School Member News

COBIS School Members - Staff Changes

Additionally to the Welcome List sent out in the September Connect, COBIS is pleased to also welcome the following Principals and Headteachers to COBIS schools. We look forward to working with you:

COBIS reminds all member schools to notify us of changes to their administrative and senior leadership staff. This will help us to keep key staff up to date with the latest COBIS developments and make it easier to facilitate dialogue with the appropriate person in each school. To inform us of any changes, please email updates@cobis.org.uk.

COBIS Annual Research Survey 2015 - Share Your School's Story...

The COBIS Annual Research Survey, delivered in partnership with GL Education, launches on 5 October 2015. All COBIS School heads should look out for an email from GL Education in conjunction with this launch. This email includes unique login details to access the COBIS Annual Research Survey.

This is an exciting project which will help COBIS to develop a better understanding of the growing global COBIS family of schools, as well as the British international school sector as a whole. The results will support lobbying activities, inform planning for future CPD events, and help facilitate increased school-to-school networking, communication and support. Participating schools will have the opportunity to access benchmarking data as well as tailored reports for Senior Management Teams and Governors.  

Last year, 47% of schools responded to the survey. This year we would like schools to help us reach a target of at least 65% participation. For more information, please click here.

Four COBIS Schools Nominated for British International School of the Year 2015

COBIS would like to congratulate all four COBIS schools nominated in the British International School of the Year award category at the TES Independent School Awards 2015. The Alice Smith School in Malaysia, The British School in Tokyo, the British School Jakarta and Transylvania College, Romania have all been nominated for this prestigious award.

The awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony to be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London on Friday 27 November 2015. COBIS would like to wish each school the best of luck and congratulate pupils, staff and parents for their contribution to helping their schools achieve these nominations.

More information about the Independent School Awards can be found here.

COBIS School Alumnus Becomes Denmark's First Astronaut

One of the former students of Rygaards International School has become Denmark’s first astronaut. Andreas Mogensen blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6.30am on 2 September 2015 to commence a ten-day mission on the International Space Station. Mogensen graduated from the international section of the school in 1993 and went on to be selected by the ESA as an astronaut in 2009. The school are tremendously proud of him and celebrated his achievement on the day he took off. 

Please click here for a link to the full article and video footage of the take-off.

Panamanian Ambassador Inaugurates the Victoria Scholarship at King's College Saint Michael's

King's College Saint Michael's, UK was delighted to host a visit from the Ambassador of the Republic of Panama, His Excellency Daniel Fábrega, last month. Ambassador Fábrega was at the College to inaugurate the Victoria Scholarship for Panamanian students. The scholarship, offered by the King's Group, will enable a Panamanian student from a humble background to pursue their studies at Saint Michael's.

During his visit, Ambassador Fábrega was given a tour of the school campus by Sir Roger Fry CBE (Chairman and Founder of the King's Group and COBIS Honorary President), MJ Holloway OBE (King's Group Board member and former British Ambassador to the UK) and Stuart Higgins (Principal of King's College Saint Michael's.) The ambassador also hosted a lively question and answer session with the Year 12 and 13 Business Studies and Economics students. Click here to read the full news post.

AMC Invite Delegates to Attend Securing Schools Seminar

COBIS Supporting Member Anthony Millard and the AMC team have the pleasure of inviting you to join them for the Special Seminar: Securing Schools at the Royal Overseas League on Tuesday 10 November 2015.  The day will be an opportunity to explore Prevent Duty and to make prudent provision for the protection of schools from the threats of extremism and terrorism.

Speakers include:

• Sir Roger Tomkys, KCMG - Welcome and Introductory remarks
• John Clarke, Partner in Stone King - Prevent Duty - addressing extremism in UK schools
• Colin Bell, CEO COBIS - Protecting International Schools
• Brian Mitchell, Lead Producer, CrisisCast - Making Schools Safer: protection and contingency planning

Please click here to read the seminar brochure. For more information please contact Becky at Anthony Millard - becky@anthonymillard.co.uk

COBIS World Student Magazine Invites Students to Submit Articles

The editorial team at COBIS World Student magazine is looking for students and schools to submit articles inspired by their views and experiences for the January 2016 issue. They are looking for longer articles (800-1000 words), but also shorter (250 words) news stories from schools. Please email Samantha Wilkins- editor@world-student.com if you have any questions or would like to submit an article. The deadline for articles is 16 November 2015.

@WorldStudentMag

www.world-student.com

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New COBIS School Members

BritAcademy, Romania

COBIS is delighted to welcome a new Candidate School in Bucharest, Romania into membership. The BritAcademy opened its doors in September 2015 with 22 pupils aged 2.5 - 6.

