We are a private English Primary day school in Mauritius for boys and girls between 4+ and 11+ years of age. We cater for approximately 100 children and provide a British curriculum with a strong international flavour. Pupils come mainly from the expatriate, but also from the local community. They are of many different nationalities, races and creeds but share English as a common language. Our teachers either come from abroad and are native English speakers or are Mauritians who have lived and studied abroad, all of whom speak English fluently.
Situated in Floreal, close to the central plateau, the school is set in over two acres of terraced gardens which provide an ideal playground for the children. This area has a pleasant, cooler climate and is much favoured as a residential area by the diplomatic and expatriate business community.
About Us
Alexandra House School is a member of COBIS, the Council of British International Schools, which exists to serve, support, inform and represent its member schools which are 'beacons for British International Schools of Global Quality'.
Aims and Ideals
We aim to provide a firm foundation in the fundamental skills necessary to pursue further education and to stimulate growth in all areas of the child's development. We believe that school should be a happy experience so we provide a loving, supportive environment in which the children are free to explore, to express themselves and to learn many valuable lessons in addition to the purely academic ones.
We recognise that each child is gifted with something special, something unique. We aim to encourage this uniqueness, to identify each child's special qualities and talents and to develop them as fully as possible. Therefore classes are kept small (average 15) and teaching is differentiated, according to individual academic levels, enabling the teachers to draw out the full potential of each child.
While the children are acquiring the necessary skills, through a carefully structured and balanced curriculum, we encourage a spirit of enquiry and self-reliance and a love of learning in order to stimulate a life-long thirst for knowledge. In this way, we aim to develop children who are independent learners and are confident in their own ability.
When our children leave us we hope they will take with them not only the highest level of academic, artistic and creative achievements of which they have proved individually capable, but also standards of truth, honesty and respect for the rights and needs of others which will help them live full, useful and happy lives.
Our Mission and Philosophy
"The spirit of Love..."
At Alexandra House School we believe that all things are achieved through love. We know that children blossom in love - they are like flowers. Criticism makes them curl up and die inside. Love makes them open up and blossom.
In a school, love may be expressed in many ways:
- High expectations are a form of love... We recognise the highest potential of each child and lead him to fulfil that potential. This is the real meaning of 'education' from 'educare' - to draw out that which is within each child.
- Discipline is a form of love... This is achieved by setting guidelines of expected behavior and setting clear limits. Children respond to discipline when it is meted out with love. Their innate sense of justice enables them to recognise when correction is fair and necessary, and they accept it willingly.
- Humility is a form of love... This can be seen when adults recognize that teaching and learning are not a one-way street - we learn as much from the children as they learn from us. Humility helps us to recognize that none of us is perfect, but that together we can help one another to grow towards perfection - we are all striving to arrive.
We remember that "love is gentle, love is kind". Love does not use force. Love shows by example. Love takes you by the hand and leads the way gently.
The spark of love is within each one. We aim to kindle the spark, to help it shine more brightly, so that it may become a great light that illumines the world.
History
Following the Independence of Mauritius in 1968 and the gradual closure of the HMS School which had catered to British Foreign Service families, Mrs Muriel Soobiah, who had taught there, was asked by several British families who remained in Mauritius to continue teaching their children. She started out in the garage of her own home, and as more families requested places for their children, eventually was granted the lease of a colonial building on the site of the ex-HMS grounds in Granville Avenue, Vacoas. This building was originally called "Alexander House", but since all of the staff and most of the pupils were female, it was renamed "Alexandra House" and formally established as a school in 1975.
In 1977, Mrs Martina Beejadhur joined the school as a teacher and in 1980, when the renewal of the lease on the building was refused, Mrs Soobiah decided to retire. Along to the rescue came Mrs Rosemary Jullienne, whose daughters, Lara and Alexandra, were pupils at the school. Mrs Jullienne and her husband rented another building, a house on the SMF grounds, in Angus Road, Vacoas, later to be renamed United Nations Road. Mrs Jullienne took over the administration of the school and brought in Mrs Ida Coombes as Headmistress. At that stage, the school comprised 3 classes with a total of 35 pupils. In 1988, when Mrs Coombes left the school, Mrs Beejadhur was appointed as Headmistress, in charge of academic matters, while Mrs Jullienne continued to look after the administration.
After a long illness, Mrs Jullienne decided to retire in 1991 and sold the school to Mr. and Mrs Beejadhur, who therefore continued looking after both the academic and administrative aspects of school life. In 1992, a request to change the lease of the building from the Jullienne family to the school name was refused, and a new building, owned by Dr P. Chui Wan Cheong and family was leased in Floréal. The move to the new property in King George V Avenue was made in 1993, and the school continued to grow in strength. From 60 pupils and 6 teachers in 1991, it grew to 84 pupils and 7 teachers in 1994, 96 pupils and 9 teachers in 1997, with extensions being built in 1996, 2007 and 2014. Despite the pressure of applications, the decision was made to limit the number of students enrolled to 100 in order to maintain the "large family" atmosphere of the school, and it remains so till this day.
In January 1998, Mrs Bridget Langlois, who had joined the school in 1988 as a teacher and been promoted to Deputy Head in January 1994, accepted the appointment as Headmistress in charge of academic matters, working alongside Mrs Beejadhur in charge of administration.
When Mrs Langlois took early retirement in 2014, Mrs Ingrid Koenig, the Deputy Head, took over as Headmistress. In that same year, upon the death of Mr. Hiren Beejadhur, Kian Beejadhur, his son, took over his duties as director. Having been a past pupil of the school as well as PE teacher and Manager, he was the ideal candidate for the post.
Admission Application Form
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You can complete and send the application form online