The next level

Mon, Jan 23rd 2017, 12:25 AM

Windsor High School at Albany, an elite boarding high school and athletic academy, which will open its doors in fall 2017 under the leadership of Director Lisa McCartney, was officially launched last week at Aviva Beach at Albany with plans to offer a rare academic and athletic upper school experience.
Set within the gated community of Albany, Windsor High School will cater to students ages 14 to 19, who are ready to challenge themselves to be the best they can be, according to McCartney.
The institution is a registered Cambridge school, offering IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education), AS and A-Level programs and qualifications. Students will have the opportunity to earn the necessary credits toward U.S. universities, and will be prepared for entrance exams, such as the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test), SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and ACT (American College Test).
Windsor will offer day and boarding school programs, along with flexi-boarding, which will be open to day students who may need to stay on campus for short-term stays in instances when their parents may be traveling.
The school will follow the United Kingdom high school system; years 10 through 13 will be equivalent to American grades nine through 12.
Windsor will afford a select group of students pursuing athletic excellence in certain sports the opportunity to do so while being at school with a group of peers, without sacrificing the typical social school experience. The Albany Golf Academy and Albany Tennis Academy will offer athletic and training academies by coaches Mitchell Spearman, a top golf instructor, and former world number one tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, respectively.
At Windsor, the aim will be to develop the full potential within each student. With a focus on education, sports and personal enrichment, the school environment, McCartney says, will foster an environment where time-honored educational practices and rigorous athletic training meet an impassioned value system, with the aim to shape and develop the next generation of leaders.
"I'm excited about the opportunities that we've now created for our young people. I'm excited about the opportunities for growth, the opportunities for exposure that aren't readily available to children on the island," said the director.
Windsor's vision is to see graduates who are confident, engaged, reflective, innovative and responsible global citizens.
Academic subjects offered include English (language and literature), languages, sciences, mathematics, art and design, business studies, economics, environmental management, global studies, computer studies, history, music, photography, physical education, physical science and psychology.
"The new campus will attract young aspiring golfers and tennis players to start with. We're marketing it now globally to junior tennis players and junior golfers, leveraging the beautiful weather in The Bahamas, and the amazing facilities that Albany boasts," said McCartney.
An added incentive will be the school's scholarship program for both student athletes and those students who excel academically.
Windsor will be able to accommodate 50 boarders on day one. The school's flexi-board program will allow the institution's day students to stay for a week at the boarding house, space contingent, in the event that their parents may be traveling.
"The idea is, if I'm going away for a week, I can leave my kid and I know that she's fed, her homework is done, she gets to school safely and she has a good time living at Albany for a week," said McCartney.
Windsor's fees are $30,000 per year for boarding students. Day student fees range from $17,000 to $22,500.
Flexi-boarding runs about $150 to $170 per night.
With a few verbal commitments expressed in the boarding program, the director says they are in the process of sending out registration material and the procedures for student enrollment.
"We're talking to a husband and wife team that currently work with me, who are teachers. The husband's been a boarder; they're both master's degreed teachers, and they have a family. They are excellent with children and have a great reputation among the school community. They are our most likely candidates to run the boarding school," she said.
"A lot of families choose to send their kids away to boarding school from The Bahamas, and it's not because of a lack of an amazing education, it's exposure on another level... it's all the other things that come along -- the social."
As such, Windsor will also provide an avenue for Family Islanders who want their children to pursue high school education in the capital.
"What we've done is we've created an opportunity to create a new social dynamic amongst the high school community in The Bahamas, so I'm most excited for children that will now have exposure to all that they have exposure to."
The boarding school component is just one component of the new Windsor High School. They have developed five disciplines around which the school is built -- sports, creative arts, business studies, marine sciences and music production.
In the creative arts division, Windsor is investing in a program that enables a child who wants to be a fashion designer to continue his or her dreams. One of McCartney's ninth grade students is already taking college level courses at Parson's School of Design, New York. Those types of connections, she said, are what they are hoping to foster and the type of exposure they like to give to their children.
Following the Cambridge business studies model, McCartney said the school has created a lecture series involving some of the world's top business people who are residents, landowners and visitors to Albany, to speak to their business studies students.
"The idea is to expose our high school students to people who are world leaders in business at high school when they are creative, and yearning to learn. I'm really excited about the business studies aspect of it and our lecture series."
Windsor's marine sciences program, she said, will also provide amazing exposure for their students.
"Albany has given us use of their boats. They have boats docked in the marina all day long, during school hours that are not being used, and they said to us to use them. The idea is for kids to walk out of our backdoor to the marina, jump on a boat and go and have field studies in the beautiful oceans of The Bahamas. What better laboratory is there for a marine sciences program?"
The school's music production is another area that she's excited about, and they are again partnering with Albany for the program. Aspiring music learners will have access to Albany's recording studio, Sanctuary.
"There is so much more to the school than the boarding and the sports -- the boarding and the sports is just two more amazing components," said McCartney.
A school that helps children to strive to reach their full potential is what the director said she is striving for the Windsor High School at Albany.
"I would love to be the school that inspires amazing things from its students, and I think we're well on the way with creating the Albany campus. And I yearn to inspire these children to reach their full potential."
The Windsor School at Albany will sit on a 25-acre campus. Building one will house the main administration building as well as 12 classrooms. An additional four classrooms will be in the second building, which will be the creative arts block. The school's third building will contain the cafeteria, and the fourth building is the dorm, which will have 25 double occupancy rooms and a two-bedroom apartment for the dorm parents.
The school will also boast a 25-meter swimming pool, a gym facility on campus exclusively for the students, a full-sized soccer pitch, track and six tennis courts.
As of last week, McCartney said they are well on their way to being completed for the new school year. The roofs of the creative arts and cafeteria structures have been completed. Those buildings were awaiting windows. The roof on the main 12-classroom block was three-quarters of the way complete; the dorm was at belt course, and McCartney anticipated the roof would be completed in the next few weeks. The frame of the gym was up and should be completed within the next three weeks.
"We are very much on schedule for opening with the next academic year," said McCartney. "I'm really excited to have been a part of, and have a hand in something that did not exist, and that really excites me. And I'm thrilled that our students have an opportunity to thrive in an environment that's unparalleled."

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