Lilongwe Private School
School and Country Brief
(i)Malawi
The Warm Heart of Africa- Malawi is a small landlocked country in the South East of Africa, bordered by
Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique. One third of the country is occupied by Lake Malawi- the Lake of Stars,
a quiet and unique tourist spot within 1.5 hours of the capital city. The remainder of the country is mainly
agricultural with the majority of the population carrying out subsistence farming of the main food crop
maize. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa and the world with few natural resources and
limited land for cash crops. They rely heavily on donor aid and limited revenue from tobacco, sugar and
cotton exports.
Malawi has a long history of peace and is well known in the region for being uniquely welcoming and
friendly. People rarely visit once!
The capital city of Lilongwe is a sprawling city which is rapidly expanding in terms of land use. Properties
still benefit from the luxury of ample land space. The city itself is also developing with new shopping malls,
international stores and restaurants and improved transport systems.
Lilongwe boasts an appealingly mild climate which is hot for most of the year with a rainy season between
December and March and cooler months between May and July.
(ii)Lilongwe Private School history
Lilongwe Private School was established in 1968 making it one of the most long-established schools in the
country. The school campus occupies a large area in the heart of a busy trading centre which is also home
to many of the school’s Asian families. The school was originally established by 80 members of the Asian
business community who came together to provide quality education for their children and the children in
the community. The family members of the original founders now form the board of directors who run the
school as a purely non-profit organisation. Lilongwe Private School now has a firmly rooted reputation in
the capital city and indeed in the country and is counted among the highest performing schools in Malawi.
(iii)Lilongwe Private School staff and students
Lilongwe Private School moved from a 2 class intake to a 3 class intake in 2008 due to the increased
demand for places. We will start the 2012-2013 academic year with 16 primary classes form standard 1-6.
We aim to keep the class sizes to a maximum of 25-30 and we have 400+ on roll at any time.
Despite its foundations in the Asian/Malawian community the children and families of Lilongwe Private
School now represent approximately 13 different nationalities from Africa, Asia and Europe, following 5
different religions. Consequently the vast majority of our children are learning English as a second
language. We also have a diverse range of staff spanning the same continents. The majority of staff are
locally born Malawian teachers but we also have staff from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Zambia,
England and Holland.
Lilongwe Private School
Primary Head Teacher Vacancy
February 2012
There are 37 staff members in the primary school covering administration, management, classroom
teachers, classroom assistants and specialist teachers. All classes have classroom assistants with a higher
concentration in the foundation years.
(iv)Lilongwe Private School facilities and curriculum
Lilongwe Private School is a primary and secondary school located adjacent to each other on the same
campus. A large school hall and grassy playing field are shared by the two schools. In October 2011 the
primary school moved into a new purpose built and contained primary block. This was a very exciting move
for the primary school which gave us the opportunity to develop our facilities and to enhance the
education we provide. We now have a brand new computer lab which is fully equipped to meet the needs
of all primary classes and is running on the N-Computing system. We also have a well stocked and inviting
library and a designated special needs and reading support room. We feel that our primary block has a very
homely and welcoming feel. We are in the middle of planning for work on our immediate school grounds in
order to provide a multi sensory, shaded play area for the children including picnic benches, flower beds,
play equipment and a school garden.
Lilongwe Private School primary section became a registered Cambridge institution in early 2010 and since
then we have been working towards fully implementing the Cambridge International Primary Curriculum.
We follow the British National Curriculum, with a local twist in areas such as geography and history,
alongside the frameworks provided by Cambridge. We also use assessment material provided by
Cambridge and enter our standard 6 children for the end of primary Cambridge Checkpoint exams.
Children are taught by class based teachers for the core subjects, but go for specialist lessons in Physical
Education, Art, ICT and library. We have a special needs department which runs small classes for those
with identified needs and also runs a comprehensive reading support programme due to our high number
of children with English as a second language.
Lilongwe Private School
Primary Head Teacher Vacancy
February 2012