Weekly Highlights 06/02/2026

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,

What a week! Tet has come alive at BVIS and it has been a joy to participate in the many festivities that have taken place.  

Beginning with the Tet Fair last Sunday, with the community coming together to nurture and honour the traditions and culture of our home and host country. From stunning performances on stage to traditional games and activities as well as an array of magnificent food, the morning was a truly community event that showcased not just the celebration of Tet but also the values of care and respect, community and family that BVIS holds dear. 

Thanks to everyone involved in making this event so special and meaningful for our whole community and to our families for joining us on this very special day. 

Insert pics of Tet Fair/ Tet Assemblies

The festivities have continued throughout the week with incredible Tet performances from our youngest to oldest students. I was blown away by the performances from our youngest learners on Tuesday, and this continued with special Tet assemblies throughout the week for all.  Showcasing the music, dance, traditions and culture of Vietnam, the performances were a testament of the hard work and dedication of the students and staff involved.  It really has been an incredibly special week.  

Last week, I mentioned that I was in the UK for recruitment.  In addition to the recruitment, we also hosted our first BVIS/BIS Alumni gathering with students from both schools joining us from across the UK.  

It was wonderful to chat with our BVIS alumni and hear from them, all about their time in university.  They are all enjoying themselves as well as working hard, and all credited BVIS with excellent preparation, which meant they were well equipped for the next stage of their educational journey.  While enjoying the UK, they commented on the fact that they missed the weather and food and Tet celebrations! It was pleasing to hear that all hoped to return to Vietnam and continue their lives here with the strong foundations in both Vietnamese and English that BVIS equipped them with. 

Celebrating Desford: A Week of Brass Excellence

This week, we were delighted to welcome members of the world renowned Desford Colliery Band for assemblies across Primary and Secondary, as well as a special community performance for staff, students, and BVIS families. Their visit created a fantastic buzz as students experienced worldclass brass playing and learned from internationally acclaimed musicians. 

Desford’s dynamic performances showcased outstanding skill and a genuine passion for inspiring young players. Their time with us offered memorable musical moments that both motivated and challenged our students. renowned Desford Colliery Band for assemblies across Primary and Secondary, as well as a special community performance for staff, students, and BVIS families. Their visit created a fantastic buzz as students experienced world class brass playing and learned from internationally acclaimed musicians. 

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Desford musicians for their joy, expertise, and encouragement. Their visit has left a lasting impact on our young instrumentalists and strengthened the vibrant music culture at BVIS.

Insert pic of Tet wishes 

As we approach the Tet holiday, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our community a wonderful and peaceful Tet holiday. We hope you enjoy this most special time with family and friends.  Wishing you all health and prosperity for the year ahead. 

We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Wednesday 25th February.  

Warmest wishes,
Ms Dee 

Contact Us

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. 

As Head of Primary, I was delighted to celebrate the wonderful Tết Festival at BVIS on Sunday 1st February. As a family, it was our very first Tết, and my wife, son and I absolutely loved the opportunity to be part of such a warm and vibrant community event. It was a joy to see so many families coming together to enjoy the fantastic performances, delicious food and fun games, all while celebrating Vietnamese culture and traditions. Events like this truly capture the spirit of BVIS and the strong sense of community that makes our school so special.

This week, is our last week of this half term. I hope all families have a wonderful holiday at this important time of the year. We look forward to seeing you all after Tet, in the Year of the Horse! Happy New Year.

Vietnamese Perspective Week

What is Vietnamese Perspective? At BVIS, we protect and celebrate Vietnamese language, culture, customs and traditions. We are proud of our identity and history. We strive to create the best future for Vietnam. 

Throughout this week, we have had a huge variety of activities going on in school. Our focus this year has been the Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land and of the Year of the Horse which will begin soon. The children have taken part in traditional games, lessons based on the Horse and the sustainable development goal, a Tet themed live singing morning, Vietnamese inspired lunches, as well as a horse themed art competition. 

All this has led up to an extravaganza performance from the year groups to celebrate the week and Tet. Wow! It’s been a great way to finish
this half term.

EYFS Tet Performance

This week, our EYFS children performed in our beautifully and traditionally decorated theatre to our students and then to parents. F1, F2 and F3 delighted parents with a lovely performance sharing the story ‘This is Tết’. Through song, movement and storytelling, the children confidently brought this important cultural celebration to life, showcasing their growing confidence and enthusiasm on stage. It was wonderful to see their joy and pride as they performed, and we thank our parents for their continued support in making these special learning moments so meaningful for our youngest learners. 

