The pursuit of Academic Excellence in the Secondary school

At The British School Warsaw, we are very proud to achieve excellent academic results year on year.

The academic year 2019-2020 was a very challenging and unusual one, yet at iGCSE, 97% of our students achieved A*- C  exceeding UK average by 30% and 63% of all our students’ iGCSE grades were at the top grades of A* and A , more than triple the UK average of 20%. In IB our students’ average point score was 34 out of 45, 4 points higher than the IB global average of 30 points, widening the gap between the school and other IB schools around the world.

The question is how do we achieve academic excellence and is excellence all about getting good grades? Achieving good grades, is without a doubt, a good way to define a person’s academic capabilities and talent but at TBS we aim much higher than that. We want to inculcate the necessary skills in our students so they have the means to achieve this excellence. These skills are based on four important principles:

• Hunger for knowledge
• Raise your target level
• Have faith in yourself
• Do not give up
• Plan in a careful manner

Attaining academic excellence is not a destination, it is a journey that never ends. It takes time, patience and practice for pupils to reach their desired targets. All our teachers have the knowledge and the skills to guide and equip our students with the tools that they need on this journey to excellence. Remember success is not always about excellence, it’s about consistency and consistent hard work leads to success. Excellence will then follow.

Alfons Vinent

Deputy Head Teacher Academic