Meet Founding Headmaster, David Tongue David Tongue, the founding Headmaster of Brighton College Bangkok, arrived in Thailand at the end of March and since then has been busy meeting prospective pupils and parents and managing the pre-opening process of the College. He chatted to us about his arrival into the Kingdom of Smiles and his plans for Brighton College Bangkok. After working in several very different locations around the world, we were interested to know what attracted David and his family to Bangkok?
As a family we have lived across three continents and travelled widely. My wife, Victoria, and our two children are looking forward to making new friends and experiencing all that Bangkok’s rich and vibrant culture has to offer. It is wonderful to be part of Brighton College’s expansion into Asia, particularly Bangkok, a city well-suited to Brighton’s focus on excellence, its exceptional teaching and its unique approach to British independent education. Prior to moving to Bangkok, I served as Headmaster of Brighton College Al Ain for a number of years, so you could say that I have Brighton College DNA! Having been at that College since the pre-opening phase I was tremendously excited about the prospect of leading another Brighton College start-up. As a brand new school, what will Brighton College Bangkok offer to families in Bangkok? As a father of school children myself, I am acutely aware of how important it is to choose the right school for your child, particularly as an expat family. Children at Brighton College Bangkok will be given the opportunity to be taught by inspiring teachers in a nurturing environment where every child is cared for and valued. This in turn allows pupils to achieve the highest standards of academic achievement. Our curriculum is tailored to go well beyond the confines of the English National Curriculum, and offers abundant opportunities for children to develop their thinking and skills in ways which are unique to them. Our family of school’s approach truly is successful with Brighton College being rated the top school out of 9,000 in the UK.
What are your hopes and aspirations as the Headmaster for the school over the coming months and years? Our pursuit of academic excellence is well known across the world, and it will be no different in Bangkok. My vision is for Brighton College Bangkok to rapidly become one of the leading schools in South East Asia. Moreover, I am keen for the school to acquire a wider reputation for delivering a truly world-class education for its pupils. This will be achieved by inspirational teachers delivering Brighton College’s forward-thinking curriculum. Like Brighton College in the UK we will supplement the academic curriculum by delivering subjects that are unique to our family of schools, by teaching Mandarin as a foreign language to all pupils from the Pre-Prep School and by providing the widest range of extra-curricular activities.
If you would like to book an appointment to meet David and find out more about Brighton College Bangkok please contact our Registrar, Mrs Kim Meaden-Kendrick at admissions@brightoncollegebangkok.com or by telephoning + 66 (0)2-136-7898 / +66 (0)89-009-1111.
Please like our Facebook page to view more photographs of the progress of our construction. On Sunday 15th May around 150 people came along to the first ever Brighton College Bangkok community event. Held at the British Club in Silom, our Summer Beach Party kept children and adults entertained with a whole host of beachthemed games, activities and crafts. Here is a selection of photographs from the event and more can be found on our Facebook page.
Thank you to everyone who came along and we look forward to seeing you at our next event which will be on the college campus!
What is a Brighton College education? What makes it unique? Brighton College offers a caring, supportive and tolerant environment in which children thrive and love to learn. There is a constant focus on excellence, ensuring that the quality of learning on offer for every pupil is as good as it possibly can be. The pastoral and academic needs of the pupils really are at the centre of everything the college does. Every pupil is treated as an individual and given every possible opportunity and as much support as they require to be successful, whether this be in the classroom, on the stage, in the pool or on the sports pitches.
Nick Goligher is excited to be starting as Deputy Head of Brighton College Bangkok’s PrePrep School in August 2016. He will be part of the founding Senior Leadership Team ensuring all the pupils in the school are inspired to develop a lifelong passion for learning. Tell us a little about your background and career to date. Following university I worked for the children’s charity ChildLine. Part of my role was visiting schools and leading workshops and assemblies to educate children about the service the charity provided. This made me realise how much I enjoyed working with young people so I went back to university to do my PGCE. Once fully qualified I worked at an inner city primary school in Manchester, UK. My love of sport and technology meant I quickly took responsibility for these curriculum areas. I then moved to become an Assistant Headteacher at a large, three-form entry Primary School in the UK with responsibility for Key Stage 2. Seven years ago I moved to Bangkok to become a Head of Year at Bangkok Patana School. My whole family are excited about our next move to Brighton College Bangkok; my wife Emma will be working within the Business department and our two children will be joining in PreNursery and Year 1. What attracted you to a senior leadership position at Brighton College Bangkok? Brighton College is known as being Britain's most forward thinking and successful school. When I saw that Brighton College was opening in Bangkok I was incredibly motivated about the possibility of working within such an innovative and prestigious school. Taking up a Senior Leadership position at Brighton College Bangkok will be incredibly rewarding as will being a member of the founding staff, helping to build the college from the outset. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are delivering the educational experience that Brighton College is world renowned for.
What have been your career highlights to date? What has been your proudest achievement? My proudest teaching achievement to date was when I organised and led my school's first ever residential trip to the Lake District in the UK. After lots of fundraising and hard work 40 children from the school spent a week immersed in outdoor pursuits. This was the first time many of the children had left Manchester. I am also proud of recently completing my Masters Degree in Educational Leadership awarded by the University of Bath. My final dissertation was an exploration of how schools can successfully incorporate innovation into their ongoing improvement plans. I hope to be able to use the knowledge I developed during my studies to support my new role at Brighton College Bangkok.
What are your priorities between now and when the school opens? My main priority will be to work with the other senior leaders at Brighton College Bangkok to ensure that we develop the warm, happy, vibrant and positive atmosphere and culture that Brighton College is known for. As I am in Bangkok at the moment, I will provide as much support as the new teachers need to let them know about the exciting and amazing city they are going to be living within. From Day One I will be working to help ensure that our pupils are offered a creative, challenging and fun curriculum, both in and outside the classroom which allows each and every one of them to succeed.
An interview with Deputy Head of Pre-Prep, Sarah Leybourne, was published in March’s newsletter.
Have you seen our new website? Take a look at our new online home and find out more about Brighton College Bangkok and our plans to become one of Asia’s leading schools. You can access information about the Application Process and apply online, download our prospectus, see current vacancies and contact us online.