School Programmes, Syllabi & Academic Information.

INFORMATION FOR UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS, TUTORS & INTERNATIONAL OFFICE

INFORMATION FOR UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS, TUTORS & INTERNATIONAL OFFICE

Foundation Preparation:  a) in Parallel to Greek Lyceum and, b) after Graduation from Lyceum

The NETWORK Foundation Programme during the past twenty-three years has continuously been offering training, academic planning and consulting services to Greek candidates who wish to pursue undergraduate studies in the UK, and with two main sites in Athens and Thessaloniki it is currently the principal Foundation provider in Greece.

In fact, according to official UCAS statistics, NETWORK is the largest UCAS School in Greece (as regards the number of student acceptances for 2012,2013,2014 and 2015 Entry).

NETWORK offers two Full-time curriculum Foundation Programmes:

  1. The NETWORK Lyceum Foundation Programme, offered to students attending the second and third classes of Lyceum (Greek High School 11th and 12thgrade) which runs in parallel with high school.  This full curriculum programme is split over two academic years part-time in order to cover the complete syllabus.  Students attend 3 days / 11 hours per week.
  2. The NETWORK Winter Foundation Programmewhich is offered to Greek Lyceum graduates (Greek High School 12thgrade graduates).  This programme’s duration is one full academic year.  Students attend 5 days / 22 hours per week.

Given that most tutors may be already familiar with our Winter Foundation Programme, we would like to present you with certain details of our Lyceum Foundation Programme, which is becoming more and more popular to Greek students who have selected the UK as their primary undergraduate study destination.  (Tutors Manual & Academic Information:  www.network.gr/academic)

NETWORK Lyceum Foundation

This option has become very popular in the last 4 years and from our experience to date, students who choose this route constitute a particularly strong population sample among applicants from Greece with respect to character, motivation, academic credentials and determination to succeed in the British Education System.

The NETWORK Lyceum Foundation Programme (4-modules plus English) for all students who attend it is the primary preparation for UK University admission.  The Apolytirion in this case should be considered as a school leaving certificate and not as a University entry qualification.

Lyceum Student Apolytirion Qualification:  While the “nationally examined” (with Pan-Hellenic exams) Greek Apolytirion represents a demanding qualification, students who are taking the Lyceum Foundation (i.e. “parallel” course, while also at the Lykeion/Lyceum), take the school leaving Apolytirion – referred to as “internally examined” Apolytirion.  According to Greek state law No. 3966/2011, both Apolytirion (the internally examined and the panhellenically examined) are coequal as high school leaving certificates and both offer the right to continue to higher education.

Student Academic Focus:   The “internally examined” Apolytirion allows students to focus their effort on the Foundation course thus ensuring optimum preparation for their studies in the UK.  Selectors are therefore advised to make admission offers on the basis of performance on the Foundation course rather than the Apolytirion.

Student Profile:   Students taking the “parallel” Lyceum Foundation course alongside their Apolytirion are committed to studying in the UK, while those taking the nationally examined Apolytirion are primarily committed to studying in Greece and would normally only join a UK institution if they failed to reach the standard required for admission to their desired Greek institution.

There are at least 7 reasons that justify the qualitative advantage of the Lyceum Foundation students over other candidates:

