WHAT'S GOING ON NOW:

NEW & NOTEWORTHY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Anglomania

This fall the British International School of New York opens its doors to students from pre-K to second grade. It will be the first primary school in Manhattan to fuse the world-renowned International Baccalaureate Primary Years program with the English National Curriculum. The program of study will allow children from any British school from around the globe to enter into the same track of studies they were involved in overseas.

“The world is becoming increasingly international and families often have to relocate on very short notice,” says Andrea Greystoke, co-founder of the school. “The advantage of this curriculum is that the child can have an easy transition.”

Plus, says the school’s other cofounder, Elizabeth Perelstein, “Being at an ex-pat school is a great solace to families who move abroad. You find people who are like you, who can finish your sentences.”

But the school has also proved appealing to New Yorkers, with 50 percent of the student body currently made up of New York residents. Some are families with a British parent, or a parent who relocates often for work. But many are simply interested in an alternative to the American curriculum. Denise Zwerling and her husband, who live in the East 50s, chose to enroll their son in the school, despite his previous enrollment at another private school in New York. She and her husband, who are not British, had heard good things about the British educational system.

“We love the strong writing and quantitative skills, the good manners taught, and the nice mix of international students,” says Zwerling. According to Greystoke, one of the draws of British education is that it’s personalized to the needs of each child. “The teacher will know each child exceedingly well and will adapt the level of work for that child,” she says. The facilities at the 12,000-squarefoot British International School have the capacity to accommodate 250 students and include a pool, gymnasium, two playgrounds, 12 classrooms, a science lab and art room. The curriculum features French at every grade level. And, of course, cricket.

-- Carla Zanoni