Peru presents the same scheduling problem as Colombia and the same solution. We teach from Nairobi, eight hours ahead, so a Peruvian after-school slot at four in the afternoon is midnight here. The supplementary model that works across our European and African markets does not transfer as-is. What does work is our block landing in the Peruvian morning — and, as in Colombia and Mexico, the Peruvian school day happens to leave a great many students exactly that window free.
The gap, and the direction that works
Eight hours, fixed — Peru does not observe daylight saving and neither does Kenya, so nothing drifts seasonally. Our teaching hours land in the Peruvian morning: a class at seven in Lima is three in the afternoon in Nairobi, an ordinary slot for us. Anything later in the Peruvian day is evening or night here. So the only question is whether a child’s mornings are free — and for a large share of Peruvian students in turno tarde, whose school runs in the afternoon, they are. Full-time and post-secondary students take mornings anyway. For turno mañana students it usually does not work, and we say so at enquiry rather than in March.
Why the regions need this more than Lima does
Lima has a genuinely strong international tier — Markham, San Silvestre, Roosevelt, Newton, the Franco-Peruano and German schools — with a substantial IB presence and long institutional history. A Lima family choosing us is usually choosing on fees or on subject availability, particularly Cambridge A-Levels in a market weighted toward the IB. Outside Lima the argument is different, because provision thins to almost nothing. Arequipa is the second city of one of the world’s largest copper producers. Cusco runs a tourism economy of global scale. Trujillo ships asparagus and blueberries to supermarkets across three continents. Piura has a refinery, offshore fields and a fruit-export industry. None of them has an international school worth the name.
The mining case, which we have made in eight countries
Arequipa and the southern belt — Cerro Verde, the Moquegua operations, the Matarani export corridor — employ engineers, geologists and metallurgists recruited internationally, in a country that is among the world’s largest copper producers. The historic answer for a senior student has been boarding in Lima. Our Peruvian mining families sit in the same live classes as families in Antofagasta across the border, the Zambian Copperbelt, Kolwezi, Botswana’s diamond towns and Namibia’s uranium coast — taking the same Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Geography spine, with the same portability when a contract moves.
What we do not claim
That we hold Peruvian authorisation — we do not, and private institutions here operate with authorisation through the UGEL and DRE structure, which your school holds and we do not. That educación a distancia under Ley 28044 is a homeschooling route we operate within — it is a recognised modality with its own rules administered by MINEDU and the UGEL. And that Peru works like Chile — it does not. Chile has a state validation route that makes full-time possible; Peru, so far as we are aware, does not, so everything we do here runs alongside a Peruvian school.
And where the local school is the right answer
A Peruvian child in turno mañana at a good school, heading toward a Peruvian university, does not need us — and I would rather say so than sell around an eight-hour timezone. Our value is narrow: Cambridge A-Levels where the market runs to the IB, subject sets no small school can staff, reach into Arequipa, Cusco, Trujillo and Piura, and a morning window that matches half the country’s school day. Where none of that applies, the local school will serve a child well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Eight hours — does this actually work?+
In one direction. Classes are available across the day, including after-school, because we run two teaching teams in different time zones. For turno tarde students, whose school runs in the afternoon, mornings are free and it works cleanly. For turno mañana students it usually does not, and we say so at enquiry.
Why Cambridge when Lima has a strong IB presence?+
Because A-Levels are what UK admissions through UCAS reads most directly, and Peru’s market is weighted toward the IB and the American curriculum. Families targeting Britain often find no local A-Level route.
Can our child study full-time with you, as in Chile?+
No. Chile has a state validation route — exámenes libres — that makes full-time workable there. We are not aware of an equivalent in Peru, so everything we do here runs alongside a Peruvian school.
Do you hold Peruvian authorisation?+
No, and we say so plainly. Private institutions operate with authorisation through the UGEL and DRE structure. We work alongside a school that holds it.