  1. Determination– Lyceum students, who at such a young age take the decision to study in the UK, are those who are most predisposed to travel to foreign countries and achieve superior academic and professional performance.  They can recognize the deficiencies of the Greek Higher Education and display maturity that is rare among young people of the same age group.
  2. International Culture– These students and their families are characterised by a more international / cosmopolitan outlook, which leads them to abandoning the rather monolithic procedure of rote learning during their preparation for and subsequent sitting the Pan-Hellenics, deciding instead to focus on gaining an Apolytirion (school leaving diploma) that is more holistic in its approach to an all-round provision of education.
  3. Enthusiasm to study in the UK– Lyceum students who take the decision to study in the UK are significantly friendlier towards and more familiar with British culture.  They truly desire to attain high standards within a system they deeply feel as being one of the top in the world. Eventually, when they are offered a place to a British university programme, they are enthusiastic about this opportunity and dream of the day that they will be given the opportunity to achieve high grades at university.
  4. Customised Preparation– It is also important to point out that we consider it an advantage that the Lyceum Foundation students begin their preparation for British universities early, along with their second class of Lyceum (11thgrade); this eventually offers them the opportunity to learn and absorb more efficiently many aspects of the British educational system and its principles.  They learn how to conduct research, how to deliver presentations and how to work on assignments, concurrently with their studying for Greek High School.
  5. Educated Orientation– Since the Lyceum Foundation modules during the first phase of the parallel foundation programme are of more general content (Mathematics, Statistics, Computing, Study Skills and English), these candidates have the opportunity to obtain more detailed and comprehensive consultation regarding selection/direction of studies.  By the beginning of the second phase of the Lyceum Foundation, students have researched and evaluated all options, have become familiar with most courses and disciplines offered in the UK and can very securely and maturely make their decisions.  As a result they can select the appropriate modules of the Foundation course and proceed with their UCAS application.
  6. Focus on UK studies– Students who attend the Lyceum Foundation (parallel Foundation Programme) are strongly focused on achieving a high academic performance in both their Foundation Programme and the final two years of their Greek Apolytirion studies, without having to devote their time to an exams oriented approach aimed at achieving specific scores in the Pan-Hellenic examinations. These students are not only academically, but also psychologically ready to attend a British university at the age of 18, their readiness and preparation are the best guarantee for a superior academic performance during their attendance at a British institution.
  7. Familiarity with the English Language– Being trained and exposed to the English language for two years (a longer period than all other Foundation courses) and attending all modules in English, the Lyceum Foundation students are very well experienced to cope with their studies by being familiar with the language and the system.  After having finished their Foundation programme, students just travel to their UK destination and continue studying in the exact same manner and means without needing any adaptation period.

Diagram of the Greek Equivalence to the British Education System (10th-12th grades)

Although there is no exact analogy between the British GCSE and GCE awards and the Greek Lyceum Apolytirion, the following diagram depicts the corresponding stages in the two educational systems and is helpful in understanding why Greek Lyceum students who simultaneously attend a Foundation course are probably the best prepared students for British Universities.

IMPORTANT Q&As WITH STUDENTS, PARENTS AND THE BRITISH COUNCIL

The majority of the candidates who wish to apply to UK Universities for their undergraduate studies usually start by getting initial advice from the British Council in Greece.  When it comes to considering preparation via a Foundation programme in Greece, the Council has a standard line of advice using the following exact quote: “The British Council is not responsible for the quality of Foundation programmes in Greece, therefore we advise you to contact the institutions directly and ask if the school you are planning to register for your Foundation course is recognized by the universities you wish to apply to.”

 

The first part of the quote regarding the quality of Foundation programmes in Greece would not sound very complimentary, as stated, to students and parents. However, it is not important to focus on that but on the second part of the quote referring to recognition.

 

For example, a prospective student would ask the following:

“Is *name* Foundation recognized by your University?”

which, of course, if answered typically the answer would be

“No, it is not.”

(and this is typically correct, because no school in Greece or elsewhere can be officially recognized by all UK institutions at the same time; such thing can’t physically happen anyway).

As a result, the student will assume that he/she will not get any offers from the Universities which replied that they do not officially recognize the specific Foundation school.

But this is not the case. For example, NETWORK Foundation students are indeed offered places based on their Foundation qualification by almost all UK Universities.

Actually, what the candidates should be asking is the following:

“I am planning to attend the *name* Foundation Programme.  If I apply to your University and I include the above Foundation qualification, would you consider my application for admission?”

For the above reason we would kindly ask you, when you are asked if a school in Greece is recognised, to explain to them what the actual case is.  For example, this could be a standard reply:

“Our University does not have any official recognition agreement with *name* Foundation Programme, but if you apply to our University we will be able to examine your application based on your Foundation and other qualifications and accordingly consider offering you a place.”

More specifically, if a candidate asks about our school, NETWORK, and given that your institution has previous knowledge/experience with the NETWORK Foundation Programme, you might consider adding the sentence below in your standard reply:

“Our University has considered candidates and has offered places to students based on their NETWORK Foundation qualification.”

In this way, the candidates will not believe that attending the specific Foundation course translates to a closed door for them, and additionally if they have anyway decided to attend the specific Foundation course, they will not exclude your University from their choices.

For your records, the British Council has an online list of recognized schools in Greece that offer Foundation courses and the NETWORK Foundation Programme, both in Athens and Thessaloniki, is included in the official list.

https://www.britishcouncil.gr/sites/default/files/foundation-courses-and-gces-19-05-2016.pdf