On accepting COBIS membership, Headteacher Andreea Golita said, “We are excited to be part of the COBIS network and we consider this affiliation as an opportunity  to strengthen our commitment to provide quality services in education. We are ready to embark on this new learning adventure and we are positive that the relationship we have formed will be long lasting and prosperous, with COBIS adding value to our core ethos.” 

COBIS would like to welcome all the staff and pupils at the BritAcademy into COBIS membership.

El Limonar International School Murcia, Spain

COBIS would like to welcome El Limonar International School Murcia in Spain as a COBIS Member school. The school is part of the Cognita group of schools and currently has over 600 pupils on role, aged between 3 and 18.

Chris Eversden, Principal at the school said upon accepting membership, “We are very excited about the opportunities that COBIS membership offers our school and, on a more personal note, I am very much looking forward to meeting you and to having the chance to share ELIS best practice with other COBIS member schools.”

On behalf of COBIS, welcome to staff and students at El Limonar International School Murcia.

Kids' Academy Primary School and Preschool, Poland

The Kids' Academy Primary School and Preschool in Warsaw, Poland has recently been approved by the COBIS Membership Committee as a COBIS Candidate School. The school is the seventh COBIS member school in Poland and our third in Warsaw.

COBIS would like to welcome the staff and pupils at the Kids' Academy Primary School and Preschool into COBIS membership.

Congratulations to our COBIS Accredited Member Schools

COBIS would like to congratulate the following schools which have been approved for COBIS Accredited Membership following successful BSO inspections:

British School of Alexandria, Egypt

St Andrew’s School Turi, Kenya

COBIS would also like to congratulate all staff and students at The Alice Smith School, Malaysia which has retained COBIS Accredited Membership following another successful BSO inspection. Well done to all concerned on this fantastic achievement.

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News From COBIS Schools Around the World

Alice Smith School’s Rising Stars

Students at Alice Smith School in Malaysia achieved incredible A-level results this year, ranking them with many of the best schools in UK including the independent sector. 78% of the grades achieved were A*, A or B and at I/GCSE level, 63% of all grades were A* or A grades. 

“These achievements reflect the very high standards and expectations for teaching and learning and the calibre and ability of the student body at the Alice Smith School. Accredited as a British School Overseas by the Department for Education in London and awarded a full membership certification by COBIS, our A Level programme is very successful and includes the AQA Baccalaureate, a qualification which recognises and celebrates achievements beyond traditional academics. We invest considerable time in supporting and preparing students for their transition to higher education and we have close links with reputable universities for placements,” said Roger Schultz, Head of School.

The majority of graduating students from Year 13 receive first choice placements in excellent universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, and UCL. To read more about the Alice Smith School's Rising Stars, please click here.

 

Byron College is First School in Greece to Host the Magna Carta

This year commemorates the 800th year of the legacy of the Magna Carta, one of the most famous documents in the world. For this occasion, the facsimile of the Magna Carta is touring across the world and COBIS Accredited Member school Byron College had the privilege of being the first school in Greece to host this historic document.

On 14 September, a representative from the British Embassy in Athens, as well as colleagues from the local British Council, delivered the facsimile to Byron College. It was on display in the school's office and was available for pupils, staff, parents and visitors to the school to view for two weeks. 

In addition to this, Byron College was announced as the winner of the British Council's International School Award 2015-2018. The award is a prestigious badge of honour for schools delivering a British/International curriculum as it validates their international work against a globally recognised standard and benchmark. COBIS would like to congratulate all at Byron College for this outstanding recognition.  The full newspost can be read here. For more information about the British Council International School Award, please click here.

Doha College Announces World Class Examination Results For 2015

Doha College is delighted to report that students performed exceptionally well in all areas of their IGCSE and A-level examinations.  At IGCSE 96.9% of their students achieved 5 - A* to C grades with 62.3% securing 5 or more A* to A grades. The A-level the results were equally impressive with 88.3% achieving A* - C. These figures put Doha College comfortably in the top one hundred UK schools bracket, a measure associated with an outstanding school.  With excellent examination results, 95% of their 6th Form leavers are now heading off to university to continue their studies.   

Dr Steffen Sommer, Doha College’s new Principal, explained: “We are extremely proud of the wonderful results our students achieved at IGCSE and A-level. These impressive results are a combination of excellent teaching from our staff, strong support from home and a dedicated approach to their studies from our students. This year we saw a significant number of students scoring 100% in individual units of their examinations, which is a remarkable achievement.”

