I write to you from the wonderful Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the BSME Annual Conference. Myself and our Chairman, Trevor Rowell, are delighted to attend this event on behalf of COBIS, and to work with colleagues at BSME as we all share goals of improving the life chances of the young people in our respective member schools worldwide.

Our Middle East schedule has been a packed one with school visits aplenty. We would like to thank our school hosts for welcoming us so openly; it has been a pleasure to see both COBIS member and non-member schools in action. Trevor and I also had an excellent meeting with the Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) to provide an update concerning The Patron's Accreditation and Compliance. As the popularity of this scheme gains pace, to date 18 school visits have already taken place in 16 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. We are now taking bookings for visits a year ahead, and already, more than 40 future visits are scheduled in 26 countries. Clearly, our new school improvement and external validation scheme is proving popular. 

Last week, during the official visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia to the UK, I was invited to represent COBIS at an Education dinner and discussion hosted by The Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for School Standards, and Sir Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of the British Council. I was honoured to introduce COBIS as a premier Accrediting body for high quality British international schools worldwide. It was also an excellent opportunity to share with His Royal Highness how proud COBIS is of our member schools, which deliver high quality education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as other schools in the MENA region and beyond.

Representing our sector and COBIS members, I am also proud to have been appointed to the Department for International Trade's Education Advisory Group. The COBIS Patron's Accreditation and Compliance Scheme was discussed at the group's inaugural meeting, in relation to the quality assurance and external validation of international British schools overseas.

As the year gallops apace, we are now only two months away from the COBIS Annual Conference and the excitement is building! Over 160 delegates from 95 schools in over 50 countries have registered to join us so we hope you are one of them. If not, you can book your place on our website. This promises to be a fantastic event, bringing together knowledge and best practice from all around the world. A truly global gathering!

Finally I would like to wish all the teams travelling to Bucharest for the Model UN Conference the best of luck for what will be a hugely exciting competition for all concerned. Your hard work and preparation is recognised and admired by our global family of schools. Good luck and enjoy the healthy spirit of global competition which the COBIS student engagement activities foster and encourage.

Best wishes,

Don't miss the essential global gathering for leaders of British international schools, taking place in just two months' time in London! The COBIS Annual Conference has been the flagship event for Heads, Governors, Proprietors and Senior Leadership Teams in this sector for four decades.

Featuring:

• Will Gompertz, BBC Arts Editor
• Natasha Devon MBE, Body Image and Mental Health Campaigner
• Lucy Crehan, Author of Cleverlands
• Professor Christian Van Nieuwerburgh, Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology, University of East London
• Dick Moore, The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust
• Tim Oates CBE, Group Director of Assessment Research and Development, Cambridge Assessment

Alongside our keynote speakers, delegates will also have the opportunity to take part in workshops, seminars, EdTech speed dating sessions and much more!

You can view the full programme here.

Booking is now open. Will you be joining us this May?

On Sunday 11 March, COBIS Chairman Trevor Rowell and COBIS CEO, Colin Bell hosted a Reception for British international schools at The One and Only Royal Mirage Hotel in Dubai.

Representatives from COBIS member and non-member schools were invited to attend and we were delighted that over 25 guests joined us for an excellent evening of networking and to learn more about the COBIS Patron's Accreditation and Compliance scheme.

COBIS would like to thank our sponsors for this event, Gabbitas Education. COBIS was delighted that representatives from Gabbitas attended the Reception alongside Heads and Senior Leaders from schools in Dubai.

Margaret Garrard, our Director of Operations & Deputy CEO was delighted to attend the 40th Annual NABSS conference in Seville in early March for an action-packed few days of practical CPD and inspirational addresses.

It was excellent to see those joint membership COBIS/NABSS schools in attendance, as well as to meet other NABSS members from around Spain.  It was good also to see many COBIS Supporting Members supporting the event and donating some fantastic prizes for the Saturday evening draw. COBIS is committed to working in partnership with NABSS to promote high-quality British education in Spain and would like to extend a special thanks to Adrian Massam and other representatives of the NABSS executive team for an enjoyable and thought-provoking event.

With nearly 20 more visits scheduled before the Summer break, COBIS Compliance and Patron's Accreditation schemes continue to prove popular with both Member and non-Member schools.

We are booking our visits a year ahead (yes - 2019 already!) so if you have any questions, do get in touch (quality@cobis.org.uk) or take the opportunity to meet with one of our team at the COBIS Annual Conference.

As well as COBIS Board and Executive team members, you can also speak to Heads and Lead Improvement Partners who have experienced the programmes first hand and hear their feedback on what makes our schemes different.

We look forward to talking to you!

10 Questions gives you the chance to get to know members of the COBIS network a little bit better by asking them ten questions about their achievements, wishes and hidden talents! This month, we spoke to Calum Erskine, Head of Physical Education at Haileybury Almaty.

1. Which living person do you most admire?
Anyone who works incredibly hard for what they want, is undeniably passionate about what they do, and is prepared to learn from their mistakes. I won't embarrass anyone specifically here as they are all people who are close to me – but if you wanted someone famous, it would be someone like Scottish hero Sir Chris Hoy – an incredible sportsman.

2. Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to sing….. I am not sure why, as previously my voice has been compared to that of an angel, and I was in my primary school choir! I really like music however, so this might give me a new dimension.

3. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

In teaching, it would be bringing CrossFit into both my current school (Haileybury Almaty) and The British School of Kuwait (BSK). Both schools are official affiliates, and provide an incredible opportunity for staff and students to develop their overall wellbeing and fitness. Both came with their own challenges, but are now some of the only schools outside of the USA to officially provide CrossFit within the PE curriculum and in extracurricular programmes.

Outside of teaching, it would be building a fundraising project in Ethiopia for a small town called Bishoftu, which I have visited three times in the past 4 years. The project's main focus is developing sporting facilities and opportunities for young people in the town, and I have managed to encourage fundraising by putting myself through various levels of discomfort (examples being Ironman 70.3 and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro). Check out Project Bishoftu on Facebook to see more!

4. Where would you most like to live?
Somewhere where I can be outdoors and active almost all year round, with easy access to running trails, cycling routes, mountains for hiking and snowboarding, the coast and some football pitches – any immediate suggestions please let me know!

5. What is your favourite book?
I enjoy reading, so have a number of favourites, but if I was pushed, it would be one I read recently called "Chasing Excellence" by Ben Bergeron. While it has a CrossFit and fitness bias, it really is a great read and summarises the thoughts of lots of more detailed books on the topic of self-improvement. I am currently reading "Black Box Thinking" by Matthew Syed which is a very thought provoking book about the attitude to failure. Fiction wise, I love anything with Harry Potter.

6. What is your favourite £5 treat?
Some sort of large tub of ice cream, preferably dominated by chocolate.

7. When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up? 
A footballer – and I hung onto this until I was about 16 even though in reality I wasn't even close. It was only when I decided to leave school at 17 and accepted a place at University that I was aware I was on track to be a teacher and had to permanently shelve my plans for dominating the football world.

8. What do you like to do in your spare time?
Some kind of sport or activity. I train at the gym, I snowboard, I run, I pretend to still play football – anything that keeps me from sitting down too long!

9. What is on your bucket list?
I would like to do an Ultramarathon (which I am scheduled to complete in May 2018), I would like to visit a whole host of countries in Asia and South America and I would like to go to a major football championships to support Scotland (which might never happen but I will never give up hope).

10. What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
Contrary to popular belief that PE teachers are not good at anything else at school, my specialist subject at school was actually Maths (and I loved it!)

Each month we will be showcasing alumni from any of our 270 schools around the world. COBIS students are doing amazing things and we want to showcase the talent of past students from our schools, in order to celebrate what they have achieved and to inspire the ­­next generation of students. 

This month we spoke to Lachezar Arabadzhiev who graduated from Nord Anglia International School Shanghai, Pudong in 2013. Today, Lachezar works as an Insights & Analytics Manager at Mindshare in Toronto, Canada.

Click below to read more about Lachezar's favourite memories of his time at school, including inspiring trips and teachers, as well as his philosophy of lifelong learning, and his advice to current students.

The Pobble team were delighted to receive the prestigious Bett Award "Best Classroom Aid for Learning, Teaching and Assessment" at the recent Bett conference in London. It capped an amazing event for Pobble, as teacher-founder Henry took to the main stage in front of a thousand school leaders and teachers to deliver the inspiring story of the origins of Pobble.

New Supporting Members Communication Across Cultures were also proud to have their product 'The Learning Village' nominated for a BETT award this year by providing targeted online and offline learning for 6-14 year old English language learners in schools where English is the language of instruction.

Did you receive a BETT Award this year? Let us know!

Eye Film recently worked with The British School in Tokyo to produce a marketing film with a difference.

The relationship between Eye Film and BST began at the COBIS Annual Conference a couple of years ago, when the Eye Film team met BST Principal Brian Christian. Brian wanted to showcase BST's amazing outdoor programme with a short film to give a flavour of what BST students get up to away from the classroom. After careful planning, the Eye Film team travelled to Tokyo in September 2017 to film with the students on their adventures, which included trips to Mount Fuji, para-gliding, kayaking, mountain-biking and much, much more. To complete the process a short drama was improvised that produced an exciting, action-packed and attention-grabbing short film which captures the unique characteristics of BST as well as highlighting the importance of learning through exciting 'outdoor' opportunities. 

Look out for the film being showcased on BST's new website, due to launch later this year.  Here's a sneak preview – BST Outdoors.    

Sing Up are thrilled to have been named as winner of the Music Teacher Magazine Editor's Award at the 2018 Music Teacher Awards for Excellence.

The winner of the Music Teacher Magazine Editor's Award is chosen for excellence in design and implementation; a strong sense of either social justice or artistic excellence; and ambition, innovation and/or exceptional personal determination.

Sing Up was selected for this special award by Alex Stevens, editor of Music Teacher magazine and chair of the awards judging panel, from all entries to awards this year and also from across the broader music education sector.

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