NEWSLETTER ISSUE 6, DECEMBER 2O15/JANUARY 2016
An interview with the Chief Finance and Operations Officer What have been your career highlights to date? What has been your proudest achievement? I have had the wonderful fortune and great pleasure of living in the ‘land of the smiles’ Thailand for the last eight years and Bangkok has truly been home to me, my wife and daughter. Prior to joining Brighton College Bangkok, I worked as an Executive Director in an International Facilities Management Company based in Bangkok. Before moving to Thailand, I ran my own management consultancy business for several years, working across a variety of countries and sectors supporting companies and organisations in pursuing excellence in their respective areas. Stephen Andrews, Chief Finance and Operations Officer (Bursar) at Brighton College, Bangkok has
I believe we all have many achievements, which
lived and worked in Thailand for the last eight
we are proud of for different reasons. Whilst most
years. His role is to lead the management of all the
achievements are the result of good leadership I believe
non-academic and support services, in support of
this leadership must be supported by a dedicated team
Brighton College’s world-renowned reputation of
who all work towards the same goals and are part of
delivering excellent and inspirational teaching.
this shared achievement. In this regard, one of my proudest achievements was in 2011, when Thailand was
What attracted you to a leadership position at
devastated by severe flooding for several months, with
Brighton College?
large areas inundated by 2-3 meters of water. During this major crisis situation, I had the responsibility for an
I have worked in an educational environment for almost
International university that was home to almost 5,000
18 years, and I have been closely observing developments
students, faculty and staff from over 80 counties, which
in this sector. I was aware of the reputation of Brighton
unfortunately was located in the flood area. My team
College UK and its exemplary focus on individual pupils,
and I prepared for the massive flooding, arrangements
unique combination of academic excellence and extra-
for the safe evacuation of all personnel, and temporary
curricular activities, and the fact that many of Brighton
relocation of academic and housing facilities and
College pupils have gone on to pursue higher studies in
subsequently also supported in the recovery and
some of the best universities in the world. Therefore when I learned that Brighton had plans to establish a school in Bangkok, I was truly excited to play a leading role from the start and see the school grow and develop. I also admire Brighton’s strategy of setting up sister schools, to develop the high standards and successes of Brighton internationally and the achievements of Brighton College Abu Dhabi and Brighton College Al Ain especially in such a short space of time, are truly remarkable. Brighton is a truly innovative enterprise and I wished to be part of its journey and further growth in Thailand and other parts of South East Asia into the future.
Stephen Andrews, with daughter Caelyn and his wife, Petsongphun
restoration of the university. The success of our joint undertaking was that everyone was evacuated safely, temporary accommodation arrangements were made, and the academic programme was able to continue (despite the University campus submerged in 2.5 meters in water) with the original student graduation only delayed by 4 months. So this was one of my proudest achievements, which I credit to excellent teamwork, and working towards a shared vision. What skill set/experience do you feel you bring to the team? Education has always been close to my heart, as evidenced from the 18 years of my career spent in this sector. I have worked both in the UK and Thailand therefore I have an appreciation of the various educational systems and supporting cultures in both great countries. In addition, having lead and managed the non-academic services provided in schools and universities including those of a very multicultural
Admissions office to open Brighton College Bangkok’s temporary admissions office will open towrads the end of January. Representatives of Brighton College UK will be available to meet with parents and discuss our vision for the school as well the process for admission. To organise a meeting, please get in touch by any of the following methods: »» W e b s i t e : w w w . b r i g h t o n c o l l e g e b a n g k o k . c o m / admissions/visits »» Email: admissions@brightoncollegebangkok.com »» Tel (landline): +66 (2) 512 1872 »» Tel (mobile): +66 (0) 89 009 1111 You can still register your interest online at
www.
brightoncollegebangkok.com. We will then keep you up to date with the latest admissions information, as well as all developments at Brighton College Bangkok.
environment, just like Brighton College Bangkok, I have a deep understanding and appreciation for diversity and internationalism. The above coupled with my earlier experience in the management consultancy business, across a variety of countries and sectors, will allow me to bring a range of international best practices and innovations to my role at Brighton College Bangkok. I am eagerly looking forward to being a part of the senior management team, and feel confident that together we can ensure that pupils attending Brighton will have the best possible education with all of the supporting structures in place. What are your priorities between now and when the school opens? Brighton College Bangkok will be the home of a beautiful, newly built, ‘state of the art’ College so one of my key priorities is to support the completion to ensure that all facilities are available on the first day of the school opening in September 2016. I am eager to meet with the teachers, support staff and prospective parents. It will be a very exciting period leading up to the opening of the school, and I am very much looking forward to this new opportunity in my career.
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Introducing the new Head of Prep School School, I really enjoyed the challenge of developing the school from the beginning. Joining the start-up team at Brighton College Abu Dhabi in 2011 was a very exciting next step. As a passionate advocate of the unique opportunities a Prep School education gives children, I was delighted to take this experience to Abu Dhabi and help establish Brighton’s first overseas sister school. To be continuing my own journey with Brighton is enormously exciting and I am honoured to be joining the Bangkok team. As a firm believer in the Brighton ethos and the importance of releasing the potential in every child, my team and I will enable and empower every individual to ‘reach for the stars’. The learning experiences that we will be offering our pupils, the balance of academia, sport, performing Vanessa Robitaille has lived and worked in Abu Dhabi for more than four years, where she has been the founding Head of Brighton College Abu Dhabi Prep School. Growing up on a wheat farm on the edge of the Maasai Mara in Kenya I spent many hours ‘teaching’ my younger brothers or leading ‘expeditions’ into the unknown and so a life-long love of education and the natural world was born. After completing my education at Hillcrest Secondary School in Nairobi I headed to the University of Oxford where I read Human Sciences, and the University of Cambridge for my teacher training. Returning home to Kenya I joined Pembroke House School as Head of Science. From Pembroke I moved to The Banda School in Nairobi where I had various
and creative arts and service related activities promises to be very special. My own interests are dominated by a love of the bush and the people and wildlife that live there. Photography is another passion and I love learning about the immense possibilities that can now be achieved with technology in this area although I remain very much an amateur! Reading is a treat that I continue to love with a particular interest in history. Maxwell and Rebecca are true ‘third culture kids’ and as a family we have a love of adventure, travel and exploration and so it is with particular excitement that we head to Bangkok and the next chapter in our lives. An interview with Vanessa will appear in January’s edition of the e-Newsletter.
responsibilities including Head of Science and Boarding. At both schools I was lucky enough to be involved in a wide range of activities; having the opportunity to witness pupils excelling in and enjoying many different disciplines has always been a joy and is one I have always relished. In 1999 I married my husband Chris, an artist. In August of 2007 we had a sudden urge to see the rest of the world and with our two children, Maxwell and Rebecca; now in Years 9 & 10 respectively, we moved to China and joined Dulwich College Suzhou. We had 4 wonderful years in China and thoroughly enjoyed the experiences and adventures that we had. As Deputy Head of Senior
Vanessa Robitaille, with husband Chris, son Maxwell and daughter Rebecca, joins as Head of Prep School from Brighton College Abu Dhabi