadership roles and are encouraged to initiate activities of their own. In the past, student-led initiatives have included medical clinics in the north of the country, planning Thursday service work, establishing recycling programmes in their neighbourhoods, and many more commendable projects.