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Teachers and students of the British School of Bahrain (BSB) this week celebrated 20 years of academic achievement in a grand ceremony, sharing stories of its humble beginnings in Adliya, its expansion and its vision for the future, writes Mai Al Khatib-Camille.
The reception hall at its premises in Hamala was decorated in balloons and banners on Thursday as more than 300 guests arrived to celebrate the occasion. They included members of the faculty, board of trustees, former pupils and parents coming together to commemorate the milestone with a cake-cutting ceremony and musical performances.
The school currently boasts around 1,900 students, a far cry from when it opened in 1995 in a small campus with only 172 pupils. It merged with Al Ruwad School in 2007 and its modern campus in Hamala opened in September 2008.
Chairman Rashad Janahi says he has been thrilled with the school’s numerous accomplishments over the years, adding: “On behalf of the members of the board of trustees and myself, we are really happy and proud that the school has been providing an excellent quality of education for the past 20 years and we are looking forward to the next 20!
“We are also proud to see our graduates attending some of the best universities in the world and we will continue improving upon our education provision to ensure that level of achievement is maintained.
“We are currently working on forming an alumni association for our past graduates that have already started their professional careers so that they can always be connected to us.”
Former head of Infants, Julie-Anne Gilbert, a current BSB board of trustees member who recently opened a pre-school in the kingdom with Bahraini teacher Dunya Tariq Hameed, as reported in GulfWeekly, said: “I worked here for 10 years and I loved every single minute of it. It was like a family with everyone involved always supportive of each other.”
Currently the school’s management is working on implementing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programme in September 2016, which Head of School Dr Charles Wall believes will be an added attraction for pupils, parents and prospective students.
Dr Wall said: “It’s our responsibility to continue to build on our great foundation. One thing for us in the future is to bring in the IB Diploma programme. That’s not a revolution for us because we have a lot of inquiry-based learning going on but it will take the school forward.
“The IB Diploma and philosophy is more than just education, it aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
“Our school already has that philosophy but now we are formally recognising it by topping it off with the IB programme.”
BSB’s sixth formers say they can vouch for the school’s philosophy, family feel and can-do attitude because to them they are receiving more than just an education; they are a part of something bigger.
Ghazi Al Aradi, 16, from Jidhafs has been a pupil at BSB for nine years and will miss it when he graduates. He said: “When I first joined the BSB I found it a lot kinder and a lot more family-orientated than the other schools I had been to. I was in three other schools before BSB.
“I’d like to think I won’t be sad to leave school but I will. What makes BSB so special is that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you have come from, as long as you are genuinely nice then everyone will love you. This school has the lowest bullying I have ever seen or heard of in any school and I hear a lot of stories from other schools.
“The teachers are really nice and actually make connections with the kids here rather than just talking to them. This is a great place to be.”
Kiran Yasin, 16, from Manama, who has been with the school since kindergarten, added: “When someone leaves us it’s like a big deal because we are all family now, contributing to the school and the community.
“Also, the school has improved with every passing year. Compared to our old school venue in Adliya, this has been a vast enhancement and they keep getting better which is a great thing to see.”
Afra Ansar, 16, from Adliya, who has been a student with BSB for seven years, agreed with her classmates. She said: “Looking back, we used to have temporary buildings as classrooms and now look at us. We are not just a school; we are a community that always supports each other, no matter what happens.”
l For further details about the school, visit www.britishschoolbahrain.com
