INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NLCS Jeju

Our first international school on the island of Jeju in South Korea, is now in its seventh year; the school has grown since opening its doors in 2011, with a student roll of 450, now has over 1,300 students. Below are some highlights from the year; from academic success to charity projects and music to sport achievements.

Academic Success

We are pleased to report that the school’s average IB score for the year was 37 points, continuing to significantly exceed the global average of less than 30 points, with 4 students achieving perfect scores of 45, a new school record.

It has also been another year of outstanding IGCSE results for NLCS Jeju, with the vast majority of students achieving A / A* in their exams. Even more impressive was the news that four students achieved the best scores in the world in their IGCSE exams (sat in the 2017/18 Academic Year); Hyerim Kim for art, Jiwon Choi and Inji Park for maths and Mina You for maths and Korean.

The Chemical Frontier Festival

In November 2017, NLCS Jeju entered ‘The Chemical Frontier Festival’, a high profile science competition for high school students. With involvement of LG, KAIST, Hanwha, Lotte and many others, the aim of the competition is to stimulate the interest of students in chemistry and to foster the science talent of the future.

More than 330 schools entered teams in the competition, with only 72 teams passing to the preliminary round and subsequently being invited to KAIST to take part in the Grand Final. Yuna Jung and Subin Hwang from NLCS Jeju were awarded the Bronze Medal for their work, titled ‘Investigating the chemistry within the tradition of diving equipment used by Jeju Haenyeo’.

Tri-School Music Festival

In September 2017, NLCS Jeju Music Conservatoire successfully hosted Jeju’s first Tri-School Music Festival, with NLCS Jeju, BHA and KIS. Music included pieces by String Orchestras, Choirs and Concert Bands, as well as specialist sectionals.

Essay competition by the Ayn Rand Foundation

On the literary front, So Young (Innes) Kim entered an essay competition run by the, which receives entries from over 2,000 sixth form students from all over the world. Innes impressed the international panel of judges to achieve a very impressive 2nd place.

Peer Mentoring Scheme

Similar to the Peer Mentoring Scheme at NLCS (UK), NLCS Jeju launched their newly rebranded Peer Mentoring Scheme, which aims to enhance the well-being of its Senior School students.

Peer Mentoring is an opportunity for the Year 12 and 13 students to share their knowledge and experience with younger students during weekly, one-to-one time. During the sessions they offer support, encouragement and/or advice, with the aim of giving their Mentees a unique and valuable avenue of pastoral care.

U15 Korean National Rugby Team

In January, Justin Chung was selected to play for The U15 Korean National Rugby Team. Before joining NLCS, Justin had never played rugby. After participating in trials he was chosen to play for the Middle School Rugby Team. The team proved to be very successful and was spotted by the Korean Rugby Union Under 15 National Coach. The team has a number of excellent players, but Justin was finally selected as he had shown his undivided commitment to working with the Middle School Rugby Team and his leadership qualities.

NLCS (UK) and NLCS Jeju exchange

In June, NLCS Jeju welcomed seven Year 9 exchange students from NLCS (UK), having been hosted by their partners in London in March. The students spent two wonderful weeks on Jeju with the families of their exchange partners, and the students were able to take part in NLCS Jeju’s Arts Festival.

Action in the Community

NLCS Jeju has a number of special community service projects for which they raise money throughout the year. One such project is the ‘Nine Goods Village’. The school is hoping to help the village be reborn as a tourist

attraction in Seogwipo. In May 2018, the project team held a fundraising festival, “Off the Chairs” which helped bring the total funds raised since 2013, to 44.5 million won.

Trip to San Franciso and Silicon Valley

Over the February half term, a group of 24 computer science students, in Years 10 and 11, visited San Francisco and Silicon Valley to explore the birthplace of modern computing and to visit the leading companies and universities in the area. The visit was designed to spark students’ academic curiosity by engaging with real world computing experts and motivate them for future study.

NLCS Dubai

NLCS Dubai opened its doors in September 2017 to 240 students from Pre-KG through to Grade 10. By the end of its first year, the number of students enrolled for September 2018 had more than doubled, as had the number of teaching staff.

