Students' Success Stories

Here are some of their stories: 

 

Mia F., Year 2

Mia F., our very talented Year 2 student won first place figure skating in her category at the 50th year of the Košice Grand Prix happening January 18th - 19th 2020. Congratulations Mia, what an incredible success! We are very proud of you and wish you the best of luck in your future competitions. 

 

Timea R., Year 10

Timea began training and playing football at a serious level in 2016, after developing a taste for the game playing with older BISB girls in a Nord Anglia tournament. She has played with both boys (FK Raca) and ladies teams (SK Slovan Ladies Under 15s) and now plays club football for SK Slovan Ladies Under 19s despite still only being 15 years old! A talented athlete, Timea normally plays on the wings in either defensive or attacking positions. 

Timea also plays for the Slovenian National WU17 team and is their youngest player! This year they have played a total of 12 international matches; beating Wales, Northern Ireland and Sweden to win the UEFA Development Tournament in April! In the Cup of Nations in Italy, they were beaten by Italy to third place, having beaten Mexico, drawn with Norway, and lost against finalists North Korea. They have also won and lost against Scotland in two friendly matches, and qualified for the UEFA WU17 Euro 2021 Elite Round by beating Azerbaijan and the Faroe Islands. 

 

Zoya L., Year 10

We are proud to share with you the achievements of Year 10 student Zoya L. in the sport of Dressage. Zoya competes with her horse Sibi and recently returned from Aachen in Germany where she was one of only a handful of European Junior riders invited to participate. 

Zoya is ranked number one in Dressage in the Junior rankings in Slovakia, and is also the current Slovak Junior Champion! Other notable achievements in this year‘s season have included placing second at CDI Budapest Fót in Freestyle and 4th at Zakrzow, Poland, in the Junior Freestyle.  Dressage is a sport that requires a lot of self discipline, attention to detail, and for the rider to develop a genuine partnership with their horse. It is clear from their achievements this year that Zoya and Sibi make a great team and we wish them continued success next year in both domestic and international competitions.

 

Ryan B., Year 8

Ryan was awarded Golden Nutcracker (1st prize) at the 3 round International Televised Competition for Young Musicians in Moscow. The Grand Finale was at the famous Tchaikovsky Great Hall in Moscow and was televised in Russia and Germany.
Ryan was also the only one awarded a very special prize from the Rector of The Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory to be part of their concert season 2020/2021 with a series of concerts at their famous halls where he will meet and cooperate with the best artists from around the world.

Ryan was also awarded first prize in the Moscow Vladimir Krainev Competition. This so called ‘discovery prize‘ of young talent is a special prize from the Vladimir Spivakov foundation which provides the opportunity to take part in his music festival, and is a special prize from the International House of Music in Moscow to take part in their Music Festival.

Ryan was also the only one from the prizewinners who got personally invited by Vladimir Spivakov to play for him privately, and it looks like he will be playing with him again in the future.
At the gala concert, Ryan played with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Spivakov, playing the 2nd movement of Chopin piano concerto no. 2. During the finale, he played the whole concert with the conductor Tararin.

 

Dorotea L., Year 9

DOROTEA  achieved a perfect score in the NCSS Challenge (Intermediate) 2019. The NCSS Challenge is a competition for school students run by the Australian Computing Academy at the University of Sydney.

Each week for 5 weeks, a set of Digital Technologies teaching resources are distributed to participants together with a set of questions testing this material. Participants submit their solutions to the Challenge website where they are automatically marked.
Great job Dorotea, we are very proud of your hard work and the result of it!

Tamarka is an incredible student of the Slovak language. She is brilliant at spelling, reading comprehension and understanding of orthography. Tamarka is always the first one to finish her work in lessons.

Anastasiya G., Year 6

Anastasiya G. is Ukrainian. She joined a Slovak class at the end of Year 4 and she has made immense progress in all areas of Slovak grammar. Anastasiya has a large vocabulary and she is able to apply all the grammar rules without any problems. Anastasiya is also producing reading comprehension at the highest level.

