Lechwe School (Lechwe Education Trust)

Structured Co-Curricular Participation

Lechwe School operates a structured Extra-Curricular Activities (ECA) programme that runs Monday to Thursday from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm (with some activities extending to 5:00 pm). Friday is kept free of ECAs. A distinctive feature of the programme is its mandatory participation rule: every student must join at least one sport and at least one club per term, ensuring broad engagement across the community.

Sports Programme (Seasonal)

Sports are organised seasonally across the three terms:

• Term 1: Swimming, Volleyball, Basketball
• Term 2: Netball, Rugby, Football (Soccer), Cross-Country
• Term 3: Athletics (Track & Field – sprints, jumps, throws), Hockey

This seasonal rotation exposes students to a wide range of physical disciplines and allows the school to compete in inter-school fixtures across the Copperbelt region.

Clubs and Creative Activities

Beyond formal sports, the clubs programme offers:

• Racket/Board Sports: Golf, Tennis, Badminton, Chess
• Outdoor: Cycling, Cricket
• Arts: Pottery
• Faith/Community: Scripture Union, Community Service
• Performing Arts: Secondary School Band, Drama

Music and Performing Arts

The school is an ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) examination centre, meaning students can pursue graded music qualifications on-campus. The Secondary School Band and Drama club provide performance opportunities for students with creative talents.

Community Service

The inclusion of Community Service as a formal ECA reflects Lechwe's values of co-operation and respect, encouraging students to engage with the broader Kitwe community and develop social responsibility alongside academic skills.

A Humble Beginning in Kitwe

Lechwe School traces its origins to 1977, when it was established in a local church hall in Kitwe, Zambia's Copperbelt city, with a founding cohort of just 40 learners and 4 staff members. This modest start belied the ambition and community spirit that would carry the school forward over the following decades.

Expansion into Secondary Education (1992)

The first major milestone came in 1992, when the school expanded its offering to include secondary education. This meant Lechwe could for the first time serve students from early childhood all the way through to upper school, creating a genuine cradle-to-pre-university pathway within a single institution.

Boarding and A-Levels (1996)

In 1996, Lechwe took another transformative step: it introduced its first A-Level programme and simultaneously opened boarding facilities. This dual development signalled the school's ambition to attract students from across Zambia and the wider region, not merely from Kitwe's immediate expatriate and local community. The boarding house has since grown to accommodate approximately 59 students (31 full-time boarders and 28 weekly boarders).

Growth and International Recognition

Over the decades, Lechwe has secured membership in the Association of Independent Schools in Africa (AISA) and the Independent Schools' Association of Zambia (ISAZ), and has become an accredited Cambridge International Examinations centre. These affiliations have cemented its reputation as one of the premier international schools in Zambia's Copperbelt region.

Today

Lechwe now serves around 279 students from nursery (age 2) through Form 6 (age 18), with a curriculum spanning the International Primary Curriculum (IPC), the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC), and Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level programmes. The school remains an independent institution rooted in values, community, and holistic development.

Location

Lechwe School is located on the corner of Namwala Avenue and Kuomboka Drive in the Parklands district of Kitwe, Zambia — the country's second-largest city and the economic hub of the Copperbelt Province. The school's setting reflects Kitwe's internationally connected character, with a significant expatriate and mining-industry community contributing to a diverse student body.

Day School Experience

For day students, the school day follows a structured British-style timetable with Key Stage organisation. Extracurricular activities extend the day from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm or 5:00 pm on weekdays (Monday to Thursday), creating a full and balanced school experience.

Boarding

Boarding was introduced in 1996, and today approximately 59 students live on-campus — 31 as full-time boarders and 28 as weekly boarders. Boarding caters particularly to students from outside Kitwe, including those from other parts of Zambia who benefit from access to the Cambridge A-Level programme not universally available elsewhere in the country.

Community Feel

With a total enrolment of approximately 279 students, Lechwe is a relatively intimate school by international standards. This scale supports the pastoral care model the school advocates — staff know students individually, and the community feel is reinforced through house-style pastoral structures and ECA participation requirements.

Nearest Airport

The nearest major airport is Ndola International Airport, approximately one hour's drive from the school, providing international connectivity for the expatriate families who form part of the school community.

A Values-Based Foundation

At the core of Lechwe School's identity is a commitment to values-based, holistic education. The school does not merely aim to produce academically proficient graduates; it seeks to develop young people of character, empathy, and resilience. Seven core values — Honesty, Co-operation, Tolerance, Love, Respect, Determination, and Happiness — are woven throughout daily school life, from the classroom to the sports field.

Mission and Vision

Lechwe's mission is 'to provide a high quality education, a safe, healthy and encouraging learning environment… to assist children in developing their natural gifts and innate talents.' This is complemented by a vision statement that describes the school as providing 'a first-class international education within a caring environment that promotes opportunities for learners to attain their full potential through a holistic approach to education.'

These statements are not merely aspirational; they shape curriculum design, pastoral care, and extracurricular programming alike.

Holistic Curriculum Design

The school's curriculum choices reflect this philosophy directly. The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) is explicitly designed to promote personal learning goals alongside academic ones, encouraging attributes such as adaptability, communication, and respect. The International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) similarly emphasises metacognition and personal development. Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level in the upper school provide rigorous academic benchmarking while maintaining breadth through subject choice.

Pastoral Care and Safeguarding

Lechwe's pastoral programme reinforces the school's values by actively tackling all forms of bullying, discrimination, and harassment. The school positions wellbeing not as an add-on but as integral to its educational mission, supporting students' social and emotional health alongside academic progress.

Inclusion and Additional Needs

The school welcomes all children, including those with additional learning needs, and provides dedicated staff — including an Additional Education Needs (AEN) teacher — to support students across all areas of the curriculum. This inclusive stance further reflects the school's belief that every child deserves the opportunity to develop their individual gifts.

A Progressive International Curriculum

Lechwe School's academic programme is built on a coherent, internationally recognised pathway. In the Primary School, the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) provides thematic, cross-curricular learning designed to be both globally relevant and locally contextualised. The IPC explicitly acknowledges the importance of taking locality into account, ensuring that Zambian context is integrated into the learning experience.

In the Lower Secondary (Forms 1–3, broadly KS3), the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) bridges primary and examination-oriented learning, developing critical thinking and subject knowledge simultaneously. In Upper Secondary (Forms 4–6, KS4–KS5), students prepare for Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge A-Level examinations.

Subject Breadth

At secondary level, Lechwe offers a broad range of subjects:

• Languages: English Literature, English Language, French, Mandarin
• Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, General Science
• Mathematics
• Humanities: History, Geography, Accounting, Business Studies
• Creative/Practical: Art and Design, Drama, Music, Design and Technology, Physical Education
• Technology: ICT/Computer Science

This breadth ensures students can pursue both STEM and humanities pathways through to A-Level.

Accredited Exam Centre

Lechwe is an accredited Cambridge International Examinations centre, an SAT examination centre, and an ABRSM (music) examination centre. This means students can sit internationally recognised assessments on-campus, a significant advantage in Kitwe, Zambia.

Languages as a Gateway

Beyond English as the medium of instruction, French and Mandarin are offered as foreign language subjects from Form 1, reflecting the school's international outlook and preparing students for a multilingual world.