ICSE Primary School (Grades I–V), Chennai | Darwin
About our curriculum →
ICSE · Grade I–V

A strong foundation, built without pressure.

Grades I–V. The Montessori spirit carried into a structured ICSE curriculum, with continuous assessment instead of term exams, so children build real depth without losing their love of learning.

What makes it different

Bridging Montessori foundations with ICSE excellence.

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From 2027–28 · Lower Elementary

Montessori Lower Elementary: the ICSE curriculum, taught the Montessori way.

For children continuing from Darwin Montessori, Grades I and II will follow the full ICSE curriculum, delivered through Montessori elementary methods and materials. We call this Lower Elementary. We believe it gives children a deeper foundation, so they reach Grade III ready for more.

2027–28Children moving up from Darwin Montessori 3 begin Grade I in Lower Elementary. One regular Primary Grade I section continues for children joining from other schools. Grade II continues in the regular Primary format.
2028–29Lower Elementary grows to include Grade II as the first cohort moves up. Regular Primary sections continue for children joining from other schools.
Why we're making this change →
Curious and hands-on

Children learn through Montessori elementary materials, big questions and their own investigations.

The full curriculum, taught differently

The ICSE curriculum, all scholastic subjects and Whole-Child Learning continue in full. Montessori elementary materials and methods are how they are taught.

Elementary-trained teachers

Every Lower Elementary teacher undergoes Montessori elementary training.

Joining from another school?

One regular Primary section continues in each grade, following the same ICSE curriculum in our current format.

A Week at Darwin

A week with room to move, make and reflect.

The ICSE subjects form the core of every day. Around them, sport, the arts, library, social-emotional learning (SEL) and more make up Whole-Child Learning, and every child takes part in all of it.

The school day
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Academic FoundationsWhole-Child LearningGrades I–V follow the Darwin 60/40 Model.
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Whole-Child Learning

Part of every Primary day.

All activities & facilities
In the school week
Arts & performance
Theatre & dramaStorytelling & puppetryArts & craftMusic: keyboard, guitar, drumsDance
Sport & movement
FootballBasketballPickleballTable tennisYogaZumbaFitness
Skills & thinking
AI + Coding (term course)Oratorical skillsHandwritingBoard gamesLife skillsGardeningSocial-emotional learning

Until Grade V, every child takes part in all of it. Once a term, Career Day brings in guests from different walks of life, with separate age-appropriate sessions for Grades I–II and III–V.

Facilities
STEM labMaths labEnglish labFootball turfSports academyMulti-purpose hallGarden

See a Primary day for yourself.