Trips and Exchanges

In its first year of operation, NLCS Dubai offered a range of trips and experiences for students of all ages. Some of which included outdoor pursuit residentials in the UAE for Grades 3 to 6, a History trip to Italy, a Geography trip to Iceland, a Music trip to Shanghai for Senior School students, an Art and modern foreign languages trip to the Louvre in Abu Dhabi and a Biology trip to Umm Al Quwain to study ecosystems.

In March, the first NLCS (UK) and NLCS Dubai exchange took place. The students from NLCS Dubai thoroughly enjoyed their time at the ‘mother-ship’. On their return to Dubai, the students led an informative assembly about their experiences, noting the prevalence of the NLCS ethos of showing care, courtesy and consideration to all. The NLCS (UK) students joined their counterparts at NLCS Dubai in the month of June, which coincided with Ramadan, allowing the UK students to experience school life as well as gain a better cultural understanding of the UAE.

Sporting achievements

The relatively small student body meant that everyone had an opportunity to ‘try themselves out’, which led to many of our students participating in a wide range of sporting events. Three of our athletes made it to the DASSA League athletics finals; Ramzi Tabanji for shot-put, Zahra Ahmad for 200m race and Isaac Danka-Fielding-Piper for 100m and 200m races. The Junior Swimming Squad had a very successful season and were crowned Division Champions. The U9 to U15 Rounders teams all had very successful seasons, with the U9 mixed team remaining undefeated all season and winning the Cup Final. The NLCS Dubai staff also got in on the action as they beat the KHDA in the first ever stair-climb challenge held in the School’s atrium. Three students enjoyed personal sporting success; Zayd Ghanawi in Grade 7 won multiple skiing events in the Ski Dubai Snow Park. Avantika Mattu in Grade 2 travelled to the UK to take part in the International competition, “Stars of the Future”, achieving second place overall in two categories of Latin and Ballroom dancing. Romy Wegmann in Grade 8 was named ‘U14 Female Inspirational Athlete of the Year’ at the UAE Teen Sport and Fitness Awards.

Art, Drama and Music

The first House Photography competition, which was a highlight of the Winter Festival, showcased a number of promising photographers. The theme was ‘My Dubai’ and the ‘People’s Choice’ award went to Rayan Al Kharusi in Grade 7. The theatrical talents of students from Grade 2 to10 were displayed during an evening of monologues, closely followed by a production by Grades 2, 3 and 4 called Planet Plenty which addressed issues of sustainability. The Grade 5 class finished their year with the musical Alice in Wonderland and, later in the term, senior students performed a gritty production of Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose.

With pianos residing in open spaces around the School it is not at all unusual to hear the sounds of Mozart or Yiruma echoing through the halls and atrium at break and lunch times. One such pianist, Claudius Tyacke, in Grade 2, only began playing piano two years ago but he took his musical talents beyond the halls of NLCS Dubai, all the way to France, where he won first prize in a music competition at Conservatoire Slave de Musique in Paris. This was all the more impressive as he was the youngest in his group, competing mainly against teenagers. The highlight of the year was the Arts Festival, which was a week full of creative activities including drama mask workshops, improvisational theatre, and a group art sculpture which was inspired by American artist Crystal Wagner. The final events of the week were a fabulous ‘Fantasy Fashion’ event, presenting work created by the students during the week, as well as wonderfully choreographed adaptations of songs from Les Miserables.

Whole School Community Events

The students and parents of NLCS Dubai enjoyed many events at which the whole School community could celebrate together. The first occasion was UAE National day, where we enjoyed national food, face painting and henna. Everyone involved wore national dress or colours of the UAE flag. We even had a visit from a camel and birds of prey! In December, all students gathered around the Christmas tree to sing a selection of festive songs. Our first Founder’s Day celebration was truly memorable, as parents and students experienced the daffodil procession for the first time. The International Picnic, which drew a tremendous amount of support from parents, was a feast for the eyes and taste-buds.

We are proud of all that was accomplished in our first year, as the newest member of the NLCS family of schools, and look forward to many more achievements to come.