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 in the Al Baraka Ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, as parents and staff celebrated the many and varied achievements of the school year 2016-17 in the presence of BSK Chairman Sadiq Al-Mutawa and BSK Founder Madam Vera Al-Mutawa MBE. This is a very special year in the history of BSK, which can trace its modest beginning back to 1978 when it was a nursery based in Madam Vera’s home. Becoming the Sunshine Kindergarten and then growing over the years until now, in its 40th Ruby Anniversary Year, BSK is Kuwait’s premier school. The delight on Vera’s face was plain to see as she was presented with a ruby vase and large bouquet of red roses by the Head Students and their Deputies, whilst in the background played the soulful “Ruby” by Ray Charles. This was a fitting start to an evening to honor the wonderful students Vera has dedicated her life to educating.

Following restructuring of the management system in the Secondary Phase, BSK is fortunate in this academic year to have two Head Teachers. The Middle Phase Head Teacher, Nicholas Smith, welcomed parents, staff and students, before delivering his Annual Report, including recent developments and plans for further improvement. He reviewed Middle Phase developments which included: Academics with the planned cross-curricular enrichment day, Extracurricular Successes in the prestigious Young Musicians of the Gulf competition in Bahrain, and Sporting Successes both within Kuwait and at the British Schools of the Middle East competition, also in Bahrain, where both their U13 and U15 teams produced outstanding performances.

Emma Bowie, the Higher Phase Head Teacher introduced her speech by recounting the examination achievements of our Year 11 to Year 13 students. Parents were delighted to learn that BSK’s June 2017 examination results at IGCSE and GCSE were yet again outstanding, with 95 percent A•-C and 60 percent at A•-A. AS Level were just as impressive with 97 percent A•-E and all-time bests at BSK of 81 percent A-C and 65 percent A-B. A Level results were also highly commendable with a 75 percent pass rate at A•-B. She informed parents and guests that, once again, many Year 13 students had decided to pursue their degree courses in Britain, with destinations including Durham University, the University of Warwick, the University of Bristol, University College London and the University of Edinburgh. Other Year 13 graduates opted to pursue their studies elsewhere, their destinations including the USA, Canada, Australia, Italy, India and Pakistan.

The Guest of Honor was Patricia L. Fietz, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States of America. Her mesmerizing speech really connected with the young audience, as she recounted her childhood when she visited Europe during a family holiday. She was fascinated by the number of languages spoken as she travelled from country to country, which sparked a passion that saw herself become fluent in numerous languages as she knew she was destined for a life in diplomacy. “Grasp every moment; make the most of every opportunity” she encouraged the students.

In both the Middle and Higher Phases 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 for the Middle Phase was read by Alya Muflihi the Assistant Head Teacher, and by Simon Amura, the Higher Phase Assistant Head Teacher.

The Awards Evening also honored over 250 students who achieved Excellence Awards in 2016-17. The Rolls of Honor were read by the Middle Phase Coordinator Sylvain Kerzerho, Assistant Middle Phase Coordinator Miss Sophie Ali, the Upper Department Coordinator Miss Hannah Glendinning and the Sixth Form Department Coordinator, Dr Clifford Cheung.

The BSK String Orchestra, under the baton of Galina Bojilova, served up a feast of music including the rousing Death or Glory by R.B. Hall as the Award Winners entered the ballroom and An Irish Melody during the interlude. Vivian Sequeira wowed the audience with her prize-winning rendition on violin of the first Movement of the Kabalevsky Violin Concerto, accompanied by Miss Emily Jeffcott on piano.

The final student awards of the evening were the much coveted Head Teachers’ Awards. Five such awards were conferred, to one student from each Year. The role of honor was Luaidh Williams, Reem Abdulredha, Soha Adour, Farah Badr and Edward Burgan.

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. The evening closed with the students and parents enjoying a buffet dinner.