Head of School Message

If you are reading this message, it most likely means you are considering enrolling your children at the International British School of Bucharest, and so first and foremost, in keeping with tradition, I would like to offer you a very warm IBSB welcome.

Many of the families joining us have been directly referred by a friend or family member, or work colleague with a child who attended or is currently enrolled at our school, and as such you will no doubt already be aware that we are a school with a strong family ethos, very good teachers, and excellent exam results. This is a reputation we have earned over many years of teaching at a consistently high standard, which we are very proud of and work hard to maintain.

If you have heard about our school from another source or are just now learning about our school from our website, then it is my sincere hope that the information provided reflects a school with an strong sense of community, where students feel valued and supported, where student and teacher wellbeing are centre stage, and where the student and parent voice contributes significantly to the ongoing development of the school.

In choosing to educate your children at the International British School of Bucharest, you are not simply choosing a school, but rather you are joining a school community with a supportive parent body actively involved in the process of educating our children.

You are also choosing to join our ‘Parents as Partners’ programme, which is central to the success of our students, because what happens outside school is just as important as what happens in school: experience has taught us that students, parents, and teachers working closely together in partnership can achieve incredible results, enabling our students to aspire toward their dreams, whatever their specific dreams may be.

Our students in many ways are living proof of this, making above average progress year on year, with attainment results across the curriculum, in both the primary and secondary schools, well above the UK national average, placing us not only in the top tier of high performing schools in the UK, but around the world.

We are extremely proud of the fact that in 2020, 100% of our graduating students continued on to university, with 87% receiving offers from the top 5% of universities worldwide, some with unconditional offers and others with scholarships. This is not because our students are necessarily brighter than students in other schools, but because they work incredibly hard, receiving the necessary support and encouragement needed to always believe they can achieve the goals they set for themselves.

As a small school, we are fortunate to be able to employ individual student tracking as a standard part of our programme to ensure each and every pupil enrolled at the International British School of Bucharest has the opportunity to succeed in their studies. Class sizes are small, allowing for ongoing feedback from subject teachers at regular intervals so students and parents are aware at all times what level they are currently working at, and what is needed to progress on to the next level. Long-term aspirational goals are broken down into realistically achievable short-term targets which help keep our students motivated as they continue on their learning journey, becoming increasingly confident and secure as independent learners as they move through our programme.

For our more able students, we offer the possibility of fast tracking to extend our students beyond National Curriculum expectations. We also have an extensive extracurricular programme in place to provide challenge and interest outside the classroom, with opportunities to complete work experience, develop public speaking skills, engage in debate, attend model united nations conferences, delve deeper into the world of technology and programming, learn a new language, participate in national and international competitions, become involved in community action service, complete and outdoor Duke of Edinburgh expedition, and so much more.

There are also excellent support systems in place to identify and help students where needed, including a strong EAL programme to help new students joining IBSB learn English quickly and easily. We have two full-time student counsellors on campus and a well-developed pastoral care system in place to support our students emotionally, as they mature from children into young adults. We also have a wide range of academic programmes in place to offer additional support across the academic curriculum when and as needed.

Living in a world that is changing rapidly, it is our responsibility as educators to ensure our students are prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. Many prominent business leaders have spoken openly in recent years about the changing landscape of business, saying that AI technology will soon do many of the jobs currently performed by humans. We are seeing this already with self-service checkouts and increasingly mechanised production lines and distribution systems. Knowledge-based education, which has provided the foundation for education over the past 200 years, is no longer sufficient to prepare our children for the modern world that awaits them when they graduate.

The 2030+ Curriculum that the International British School of Bucharest offers, is one that is skills-based, values based, and focused on developing character and creativity. If humans will not be able to compete with machines in the workforce of the future, then as educators we are responsible to support our students to develop in ways they can compete, to do the jobs that machines cannot do.

Becoming the first High Performance Learning School in Romania is an important step toward delivering this 2030+ Curriculum, enabling our students to become confident, successful, lifelong learners, able to adapt and respond quickly to the changing world.

If you would like to gain a good general overall picture of the student experience at IBSB, I highly recommend that you read through a few past issues of our school magazine, The lnternational Voice , put together by our talented team of student journalists.

I also invite you to visit our recently renovated campus, to view the classes and meet our students and teachers in person in order to better understand why the International British School of Bucharest has developed such an outstanding reputation for ‘Excellence in Education’, as one of the top ranked schools in Europe. We look forward to receiving a visit from you in the year ahead.

Should you require any additional information or wish to speak with me or another member of the senior leadership team or admissions team directly, please do not hesitate to contact the school office@ibsb.ro to arrange an appointment at your earliest convenience.