Weekly Highlights is a weekly newsletter sent by the BVIS Leadership Team to parents, providing updates on notable news and activities at the school. The newsletter consists of three main sections: updates from the Principal, Head of Primary, and Head of Secondary.
Dear Parents,
It has been a pleasure to meet students and parents this week, at the gate, in the canteen, classrooms and playground. Their joy at being back in school, with their friends and teachers is palpable and new students also, are settling in well and making friends. 
It was lovely also to meet so many parents at the Primary Meet the Teacher event last night. The success of our students has many contributing factors, not least of which is parent engagement and interest in their children’s education. By attending these important meetings, you are committing to supporting your child on their journey which goes a long way towards their continued success. 
We look forward to our Secondary Meet the Tutor event next Tuesday 26/8 for secondary parents which we hope, will be equally well attended.
Our older students have demonstrated great success in recent weeks with excellent A Level and iGCSE results. We are so proud of each and every individual for their hard work and dedication which has opened so many doors for their future. More details can be found below in Mr Toby Bate’s secondary highlights.
This week, we will begin to introduce some of our new staff to you all. Starting with Mr Iain Hope, our new Primary Headteacher. We will share details of other new staff in the coming weeks.
Iain began his career in London where he was a teacher, middle leader and advisor before he moved into international education. He has worked at high performing international schools in the UK, Qatar, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia holding a variety of leadership positions. Iain is an experienced Council of International Schools (CIS) Accreditor and was a founding member of the Safeguarding Executive Committee for the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA).
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Should you wish to contact your child’s Class Teacher(s) or Form Tutor directly, we encourage communication to be written in the language you most feel confident to use.
Parents may also find it useful to contact their child’s class teacher(s) or form tutor directly for all individual queries about their academic work/social and emotional wellbeing in school. Individual contact details can be found in the Parents’ Handbooks or via our Primary/Secondary Receptionists.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend ahead full of care and kindness to others.
What a wonderful first full week it has been in Primary! It has been fantastic meeting parents and students at the gates, on the playground and after school. I had been told that the community here at BVIS was a warm, friendly invited one, and now that I have seen that in person, I can certainly agree with that.
Thank you so much for helping to settle myself, and to settle other new parents and students at the school!
Over the summer there has been a huge investment in our learning environment. Ms Dee shared those last week, but I would like to highlight the difference the new climbing apparatus has had on our students as they start this year. The children have been ecstatic at the chance to climb and explore. They have been kind and caring with others while climbing, showing the values from our Aide Memoire. Activities such as this are also an excellent way to develop not only physical abilities, but social abilities too, both of which support cognitive development to enhance learning in all areas. Staff have all reported that the change in the playground has been amazing.
We have now had 3 Meet the Teacher Events with F2 taking place in the library last week and F3 this week on Wednesday. Primary then had their Meet the Teacher on Thursday evening, and it was wonderful to see so many parents in attendance. These events are really important to establish that close link between home and school and to ensure key approaches and systems are clear. Thank you to all who attended.
This year we have 4 new staff joining the Primary school, including myself. Left to Right: Mr Iain (Headteacher), Mr David (Music), Miss Cate (Year 4) and Mr Adam (Primary EAL). All have settled in beautifully with the support of the wonderful caring community here at BVIS!
A big thank you to all parents who have already exchanged their old lanyard for the new one. For those who have not yet changed them, we will have a supply in the Primary Office and will also have them ready to exchange at the Parents Evenings.
We have a fantastic programme of Afterschool Clubs for your children to join. The deadline for signing up is today on SchoolsBuddy so please ensure you have taken advantage of this opportunity. If you need help, please reach out to Ms Mai, the Primary PA (mai.nguyen2@bvisvietnam.com).
29/8/2025: Welcome Back Coffee Morning
17/9/2025: Jonathan Taylor – Cybersafety Consultant workshops
9/9/2025 & 11/9/2025 (15:30 – 18:30): Parent Evenings – B and I classes
16/9/2025 & 18/9/2025 (15:30 – 18:30): Parents Evenings – V and S classes
8 – 12/9/2025: Neurodiversity Week
It’s my great pleasure to inform you that we now have all our external examination results back from the exam boards.
These results are the best ever achieved by the school at IGCSE and some of the best achieved at A level. Although, it is easy to look at the raw grades there are some amazing individual performances that aren’t necessarily obvious in the raw grades obtained. To this end, I am immensely proud of all the results our students have achieved as they will ensure that every BVIS student will have the opportunity to study the subject they want in the next stage of their educational journey.
A levels
Grades at A*/A: 42%
Grades at A*-C: 84%
IGCSE
Grades at A*/A: 62%
Grades at A*-C: 94%
These results are outstanding and really demonstrate the academic progress that has been made over the last few years. We look forward to seeing this positive trend of excellent results continue, both at A level and IGCSE here at BVIS.
To begin the new academic year, all teachers will be ensuring that students entering their classes have the correct uniform and equipment. Should you receive communication about issues with your child’s uniform, or their equipment please ensure that these are resolved promptly so that we can work together positively and focus on a successful year ahead.
Last year, the senior leadership team in secondary trialled the use of a Monday morning drop-in session for all parents between 07:45 and 08:10. This proved to be very useful in terms of giving parents additional opportunity to connect and discuss any issues in a timely manner and is something that we will be continuing this academic year as well. Therefore, please feel free to come to the meeting room off the secondary foyer on a Monday morning if you’d like to talk to a member of the secondary leadership team. 
We look forward to welcoming you to the secondary school next Tuesday (26th) to our first large event of the year, the meet the tutor event. Separate communication has already been sent out regarding this event, but we look forward to seeing you all there, whether you are a new parent or one who has been with us since your child was in F1.
From 21 to 28 June, Nord Anglia Education partnered with UNICEF to host the annual NAE Student Summit in Houston, Texas, under the theme of “Leadership.” The event was proudly hosted by The Village School and The British International School of Houston. Our student, Nguyen Hiep Phuc Thien, was selected to join 163 young leaders from 54 Nord Anglia schools worldwide for this inspiring experience.
Throughout the week, students engaged in a series of dynamic workshops led by UNICEF experts, exploring topics such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Children’s Rights, advocacy skills, and community impact. They also led “Peer Talks,” sharing their own leadership journeys and sustainability projects with international peers. A highlight of the trip was the Capstone Project, where students collaborated across schools to tackle real-world challenges in areas like Nutrition, Education, and Health. Additionally, students spent meaningful time volunteering at a local food bank, deepening their understanding of community service.
There is no doubt that the NAE Student Summit has empowered our students to grow as compassionate, informed leaders ready to make a lasting impact in their communities. 
26/8 (16:15 – 18:00) - Meet the Tutor
29/8 (08:15 – 10:30) – Welcome Back Coffee Morning
1/9 – School Closed (Vietnam's Independence Day)
2/9 – School Closed (Vietnam's Independence Day)
8/9 – ECAs Block 1 Start
17/9 – Jonathan Taylor Online Safety
18/9 – Year 11 Options Evening
The health, safety and wellbeing of our students remains the number one priority at BVIS HCMC.
Should you have a concern for the welfare of any child in our school, please refer to our Safeguarding poster below:
As I look ahead to my next challenge, I look forward to hearing how BVIS continues to move onwards and upwards into the future. Never underestimate how special this school really is with academic rigour, care and personalised attention and a happy, safe and flourishing culture at the heart of everything it offers.
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