Bay View Academy
Bay View Academy (often abbreviated as BVA or informally shortened as Bayview) is a highly selective, private, co-educational, English medium school, located in Karachi, Pakistan. Originally a montessori, by the name of "Shaikh's Montessori", Bay View Academy was established into a full, private school in 1990, by Shahpur Jamall and has become one of the city's leading academic institutions, since
History
In the 1980s, Mrs. Safia Shaikh, one of the leading early childhood educators in Karachi, had been running a nursery school since 1984. Her first school, one of the most highly regarded at the time, was known as Shaikh’s Montessori.
In 1990, Mr. and Mrs. Shahpur and Doe Jamall, returned to Karachi after working in the Los Angeles Unified School District as teachers. Both these professionals hold Master’s Degrees from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) and Teaching Credentials issued by the state of California. In August 1990, Shahpur and Doe Jamall along with Safia Skaikh with the support of their families established Bay View Academy which was intended to provide an education to students from Nursery to Class VI. Their goals were to create an institution with a student centered environment which incorporated the latest teaching methods and approaches based on current educational research, and which encouraged the growth and development of its teachers.
In a matter of time, Bay View Academy recruited some extremely talented and enthusiastic young teachers and quickly established it self as one of the leading educational institution in Karachi. The school then functioned out of a small rented house in Clifton. In 1994 due to very high demand for admission the school had to rent a second building in Clifton.
In 1994 Bay View Academy then collaborated with another notable educator, Mrs. Karen Ahmed, who established a school known as the Bay View High School and is currently the principal of the 'BVH'. Students from Bay View Academy then transferred to the Bay View High School after Grade VI in order for the school to make sure that the students continue their education in the same environment they had grown to be accustomed to.
In 1997 Bay View Academy opened its second section and established a third campus in Clifton. By 1998 the school board was approached by respected members of the business community with a proposal to build a purpose built campus in Defence Housing Authority which would be leased to the school on a long term basis.
Two years later, in 1999, Bay View moved to its purpose built campus in Defence. In the same year Bay View Academy and the Bay View High School mutually agreed to establish two completely independent schools with each offering a comprehensive education form Nursery to O-levels.
In 2003, the school's first graduating class scored very highly in their O-level examinations and gained admission in the best A-level schools in Karachi and abroad.
Curriculum
BVA follows and prepares their students for the GCE Ordinary Level examinations. A number of subjects are taught, including: Science, Mathematics, Computer Studies, Geography, History, Social Studies, English Literature, English Language, Pakistan Studies, Urdu and Islamic Studies. Students from Class IX and onwards are then given the choice to choose between the subjects of: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Accounts, Business Studies, Environmental management, Sociology and Additional Mathematics.
Extracurricular activities
Bay View Academy has a rich tradition in sporting activities. The school is divided into three houses which have annual sporting competitions where they face off against each other for points, in sports such as; cricket, basketball and football, to name a few.
There are three separate sports days for the nursery, primary and junior/senior sections in which they take part in track and field events, representing their respective houses. The points, each house have garnered over the year are then calculated, and a house is then declared a winner for that respective school year. BVA is also a part of a KISSL (Karachi Inter-School Sports League) which pitches the top private schools in the city against each other in inter-school sports competitions such as; cricket, football, basketball and athletics. Not only does this promote the values of collaboration, creativity, sportsmanship and fair & ethical competition but also acknowledges the notion "winning" in sporting events in the truest spirit of cooperation and competition.
Students from classes I to VI take part in 'Saturday Sports' (which previously held in collaboration with Karachi American School) in which students are divided into two leagues, each of which have six team. Football and basketball are played in alternating years.BVA also offer an after school Tae Kwon Do program where students develop their martial arts skills from beginner to proficient levels. Even though this program is open to all students it is usually filled by students in the Primary School. Also, after school music classes are offered where students learn to read music and play basic musical instruments and, to encourage reading habits, the school annually hosts book fairs by leading publishers to expose the students to the best available material.
Co-Curricular Activities
Starting from the Nursery school, students go on at least two field trips in an academic calendar. Notable field trips include the Class VII overnight excursion to Lahore, the Class IX trip to Islamabad and the Northern Areas and students from senior classes go on an international trip.
Students at Bay View are first exposed to being on stage in the Nursery school. All students from Nursery to Class VI take part in their class presentation whereas Students from Class VII onwards take part in Drama. This is included as an after-school activity and then a jointly put up stage production. Also, students from Kindergarten to Class III take part in an elocution competition. Teachers help prepare students for speaking to large audiences so that they can be judged on clarity, diction and presentation.
"The Bay View Times" is a quarterly newsletter which students from Class XI are responsible for creating, editing and formatting. The annual yearbook "Reflections" is coordinated by a designated staff member and is subsidized by advertisements. The yearbook is not only a record of each class but includes a collection of school field trips, activities and students' work. In the upper grades the students’ choose the pictures and format the pages themselves. From Class VII onwards, each class elects two representatives to the student council. These students organize class activities including bake sales and social events like the Iftar party, Bonfire Night and Prom. Besides developing their leadership skills, student representatives from Class IX onwards also play the role of prefects, from which one head boy and head girl is elected, and help the school discipline, act as ushers during parent conferences, and represent the school in numerous other functions.
Today
Currently, Bay View Academy offers a purpose built, state-of-the-art campus which includes two separate 25,000 square feet buildings, providing; over 50 class rooms, two libraries, fully equipped Physics, Chemistry and Biology laboratories, two computer laboratories in a networked environment, a large ground including a full sized basketball court, cricket pitch and football, throw/volley ball, badminton and table tennis facilities, a stage and outdoor theatre seating and two dedicated art rooms.
The school holds an annual iftar party where a traditional cricket match is played between the teams of Bay View Academy (Class VIII to Class XI) and South Shore (A' Level Students), and a bonfire, both of which are restricted to Bay View and ex-Bay View students only. Also, every year a prom is given to the stuents of Class XI by the students of Class X. Every alternate year, Bay View Academy holds its infamous official carnival which is open to the public. Bay View Academy also holds various other events for their students, such as; concerts, science and art fairs, bake sales, movie nights, drama nights and so on.
Over the past few years, the school has become extremely selective with the students it gives admission to, unlike many other schools in the community. It not only looks at the grades of the respective student but also the personality and extra-curricular achievements. Due to this and other factors, such as having a considerably higher fees than that other of schools, the school has garnered a reputation of being highly selective and often for the higher class.
South Shore
In August 2004 Bay View Academy, in collaboration with two other leading institutions, CAS and Froebels Education Center, established Southshore School for A-Level Studies.
See also
Affiliated Schools
- Southshore School for A-Level Studies
- Karachi American School
Other
- List of schools in Karachi
- List of International Schools