Message From the Principal 09-09

As part of the Nord Anglia family, The British International School Abu Dhabi is blessed to have a network of schools and collaborations that can add value to our staff, community, and children.  The Nord Anglia Education strategy encourages us to focus on 5 key areas that are central to creating futures for our children and in today’s newsletter I have chosen to identify how they can, will or do shape our identity.

Wellbeing, Resilience, and Purpose

The journey through education is not easy and we have a duty and responsibility to support our young people to navigate through the complexities and challenges that life may offer, as well as embrace those magic moments that make the journey through school the best years.  This year, our pastoral teams have liaised closely across Primary and Secondary to ensure that the sense of belonging remains high. We want our young people to have experiences in and out of class that heighten their enjoyment of school and help them recognise the impact they can have as the leaders of the future as well as celebrate who they are right now.

Globally Connected 

Coffee mornings are back and before we connect globally it's been important to connect again locally. The moments I have experienced over the last week have secured in my head that we need to enhance our collaborations and partnerships.  Therefore, we will be relaunching our BIS Abu Dhabi Community Group. We want to use this platform to encourage parents, staff, and students as well as external partners to collaborate and further enrich the lives and experiences beyond the confines of the classroom. I am passionate about creating a range of events across the year and as a result, we need you, please click here to find out more about how you can get involved and register your interest.

Creativity

The skill of a school is to create opportunities for young people to develop a thirst for knowledge, this comes from an environment where our young people have the chance to critically think, analyse, problem solve and create.  This year it's our mission to create experiences where these curious young minds can grow and develop. These opportunities are enhanced with our partnerships with MIT, Juilliard, Global Campus, and UNICEF as well as the Community Group. This is one of the school's priorities for the year and I am sure the students' learning experiences across the year will demonstrate this.

ED TECH

Our Digital Strategy team is focusing on how we can enhance our own digital portfolio to create a more coherent platform for our community including enhancing our own app for communications, creating our own VLE and reviewing our current practice in the classroom.  We are clear in our mission that our ongoing Digital Strategy will be a vehicle to enhance the experience of all stakeholders and not as an add on with little value.

Academic Outcomes

In closing, I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the IB and GCSE students for the amazing results they have achieved last year as the UAE returned to formal exams. Our 2022 graduates achieved record results in the IB Diploma examinations, once again. The average point score of 34 exceeds the worldwide average and has enabled students to obtain places in highly prestigious university courses. This includes 2 students scoring a perfect score of 45, which places them in the top 1% of Baccalaureate Diploma Programme candidates worldwide. This combined with our GCSE cohort achieving 35% at 9 and 8 with a further 73% achieving 9-6 demonstrates BIS Abu Dhabi’s commitment to personal and academic success. I am very proud to be leading a team of staff who have the ability to ensure excellent exam results are achieved whilst also ensuring the school allows students talent to flourish alongside their personal academic journey.

Lots to take in today but that is what I love about education, it is multi-faceted and dynamic just like the children, it is there to nurture.

Enjoy the images from this week and have a great weekend.

Liam Cullinan, Principal