BSK hosts awards evening

The annual Awards Evening for the Year 7-11 students at The British School of Kuwait (BSK) took place in lavish style at the Al Futouh Ballroom at the Regency Hotel, as parents and staff celebrated the many and varied achievements of the school year 2014-15.

The Secondary Head Teacher, Emma Bowie, welcomed parents, staff and students, before delivering her Annual Report, including recent developments and plans for further improvement.

Bowie reviewed both Secondary phase developments and foci for the year ahead. This included: the continued expansion of student datatracking and performance management systems; the development of mentoring provision and personalized learning; making further refinements to and raising the profile of, the Secondary House System; and a renewed focus on both the environment and issues relating to health.

Parents were delighted to learn that BSK’s June 2015 examination results at IGCSE and GCSE were outstanding, with 95 percent A*-C and an incredible 79 percent of those in the “high pass” range of A*-B. A 91 percent A-E pass rate at AS Level and a 100 percent A*-D pass rate at A Level were also highly commendable.

Bowie informed parents and guests that, once again, many Year 13 students had decided to pursue their degree courses in Britain, with destinations including King’s College, University College London, the University of the Arts London, the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of Birmingham and Cardiff University. Former Head Boy Ethan Harradine was congratulated, in absentia, on having secured a place to read Liberal Arts at Harvard University in the USA. Other Year 13 graduates opted to purse their studies elsewhere, their destinations including Ireland, Canada, Australia, Hungary, Switzerland and the UAE.

The prestigious Subject Awards went to the top student in each subject in each year group, many of whom achieved near to 100 percent in their final examinations. The Roll of Honor was read by the Assistant Head Teacher, John Lambert.

The Awards Evening also honored over 230 students who achieved Excellence Awards in 201415. Now in their fourth year, the Excellence Awards were conceived to celebrate and encourage a high level of success across a broad range of subjects. The Rolls of Honor were read by Department Coordinators Khadija Broome, Estelle Jones and Dr Clifford Cheung, and Assistant Department Coordinator Helen Graham. The Excellence Award winners were warmly applauded by parents and guests.

The BSK String Orchestra, under the baton of Galina Bojilova, served up a feast of music including the Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss during the interlude, as well as processional music in the form Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance (No.4) and Thomas Arne’s Rule Britannia. Moreover, Simon Amura led the BSK R&B Group in a very well received rendition of Happy by Pharrell Williams.

The Guest of Honor was Brigadier Piers Hankinson MBE, Commander, British Military Mission, who reflected on the significance to students of some of the particular strengths of the education provided by The British School of Kuwait.

The final student awards of the evening were the Head Teachers’ Awards, presented by Brigadier Hankinson and BSK Founder Vera AlMutawa. Five such awards were conferred, to one student from each of the previous Years 6-11, with the awards for 2014-15 going to Mariam Eskaross, Martin Nakouzi, Poorvi Mishra, Muneera Al-Jeeran and Monica Elias.

BSK Principal, Paul Shropshire, rounded off the evening by proposing a vote of thanks, congratulating the students on their great successes and looking ahead to another year of hard work and exceptional achievements.