Rasami British International School

An American organisation that allows a school to put the letters AP on a pupil's transcript. The permission is granted course by course and tied to a particular teacher, it has to be renewed every year, and College Board reads the course syllabus before granting it.

What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run advanced AP courses - not the school as a whole, but one by one: by subject and by teacher. Governance, safeguarding and the primary years are not part of that check. Which subjects are actually approved is visible in the ledger. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.

One hundred and nine schools in twenty countries across Asia. It runs no quality inspection of its own, but it requires a school to hold a live external inspection and to renew it at least once every five years. Before admission two representatives of the federation visit the school for two days.

What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to the federation, and the federation requires its members to hold a real external inspection. What to look at is that accreditation rather than this badge, but the badge is not empty: a member school almost certainly holds one. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.

A network of about three hundred schools in some fifty countries, built on the ideas of the educationalist Kurt Hahn: internationalism, democracy, environment, adventure, leadership, service. On joining, representatives of the network visit the school and write a report, and the school then spends up to two years as a candidate.

What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to the network. The check on joining is a real one, but what is examined is fidelity to the six principles rather than the quality of teaching, safeguarding or governance. Reports are not published, and the five-year review is one the school carries out on itself. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.

Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.

What this status would mean. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The school is not in the organisation's register: the status comes from the school's own words. At this school: IGCSE (ages 14-16), A-Level (ages 16-18). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate. A-Level is the senior years, and their results are what British and many other universities admit on.

It gives a school approved centre status: that means Pearson exams can be sat in the school itself. What is checked is the premises, the equipment, the secure storage of papers and the presence of trained invigilators.

What this status would mean. The school can run Pearson exams on its own premises. The status says nothing about teaching, about results or about the school itself: any school able to run an exam securely holds it. The school is not in the organisation's register: the status comes from the school's own words. Which Pearson qualifications this school is approved for is not stated here.