U-Can's History
The Empowering & Supportive Environment For Your Child
U-Can International School was founded in 2013 on the need for quality international education in Entebbe, Uganda.
In 2012 Beat Odermatt was looking for an international education for his young children in Entebbe. He had two very important criteria that the school had to meet.
- The school should have a fun hands-on program that inspired his children to become creative thinkers and problem solvers.
- The school had to be affordable with small classes and well-trained teachers
He couldn’t find the school he was looking for in or around Entebbe. There were some very good schools in Kampala but they were expensive and required that his children make a long bus ride every day.
One day Odermatt was speaking with some of his friends. As they were talking, the idea of setting up an international school based on Canadian standards of education took shape. Soon a small team of people were laying out plans to start a K-6 program using a curriculum developed in Ontario, Canada. About this time the name U-Can was born. The name appealed for two reasons.
Firstly, this was a Ugandan-Canadian venture. The school would hire Ugandan as well as expat teachers. The curriculum would include Ugandan culture, history and geography.
Secondly, U-Can reflected the belief in our students that each one of them is very capable of doing many different things. One of the slogans our students often repeat is “Yes We Can”. A key part of the U-Can culture is that each student is unique and special, each one has a contribution to make. Students are motivated by self-belief and confidence in their abilities. U-Can seeks to inspire students to build on their strengths and overcome the challenges that they face.