Outstanding IGCSE Results For The British International School of Kuala Lumpur

Students from The British International School of Kuala Lumpur are celebrating another year of exam success. Last term, students from Year 9 and 10 sat 66 IGCSE papers in Spanish, French, Mandarin, Bahasa and Mathematics, achieving 61 A* and 4 A grades between them.

These outstanding results are testament to the students' hard work and to the dedication of their teaching staff. A number of students are now entering Year 11 having already secured 3 A* GCSE grades. These early exam entries have provided invaluable experience and a significant confidence boost ahead of the main examination season. The school offer a warm congratulations to all the successful students and wish them every success as they move into their final year of IGCSE.  

The British School Kathmandu Signs a Memorandum of Understanding

On 18 September, The British School Kathmandu and the Education Department Government Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the rebuilding of Gayetri Devi, Shree Rudrakanya, and Shree Khanigau Primary Schools. This contract confirms the school's commitment to the rebuilding process and also allows them to work in partnership with the Government of Nepal.

An estimated 35000 classrooms were destroyed and the education of more than 1 million children was disrupted by the earthquakes of 25 April and 12 May 2015. The rebuilding efforts of the school and of their supporters around the world will allow students of Gayetri Devi, Shree Rudrakanya and Shree Khanigau Primary Schools to return to normal school days as soon as possible. The British School Kathmandu are proud to be one of the first rebuilding partners and are thankful to all their donors around the world for the support. They are looking forward to “breaking ground” and starting construction very soon.

St George's International School Celebrate 25th Anniversary

The Friends of St George’s International School, Luxembourg organised a ‘Welcome to the New School Year’ event with entertainment, refreshments and fun for all the family planned. This event also marked the start of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the school.

The aim of the event was to provide new and existing families with information about the various clubs, associations and services that are available in the wider community. There were stalls and representatives from dance, yoga, fitness and sports clubs, information and media organisations as well as support networks, charities and social groups. Additionally, there was also an opportunity for new members of the St George’s community to meet with those who have more experience of Luxembourg and the community at large.

International School of Bucharest Build Water Well for Kenyan Community

Students from the International School of Bucharest students have joined the Clean Water Project campaign and managed to raise 5000$ which was used to build a water well for a community in Kenya.

The senior students raised money by organising Coin Challenge contest and Bake Sales at the school. The Parent Teacher Association donated a substantial amount of money raised during the Summer Fair to support this cause. Together, they built a water well which has the school’s name on it. The school have received an appreciation certificate signed by Kimse Yok Mu (KYM) Foundation in the name of the Kenyan community. The campaign was initiated by Kimse Yok Mu (KYM) who built water wells in 18 countries, offering access to clean water to 3 million people, vegetation and animals through this campaign. International School of Bucharest would like thank everybody involved in the success of the project and COBIS would like to congratulate the school for their efforts.

Aloha College Academic Results 2015

Once again Aloha College students have excelled in their examination results, receiving a 100% pass rate in A-level, 97.3% in IB Diploma and 98% gaining five or more IGCSE’s at A*-C. In IB, 3 students achieved 40 points or higher which placed them above 96% of students worldwide. The average point score was 33.3, situating Aloha College alongside some of the best schools in the world.  Pictured right: Fabienne-Louise Banghard who scored 42 points in IB out of a maximum 45. This places her in the top 2% of students worldwide and pictured below: Zhino Zargari passed 3 A Levels and will go to study Law at the University of Westminster, London. COBIS would like to congratulate students on achieving such fantastic results.

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COBIS Services

COBIS Consultancy Service

If your school has specific CPD needs that would be best addressed by having training delivered by an external trainer or consultant in your school, then the COBIS Consultancy Service can help. COBIS Schools can submit a request for consultancy or training via the COBIS website. The consultancy request will be shared with some of the quality-assured consultants and training providers in the COBIS database and the school will then receive proposals from individuals or companies who would be able to deliver the training within the school’s proposed budget and timeline. There is no cost for COBIS Schools wishing to use this service. 

COBIS Consultancy can also offer schools support with BSO inspections. This can include a mock run through BSO inspection in preparation for the real event.

For more information visit the COBIS website or email consultancy@cobis.org.uk.

COBIS Leadership Mentoring and Support Service

For Senior Leaders looking for more tailored, personalised CPD, the Leadership Mentoring and Support Service offers the opportunity to work with a trained mentor with successful experience of the professional challenges in the international school environment. For more information visit the COBIS website or email mentoring@cobis.org.uk.