Secondary School

Hello and welcome to the Secondary School at the English School of Mongolia.

My name is Brett Cain, and I am delighted to lead the Secondary team. With over 30 years in education and seven years in senior leadership, including experience as a Head Teacher in Moscow, I am deeply passionate about helping young people grow into confident, kind, and successful individuals.

Our school is a welcoming and inclusive community where every student is known, supported, and encouraged. We value strong relationships, open communication, and a shared commitment to helping students discover their strengths—both academically and personally. I am proud to work alongside a talented staff team and an inspiring group of students who make ESM such a special place to learn.

Warmest wishes,

Brett Cain

Head Teacher of Secondary

At The English School of Mongolia Cambridge Lower Secondary is offered in grades 6-8, providing a broad and balanced education for our students and helping them thrive throughout their schooling, work, and life.

We design our curriculum in each department to ensure a smooth transition between grade levels and alignment with upper-grade syllabi for our students’ further academic studies.

The timetable consists of eleven academic subjects, including English, Mathematics, Science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry), Mongolian (Language, Literature, Script), Humanities (History and Geography), ICT, Art, Music, Songs, P.E, Dance, Foreign languages (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Russian), form time, an enrichment programme, and a whole school assembly.

Our programme carefully supports the transition from Primary to Secondary, nurturing both personal growth and academic development. Inspired by our highly qualified teachers, our students immerse themselves in specialist subject learning that increases their knowledge and understanding and identifies talents and passions. We also believe it’s vitally important for your child to take part in a variety of extra-curricular activities.

In Lower-Secondary School, we operate a streaming programme for Mathematics and English lessons, placing students in different classes based on their academic abilities at the start of the academic year. These “streams” are designed to provide more targeted instruction that aligns with the students’ abilities, catering to their diverse learning needs. This approach provides appropriate challenges and support for students of all levels by managing content and pacing. This approach can empower all our students to reach their full potential without leaving any student behind.

This two-year programme in our Upper-Secondary School offers broad and well-rounded academic support that helps students gain the right qualifications for the future.

After completing Year 8 – our students follow the IGCSE (International General Certificate in Secondary Education) programme developed by the University of Cambridge International Examinations. It is one of the most popular international qualifications for 14-16-year-old candidates. After selecting their IGCSE options – our students work towards their IGCSE exams.

In addition to the Core Curriculum of English, Mathematics and the Sciences the options on offer are Physical education, Geography, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, French, Korean Art, Business studies and History. The curriculum is complemented by P.E, ICT, Songs and Mongolian studies. This rigorous two-year programme refines each child’s knowledge, nurtures their talents, and builds independence. This readies them for the challenge of the IB Programme in Year 11 and 12.

Your child’s academic programme will be complemented by a variety of enriching experiences. These include trips, extra-curricular activities, and creative, sporting, social, and leadership opportunities.

Personal, Social, health and economic (PSHE) education is the focus for regular assemblies, events and Form Time, with students preparing drama pieces, presentations, films, and more. It encourages our students to be healthy; stay safe; enjoy and achieve; develop thinking skills; build character and resilience and become independent, critical learners and thinkers. It forms an integral and important part of the school’s effort to respond to the needs of our students, to identify key concepts and skills that underpin the ethos and values of ESM, to safeguard and empower our students and ultimately to enrich our community in supporting students spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development.