Her spoken Slovak is at the level of a native speaker so she might be the narrator in our Slovak assembly about Jozef Murgas.

 

Nino S., Year 6

Nino represented his ski club, “Ski Team Bratislava“ at the Žampa Cup 2019 competition in Štrbské Pleso in the High Tatras. He was competing against approximately 50 people. The fastest 16 skiers went into the final parallel slalom. Nino won in his age group, the under 12s. Well done! Nino says: “I really enjoyed it and did my best, but it was really hard“.

Congratulations Nino.

 

Paulina P., Year 7

Paulinka, together with her team, were awarded several awards at different international competitions:

• First Place for the team routine and First Place in free combination in category U12 at the Slovak Championship

• Second Place in team routine at the ORKA Cup in Hungary 

• First Place for the team routine in U12 category and Second Place in free routine in U15category at the LuventaCup

We are very proud of Paulinka’s achievements and we believe the discipline she gained from sports will keep on helping her at school.

 

Sebastian K., Year 8

Sebastian has achieved a historical landmark in his chess career.

Between 10th May and 17th May 2019, the Chess Championship of Bratislava was held. This competition has a long tradition that dates back 100 years and this year its Centennial Anniversary was celebrated. The tournament is very prestigious as all the ‘big names’ from Bratislava have taken part in it at some time in their careers. There is no age limit and only the 10 strongest players from Bratislava are invited to participate in it. The final round was held in Zichy Palace and was opened by the Mayor of Bratislava Old Town, Ms. Aufrichtova.

Sebastian was invited by the organizers to this tournament based on his overall performance as a youth member of the chess community. Sebastian managed to outperform every single opponent throughout those 8 days and took 1st place at the tournament!

His victory is doubly special as never in the 100-year history of this tournament has there been a 13-year old winner. The previous record was held by a 17-year-old player from many years ago.

 

Runan H., Year 8

Runan joined us this year as a post grade 8 piano student and is going on this term to take her ABRSM ARSM exam in Piano Performance (all those letters are correct, it's a long title!)

She has excelled in everything she has done with music this year. She has played in concerts both inside and outside of school, representing us wonderfully at the Chamber of Commerce function at Christmas. She plays piano for the school orchestra, often having to transpose out parts for other instruments and reading at sight. She has fantastic music skills. 

 

    

Yookyum K. and Kyoeun L., Year 8

Year 8 Korean students are the group who attend Korean diligently, but Kyoeun and Yookyum stand out as they like to read and do writing projects more than the other students. This year, they have demonstrated their skills and abilities whilst producing weekly news reports on social problems, writing a detailed book review and producing a video about a poem. 

More recently they worked on a report about students’ discussions of these books. These two students showed exceptional responsibility, ensuring that their own team took part in discussions relating to the findings of their research made after reading books associated with societal issues. 

This activity offered them the opportunity to develop more depth in their understanding of climate change and gender equality. They both love reading books related to current affairs and through their work they have helped their Korean lessons to develop in different ways.

 

 

Karolina G., Year 10

Karolina is very good at understanding her areas of development and as a result always askes herself the question, "What can I do to improve?" The first step to celebrate your success is to face your fears and leave your comfort zone. Karolina is the master of it.

 

Sasha is a great example that hard work and effort does get you results. She asks questions beyond the curriculum, studies hard and is very mindful of always wanting to achieve her best.

 

Clara M., Year 10

Clara is a hardworking and dedicated student in every subject. Clara has excelled in Year 10 by taking on board feedback and by having a great understanding of what she needs to do to improve.

 

We are proud and delighted to share the news that Year 12 student Arthur Lienard has been selected to speak at United Nations High Level Political Forum in New York next month! Arthur is one of two Global Campus Student Ambassadors representing our School at the Nord Anglia Education Global Event, where more than 80 students from over 40 NAE international schools will spend a week focusing on furthering the UN Goals For Sustainable Development in cooperation with our partners in UNICEF. 