Desford Band Assemblies with Primary

We were delighted to welcome Desford Brass Band into the Lower Primary and Upper Primary assemblies this week at BVIS, where they treated our students to an engaging performance. The musicians showcased the power and versatility of brass instruments, captivating the children with a mix of energetic pieces and clear explanations about how the music is created. It was a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to experience live music up close and be inspired by the joy of performance and teamwork.

Upcoming Events

IGCSE & A Level Music Recitals: A Celebration of Skill and Creativity

Our IGCSE musicians presented confident and well‑prepared solo and ensemble pieces, reflecting the hard work they have put into developing their performing skills during the course. The A Level recitals followed with an inspiring range of sophisticated repertoire, highlighting expressive interpretation, stylistic awareness, and a deepening understanding of their chosen instruments.

A huge congratulations goes to all performers for their professionalism, courage, and artistry. These recitals are a testament to the vibrant music‑making within our school, and we look forward to seeing how each student continues to grow on their musical journey.

Rang Dong Community Club

A huge thank‑you to our amazing BVIS students for their outstanding community spirit throughout Season One. Your enthusiasm, care, and leadership in running the Rang Dong Club have truly made a positive impact. We’re excited for what you’ll achieve in Season 2!

A – level Biology trip to Cat Tien

 
We visited The Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre, run by UK Charity Endangered Asian Species Trust (EAST), as well as an animal rescue centre located at the heart of Cat Tien National Park. Throughout the tours, we discussed reasons why species go extinct and the roles of national parks in conservation of endangered species, which we had learnt in class before but can now apply in the context of Vietnam and our local species. 
 
One example of animals we observed were the Golden-cheeked Gibbons, which are classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered due to a sharp population decline. Native to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, they are threatened by severe habitat loss, fragmentation, and poaching for the illegal pet trade and traditional medicine. Despite this disheartening reality, EAST's Dao Tien Centre showed to us how they provided veterinary care, food and protection, and retraining of natural instincts for the rescued gibbons. It was fascinating seeing once injured gibbons now inhabit confidently swing through the monitored areas of Cat Tien National Park.

The most memorable moment for us during the trip was being rewarded with the magnificent sight of the Crocodile Lake (Bàu Sấu), home to 50 IUCN Red-listed species, after enduring a 5km trail under the tropical rainforest canopy. We were particularly lucky on the day as many Siamese crocodiles surfaced from the lake, allowing for clear observation of their features and behaviour. There were many opportunities for us to ask the ranger patrols about their conservation efforts, to which we learnt that they had successfully grown the population from merely 70 to 600 crocodiles since 2001! 

 
The biggest learning takeaway for students was how education is the most important factor in conserving and protecting our planet's biodiversity. Despite efforts from numerous organisations worldwide, it is actually the actions of individuals that matters most. With issues such as global warming and poaching posing a more significant threat to our species every day, the population needs more education on how human activity directly contributes to the endangerment of wildlife and what we need to do to mitigate this. We were very privileged to have gained this awareness through A Level Biology and this trip, which some of us will choose to pursue in our university years and future career.

Chip - Year 13

Sparx Maths Champions

The Sparx Maths Weekly Champion is the student who is the top XP earner in each year group.  
 
Students earn XP by completing tasks in their Sparx Homework 
  
Compulsory Tasks earn 60-80XP 
XP Boost Tasks earn 120-150XP 
Target Tasks earn 120-150XP 
Independent Learning Tasks earn 100XP 
  
Students reach a new Sparx Level every 10000XP 

Top XP earners this week are: 

Bedrock Champions

This week’s bedrock champions are:  

Year 7: Le Hong Minh Khue (Celine)
Year 8: Nguyen Hoang Thuc Quyen
Year 9: Le Hong Minh Quang (Mraz)
Year 10: Nguyen Bao Ngoc (Ruby)
Year 11: Nguyen Dien Phuc Huu
Year 12: Ngo Khanh Ngoc (Sarah)

Champion of the week!

This week’s champions are... 

Congratulations and well-done to Kay!

Champion Tutor Group of the week!

This week’s Champion tutor group is  

  

Congratulations to Hue2/789i & Dalat2/789b.Well done!

Housepoint Totals

Congratulation to Hue house, who have held the top of the leaderboard!

Upcoming Events

Safeguarding and Child Protection

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: