Secondary School Update (24 February 2023)

Weekly update from Head of Secondary

Dear Parents,

I am proud to say that our new Head Students and Prefect Committee have begun their important work leading the school and the student body.

The student leaders were selected after a thorough and lengthy process led by 6th Form teachers, past prefects, school leadership, and student voice. 

They have a set of lofty goals for the year based on Ambition, Inclusivity, and Engagement. 

We know how important it is for students to experience leadership opportunities during their time at school. Good student leaders instill in other students the belief that they too can make a difference, be their true selves, and accomplish their aims. I am truly inspired by our current group of student leaders and am confident and excited about the contribution they will make to the school community this year. 

Chris Newman 

Head of Secondary

Key Dates

• 1st March: Parent Connect workshop: “Supporting your child with exam success” – in English, 4:15-5pm
• 2nd March: World Book Day
• 3rd March: Parent Connect workshop: “Supporting your child with exam success” – in Korean and Vietnamese, 2pm-2:45pm
• 4th March: Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition 
• 8th March: Year 12 Parents Evening
• 14th and 15th March: Juilliard Visit - Dance

Pastoral Updates

Year 10 students have continued to show great resilience, strength, and charisma in what has been a wonderful start to their two-year IGCSE course. Last term ended on a huge high note with the distribution of the end of term reports, which showcased the great learning and reflections that had been done in lessons since August, and if results continue in this positive trend, then records may be broken in the summer of 2024!

In order to capitalize on the great start, we have been focusing in our well-being lessons on how to support our students to be well-rounded individuals, focused not only on their grades but their overall personality—their key strengths, their areas for development, their hobbies, and their future aspirations. So far this year, we have looked closely at units relating to diversity and equality, and most recently, health and well-being, a poignant topic in the midst of exam season. To end each unit, we had the chance to show what we had learned. Back in October, we had a successful cookie-decorating competition between tutor groups, and this week we had the finale of our annual form sports competition. Three weeks ago, all tutor groups went against each other in a number of games of football, and this week we saw 10B crowned this year’s champions, defeating 10H in the final.

My students are starting to realise, at this important stage just how real the IGCSE experience is, and how in only 12-15 months' time their most important exams to date will be upon them. Therefore, as a tutor team we have been looking closely at how we can support our students to fulfill their potential with a healthy and positive mindset. Therefore, we thank you and continue to ask for your support as parents and family members, in helping to guide healthy life and study habits for our students. We have set our priorities for this year as a team- Myself, the tutors and our students, to have a wonderful next 18 months- To gain new experiences, make wonderful memories and, most importantly to look after our mental health and well-being, but our students cannot do this alone. With all of our support within and outside the school, we can provide appropriate study spaces, time for them to ‘unwind’ from academic study and just allow them to enjoy their teenage years before further academia comes their way.

Well done to all of my Year 10 students - Always smiling, showing such great energy and highlighting just how great we can be.

Mr. Liam Wright

Head of Year 10

Secondary Learning Showcase

Mathematics Challenge 

On Thursday 2nd February, 9 Year 9s, 39 Year 10s and 9 Year 11s sat the UK Mathematics Trust’s Intermediate Mathematics Challenge, a one-hour paper with 25 challenging problem-solving questions. Students are not allowed to use a calculator or any other mathematical equipment and must rely solely on their ability to break problems down into manageable steps. This week we received the results of the competition, and our students performed brilliantly. 32% of our students received a Gold certificate, 37% received a Silver certificate, and 16% received a Bronze certificate. When this is compared to the worldwide breakdown of 8.3% of participants achieving Gold, 16.7% Silver and 25% Bronze, you can see how impressively our students performed. In addition to this, 12 of our students (21% of participants) achieved a score high enough to meet the threshold of the follow-on round (about 4% of participants worldwide get this score). Even more extraordinarily, 3 of our Year 10 students managed to get a score over 100, which qualifies them for the Hamilton Olympiad, a magnificent achievement that only about 600 students worldwide manage. One final special mention must go to Miso in Year 10, who somehow managed to get a perfect score of 135. This is something that only a handful of students manage each year, and its brilliance cannot be overstated. 

Jiho, Gia Khanh, and Miso will be sitting the Olympiad in mid-March, and we wish them all the best for this exciting experience.

BIS Debate Club

BIS Debate Club has made an excellent start to the new school year, all thanks to its leaders, Gia Khanh, Thanh Mai, Ngoc Anh, and Quang Trung. This term has seen a larger influx of students, and it's great to see so many interesting motions being debated while learning about how a debate works and how to perform well. We are also involved in online debate tournaments with the Global Campus Debate League. This is a chance for our club to debate other Nord Anglia schools in the region. We had our first online debate before Tet against NA Abu Dhabi; we did not win, but we got some fantastic feedback. Round 2 is against BIS Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, March 13th, and we are going for victory! If you would like more information about the Global Campus Debate League, please click here: Course: Debate Club (nae.school) or search the "Debate League" on Global Campus to learn more.