An update from the Registrar The Brighton College Bangkok Admissions Office opened at the start of February. Kelly Crompton, Head of Pre-Prep and Kim Meaden-Kendrick, Registrar, have been meeting with interested families ever since. Below Kim gives us an update on the Admissions process. It has been an exciting few weeks in the Brighton College Bangkok Admissions Office as we opened the doors for the first time and began meeting our prospective families. There has been a steady stream of visitors and it has been an absolute pleasure to be able to share our excitement about our school opening with everyone. We have been receiving emails, calls and walk-in families since our very first day in the office and are very pleased to report that we have completed a good number of pupil assessments. We are delighted to have begun enrolling our first few families and are look forward to extending this out to many more children in the coming weeks.
If anyone is interested in meeting our team, we would advise them to make an appointment as soon as they are able to avoid disappointment.
Currently all admissions appointments are with myself and Kelly Crompton, Head of the Pre-Prep School. We will shortly be joined by our Headmaster, David Tongue who is coming in from our sister school in the United Arab Emirates and will bring with him the Brighton College ‘DNA’.
As an experienced and highly respected Headmaster already working within the Brighton family of schools, we are really looking forward to having him join our team. David has been very much involved from the early stages of our development and we have all been busy planning the curriculum, resources and staffing to be able to provide the very best in innovative and forward thinking British education from our opening in September. We are also planning some community events over the next few months, which will give all our interested families an opportunity to meet with us and also with each other. We will be sharing details of these very soon.
If you would like to keep up to date with what is going on at Brighton College Bangkok, make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and also sign up to receive our most recent newsletters at www.brightoncollegebangkok.com The Admissions Team can be contacted on: Telephone: + 66 (0)2 136 7898 Email: admissions@brightoncollegebangkok.com Address: Soi Krungthep Kreetha 15/1, Huamak, Bangkapi, Bangkok, 10240
Khun Sukawat (Ken) Keratimanoch, Estates and Facilities Manager at Brighton College Bangkok has the following update on the construction of the Pre-Prep School: I have just left one of my weekly project meetings with the construction team and I am very pleased to announce that the Brighton College Bangkok Pre -Prep building is on schedule to be completed at the end of July. Staff will move into the building in August to make everything ready for the College to open on 8th September 2016. Currently the roof and top roof level is being completed. Whilst the engineers and builders are busy doing their job we are also in discussions with many different suppliers that will turn the building into a school: furniture designers, facility systems, security and all the infrastructure that the Pre-Prep School will require.
Every time I see the plans and also the 3D walk through of the Brighton College Bangkok campus I am very excited by the Learning Resource Centre (LRC), the glass-fronted, airy and open-plan space that flows across all stages of the school. From our youngest children in Pre-Nursery through to the Senior pupils, the LRC will include collaborative learning spaces and places for quiet study, will foster creativity and also encourage our pupils to learn from their natural environment as it opens up directly onto outdoor learning spaces. I can’t wait to see this when it becomes reality! During the first month in my role at Brighton College Bangkok I have been thoroughly impressed by the experienced and committed team of suppliers, consultants and professionals who are working together to ensure Brighton College Bangkok’s home will be a modern, innovative campus that enhances and develops the learning of all its pupils.
Sarah Leybourne will take up her position as Deputy Head of Pre-Prep in August 2016 at Brighton College Bangkok. She will be part of the opening Leadership Team in Pre-Prep, ensuring every child receives a personalised and nurturing start to their Brighton College education. Tell us a little about your background and career to date. Returning to Thailand, is like coming home. My love of Thailand began in 2003, when I first arrived in Bangkok, with my family, to take up a teaching post in one of Bangkok’s renowned International Schools. I worked there for seven years and have also enjoyed teaching in Manila and in Hong Kong. I am a mother of two grown up children, who both graduated from outstanding London universities last year. After working for some years and with my two children still young, I trained to be a teacher as a mature student. My teaching experience includes working across the full primary school age range, leading year groups, specialising as a Subject Coordinator, working as 'Head of the Infant School' and, more recently, as Deputy Head at a large primary school in the UK. I feel privileged to be part of the best profession in the world.
What attracted you to a senior leadership position at Brighton College Bangkok? Brighton College is an outstanding British school with a world class reputation for innovation and developing the individual child in all areas of academic life as well as in sport and the creative and performing arts. The exchange of views I experienced during my interview process convinced me that we were all very much in agreement on how children learn and how they should be taught. Senior leaders at Brighton College understand the need for their teachers and staff to grow professionally so that they in turn can pass on this excellence to the pupils. Pupils leave Brighton College as well rounded individuals, fully equipped for life-long learning in the 21st Century. Brighton College is family-orientated with a clear focus on getting to know each and every student exceptionally well. Without reservation, I want to be part of the team that leads this excellence and reflects these values. What have been your career highlights to date? What has been your proudest achievement? Quite simply, my proudest moments have been those when I have helped pupils to feel inspired to find out more, to learn more and to be curious about the world. As teachers and leaders, we are in the privileged position of helping children to find their true passions, fill them with ambition, desire and determination to succeed in whatever they want to do. The inspiration I gain from working with children has always been at the heart of my passion for teaching and leading. Being immersed in new cultures has been the key to opening up new ideas and truly responding to the learning needs of individual children. Observing ‘Eureka’ moments when children are helped to discover for themselves are, without exception, empowering and memorable. My main career highlights include my leadership roles, when I have actively been able to raise the level of performance in the school, through training teachers and staff. Fostering a positive, trusting, challenging and open learning environment is a vital part of ensuring all children are happy at the College and reach their full potential.
What is a Brighton College education? What makes it unique? It only takes a momentary glance at the plans for the new College buildings to understand that Brighton College Bangkok has an eye to the future and an innovative vision for pupils’ learning needs. The College’s safe, inspirational learning spaces will help to blend collaborative, team based and shared learning activities with each child’s individual academic, personal, social and emotional needs so that they can be the best they can be. A Brighton College education has the uniqueness of the child at its heart, finding out what they are good at, helping them to develop their strengths and overcome challenges while tailoring the curriculum to meet these needs so they feel happy and secure. Brighton College understands the importance of the growth of the Internet and digital tools. These will be needed for children to truly succeed in their chosen field and this is why Brighton College Bangkok will be fully equipped with 'state of the art' technological resources. With its philosophy of Lifelong Learning and its motto of ‘Be Good, Be Kind, Be Honest', Brighton College Bangkok ensures that all children are involved, engaged and inspired within a warm, supportive ‘family feel-good’ environment. What are your priorities between now and when the school opens? My immediate priorities are to ensure that I support the team, in anyway I can, in their preparations leading up to the opening of Brighton College Bangkok. I very much look forward to arriving in Bangkok in August and meeting our PrePrep team of teachers, with whom I will be working closely and collaboratively to ensure that day one is a happy and successful experience for all. There will be much to do in the weeks leading up to the College’s opening, so priority will focus on ensuring that classrooms and shared spaces are ready for excellent learning to take place. I look forward to welcoming and getting to know the children and parents as well as all members of staff at Brighton College Bangkok.
An interview with Deputy Head of Pre-Prep, Nick Goligher, will be published in the next newsletter.