To be selected to go to New York Arthur, and his fellow Ambassador, Zuzana Bhrlova, underwent a vigorous application process.  To then be considered for the opportunity to present directly to the UNHLPF, Arthur had to submit a 5 minute speech outlining the projects our School has undertaken this year linked to the Goals for Sustainable Development and outlining the challenges, as he sees them, of advancing them in the future. Arthur also spoke eloquently of the factors which motivate him to want to be "a voice of his generation" such as his time in Tanzania earlier this year on the Global Campus Expedition. 

To be one of only 8 students from around the world to have been selected to speak is an incredible achievement and honour. As Arthur himself says "I can't believe everything that is happening. I've dreamed about it, and now I have the opportunity to do it! It's the chance to speak to people that I admire and look up to; and I love public speaking. It's talking to people that have actual influence about things that matter -  the Global Goals, the environment, sustainability, creating a fairer world - and that my generation is going to have to deal with. I'm only 17 and I have this chance. It's a huge honour and responsibility and can't wait to get to New York and begin work!"

 

Hoda J., masterly musician

This year I had the fantastic opportunity to take the ABRSM Grade 8 practical test for cello and the Grade 6 theory paper. This ranged from filling out Bach style choral harmony to the composition. This was a great chance to further improve my skills in my instrument; get a better understanding of the subtleties of written music and get a qualification that will enable me to be eligible for university.

 

Hyebin B. , an electric English Language Learner

Hyebin is a Year 2 pupil. She arrived at our school in September with no English. She was a complete beginner. Now she has become an independent writer and her reading is comparable to the level of native English speakers of her age. She also likes to challenge herself and is taking the Cambridge Young Learners’ Exam in English this year. She sets a great example for other students starting to learn English. What an amazing success, Hyebin!

 

Kofi T., full on football

Throughout this year I have played for SK Slovan Bratislava football academy. We play in the Slovak national Youth league and play teams all round Slovakia and teams throughout Europe. Our schedule follows training for all week days and playing matches or additional training on weekends. In the team, I play in either the Centre Back position, in defense, or the attacking midfielder role. Slovan participates in major tournaments in countries throughout Europe and other important friendly matches. Every match or training session always requires full commitment, discipline, and respect for players and coaches. Lastly, I believe that every player should treat every match or training should be treated as a cup final.

 

Simona I., inspiring leadership

As a student leader and Student Council president, Simona worked closely with the student body throughout the academic year 2016/17. She has collaborated with a fellow student leader and Student Council president Eo-Jin Yoon in constructing the first Student Council Constitution in the history of BISB. The document is regarded by Simona as a perfect kick-starter for a functioning and efficient student council, which she hopes will be successfully up and running throughout the future years. Simona has really enjoyed the experience and responsibility of student leadership as well as her close collaborations with Eo-Jin with whom she got the chance to attend a COBIS leadership weekend in Madrid during September 2016. Throughout this weekend, Simona and Eo-Jin learned the essential skills of student leadership, public speaking, presentation skills and the importance of a social media presence in our lives all of which they took back home and presented in the secondary assembly. In addition to this Simona conducted a leadership session for key stage 3 prefects where they got a chance to part take in some of the activities Simona and Eo-Jin did in Madrid. One of the highlights of Simona’s year was organizing a successful Christmas donations project for Sudienka orphanage in Petržalka. Simona has enjoyed the process of collaborating with this organisation and thanks to the generous donations of BISB parents and students the project helped the ones in need.  

Simona is thankful for this leadership experience and wishes the future student leaders lots of success in their terms of office.

 

Lucia K., accelerated English acquisition

Lucia started Year 5 with no English. In the months since then, the change in her English, her confidence and her happiness have been astounding; all of this has come for her desire to challenge herself and to work hard. Lucia has taken every opportunity available to her to learn new words and phrases, to practice her speaking with other children and adults and to immerse herself fully in reading and writing both at school and at home. Now, at the end of the year, Lucia speaks, reads and writes as if she has been learning English for years! She has shown us what fantastic things can be achieved in such a short amount of time. We can all learn something from Lucia: with self-belief and determination, we can achieve great things. What a super role model for others! 

