Deciding how to prioritise children and work is a predicament many a working parent faces, but for a mission worker poignant situations can arise where it feels like they have to choose between their children and their service for God.
For mission families the choice of whether to home school children or to send them away to boarding school can be a torturous one.
In 1991 GDQ school was set up to allow children to remain near to their parents whilst still receiving an education that they can use in their parents’ home countries.
Now GDQ has taken a step to increase the length of time that parents can continue to work without worrying about their children’s futures, by introducing Cambridge’s International GCSE (IGCSE) programme.
GDQ previously only catered for children up to the age of 14, but the IGCSE programme is accepted by universities around the world.
It is the only school in Tirana which is a Cambridge IGCSE examination centre.
This past year, after much preparation and discussion, nine students began studying for five IGCSEs.
The programme has gone well, but delivery presents its own challenges as Nikki Pearce, a BMS worker who helps at the school, tells us, “Finding a range of teachers committed for two years is always incredibly hard.
“It is also a challenge for many of the teachers for whom teaching this style of curriculum is a new thing.
“Obviously having invested so much work we would love it to continue, but time will tell if it is sustainable.
“Ideally, it would be great to continue through to A levels, perhaps combined with an American pre-college qualification.”
Give thanks for the success of the programme so far, and please pray that things will go smoothly for those who started last year and will sit their exams next summer.
Please pray that teachers will come forward who enjoy the particular challenge presented by GDQ school.