 

Sara K., gymnastic

In addition to her success in school, Sara Kotova has shown incredible discipline and perseverance in the sport of Gymnastics. Ranking no.1 in Slovakia for duet, trio and group Rhythmic Gymnastics she trains five times a week usually for 4 hours at a time. She is incredibly focused; spending weekends at competitions and training sessions but manages to complete her homework and is making great progress academically. She has trained with her team KMG Danubiana for five years and really enjoys gymnastics.  Although she says the training is hard at times, it is always worthwhile.

 

Sihu B., fast forward fast talk

When Sihu joined BISB's Reception class in September, she had come straight from a Korean kindergarten. Not knowing any English, she shyly came to school each day and little by little started to join in with the activities and learning.  A talking initiative proved particularly influential to Sihu's success. Each Monday she would come eagerly to talk about her weekend using photos sent by Mum. Quickly Sihu started speaking in sentences and then using the tricky past tense correctly. Once she could speak, she could write and then discovered a love for writing stories. Sihu now comes to school with smiles and confidence, socialising with children of all nationalities. She completes her first year at BISB as being a very able reader, writer, and speaker of English. 
 

Viktor H., the ice king

Viktor has been a member and captain of the team Hockey Club Slovan in Bratislava.

He has participated in the matches when Slovan became the winner of the National Championship season 2016-2017. As a player of this hockey club, he has gained trust of the Slovak Ice Hockey National team coaches across the season 2016-2017. He played on international tournaments against teams of Finland, Russia, Belarus, Switzerland, USA, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Czech Republic.

In April 2017 in Chicago, USA Viktor was ranked 2^nd best among 200 top prospective players from USA and Canada in on ice hockey skills and speed testing. All 200 players participated in the event by invitation only and were invited and scouted by USHL teams scouts and coaches.

(United States Hockey League (USHL) is Tier I - a league in USA with respect to amateur status with almost 80% players continuing in top University Hockey Teams in USA with significant  sport or academic scholarships – Division 1 NCAA )

In 2017-18 Viktor will continue studying at the Culver Academy close to Chicago focusing on the hockey training as well as the academic subjects.

 

Viktoria R., equine excellence

What a success! Our talented student Victoria competed at the international horse competition in the Italian San Giovanni and took the 1st place! She did great also with her horse Lili Star and jumped twice clear rounds CSI3* 140cm and qualified for the European Championship!!!
Congratulations Vicki, way to go!

 

Zhayra Garcia E., continues writing the story

The literary world is one of the most secretive ones, and Zhayra has been dipping into it as quickly as she has been allowed to. For the past two years, she has been writing extensively, managing to complete a novel, as well as the first draft of its sequel. She is also currently working on a prequel to it in addition to a screenplay project in collaboration with a writer friend of hers in Belgium. Moreover, she is an active member of the Bratislava Writers’ Group and has published a couple of poems in its magazine – Zrkadlá, the first English literary magazine in Bratislava. She is keen on performing in Poetry Slams, and has participated in several, including those organised by Fountain Poetry – the pioneer of Poetry Slams in English here in the capital. 

Zhayra was diagnosed with Lupus in 2015, and since then she has made it her mission to raise awareness of the condition. Her novel, The Hidden Ones, is the epitome of said efforts since the plot revolves around the illness and the effects it has on its sufferers. The novel is to be agented by a renowned agency that has represented several prominent authors, with plans of publishing it in the future once serialised.

She occasionally writes on her blog itsmusteetkab.wordpress.com where she publicises her current and future writing plans. And although she is to pursue Politics and International Relations in university, she has already been welcomed into three writer circles, one of which also runs a literary magazine she is keen on working on as well.