Edarabia had the opportunity to interview Ms. Liz Stanley, Head Teacher at The British School of Bahrain. In this exclusive interview, she shares insights into the future of global learning, how the school fosters student wellbeing, and what it truly means to prepare young people for a fast-changing world.
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of The British School of Bahrain, and our focus is very much on celebrating ’30 Years of Excellence’. Celebrating 30 years is about honouring our legacy and vibrant community. With over 90 nationalities and nearly 2,800 students, our diversity is at the heart of who we are. We cherish fostering a sense of belonging and connection within the local community.
This year, we are launching a significant campaign to provide 10,000 children worldwide with access to education. This initiative honours our journey while giving back. Our community will play an essential role in creating effective learning opportunities for children globally in partnership with UNICEF.
The Nsouli Scholars Programme is also returning with its groundbreaking global initiative, offering full scholarships to extraordinary students for the duration of their education at Inspired’s prestigious schools. This initiative, honouring Nadim Nsouli, who founded Inspired in 2013, reflects Inspired’s commitment to transforming lives by empowering the next generation of leaders.
This milestone isn’t just about reflecting on the past; it’s also about looking to the future. While we celebrate the achievements of our alumni and our academic successes, we are focused on innovation. We want to ensure our students are ready for the future by introducing initiatives like the Inspired AI platform and Inspired Metaverse.
Our culture of continuous improvement, reflection and innovation ensures we remain adaptable and forward-thinking, securing our place as a globally recognised leader in education. Rigorous quality assurance underpinned by a rich variety of data in combination with open, honest and transparent communication and feedback channels for all stakeholders informs our strategic plan.
BSB evolves constantly, drawing strength from its place within the Inspired Education global group of 119 schools. This collaboration drives innovation and enhances student outcomes. This focus has earned the school a spot among the Top 150 Private Schools worldwide and the Top 15 in the Middle East, according to the Carfax Global School Index. Additionally, it ranks among the Top 6 recommended schools in the Middle East and North Africa in the Spear’s 500 School Index for 2025. BSB was rated “Outstanding in All Areas” by both the British Schools Overseas (BSO) and Bahrain’s Education & Training Quality Authority (BQA). Academic excellence remains our priority, with a strong focus on expanding music, performing arts, and sports to enrich the holistic curriculum.
The school is currently focusing on the implementation of technology in the classroom to enhance learning. Inspired AI is a unique platform that personalises learning, significantly improving both progress and attainment across the core subjects. The school is also using virtual and augmented reality to create immersive learning experiences via the introduction of the Inspired Metaverse, containing a vast library of unique lessons designed to support all areas of the curriculum. We are also rolling out the Inspired Global Study Platform utilising generative AI to create a ‘one-stop shop’ for students, teachers and parents.
I anticipate the biggest challenge in the field of education will be continuing to adapt and build flexibility into the curriculum in order to be able to adjust to the rapid pace of change we are experiencing in all aspects of life, whether technology, socio-economic shifts or global changes, and to meet the diverse needs of students ensuring that they are adequately prepared for life beyond school.
The skills required for success in the world of work are evolving rapidly and as such our strategic plan includes a focus on responsible use of new technologies and the development of digital literacy, building creativity and entrepreneurship, developing students as emotionally intelligent leaders, critical thinking and a focus on global issues to support the development of international-mindedness, as well as promoting wellbeing and building the resilience required to adapt to an increasingly complex world through a focus on positive mental health, the soft skills and competencies required for success.
A continual focus on genuine personalised learning ensures that student motivation and engagement is high at The British School of Bahrain. We pride ourselves on our broad and holistic curriculum that allows us to facilitate opportunities for all students to uncover their personal talents and interests. Our engaging curriculum, coupled with a wealth of extra and supra-curricular learning opportunities, and immersive experience, gives learning meaning and helps students contextualise.
Recruiting and retaining experienced, creative and passionate teachers, listening to our student voice and encouraging student leadership through co-construction of learning, coupled with a strong focus on innovation and the integration of new technologies, helps provide each student with their own unique learning pathway tailored to their individual needs. Furthermore, students are supported at all stages of their learning journey by comprehensive and specialist careers and university guidance, helping them to shape their own future pathways.
Our ‘Family First’ approach and culture of kindness ensure that The British School of Bahrain maintains its long-standing heritage as the leading community school of choice in Bahrain. Family is a key part of what makes The British School of Bahrain such a successful school. The interaction between different age groups and the subsequent role modelling that this enables is integral to The British School of Bahrain’s values and what makes the school feel like a family.
With over 90 nationalities represented at our school, the BSB demonstrates a truly inclusive international community. We offer students a global perspective from an early age, coupled with our award-winning 360-degree approach to pastoral care that is built around the individual needs of each child, ensuring that people are always our key focus.
Creating a safe and nurturing environment is our number one priority, and this is achieved through a highly proactive approach to student care and wellbeing. We cultivate a low-stress, high-performance environment that is achieved by educating students and empowering them to take control of their own well-being, discussing key issues at each appropriate stage of the school journey, and providing open, safe communication channels.
A continual focus on kindness, building community and a culture of collaboration helps create a strong sense of belonging that is key in ensuring that students are happy and equipped for success. Bullying is extremely rare, and the school takes a zero tolerance approach in line with the clear policies shared with all members of the school community. The school is proactive in offering a wide range of support for all members of the community, including a dedicated counselling and medical team, outstanding pastoral and safeguarding structures, regular professional development for staff, student and parent workshops, and peer mentoring initiatives, including our fully trained student Mental Health Ambassadors.
Our pioneering approach to learning ensures that academic outcomes are exceptional and that BSB students progress to pursue their further studies in some of the world’s leading universities. With that being said, we know that our students are not defined by qualifications alone. Through our three pillars of Academics, Performing and Creative Arts, and Sport, we strive to bring out the best in everyone. We deliver a broad and holistic curriculum, underpinned by an extensive enrichment offering culminating in the exciting Beyond BSB programme that develops key skills, including critical thinking and encourages students to explore subjects and topics in greater depth, from a range of perspectives beyond the confines of a traditional curriculum model.
We encourage our students to become increasingly independent in their learning and develop their thinking to challenge and be challenged in return. Student leadership is encouraged in all phases of the school alongside the development of creativity as a skill that is fundamental to future success and employment. Students at The British School of Bahrain are encouraged to think globally and have access to a wide range of additional opportunities as part of the Inspired Education Group, including a programme of international summer camps, trips, global student exchanges, competitions, festivals and events. These opportunities build confidence, the ability to understand multiple perspectives and to interact with peers from a range of countries and cultures, reflecting the world beyond school.
Our Parent Community Ambassadors are integral to school life and to building a strong community. We actively encourage parents to build a strong partnership with us through our open-door policy, dedicated parent community app that allows parents to interact with each other as well as staff, a dedicated Parent Relations Executive, and a vast range of parent events, workshops, classes and information sessions throughout the year. On any given day you will find parents on site engaging in an exciting range of activities often led by other parents including pilates, art classes, Arabic lessons, aromatherapy, guest speaker sessions as well as helping to organise community events and charitable initiatives including our annual Festive Night Market, Community Iftar and International Family Fair. We also offer a weekly BSB Playdate for the youngest members of our community and their mums that helps introduce them gently to school life from the age of 6 months.
These activities support both longstanding and new families joining the school, as well as those new to Bahrain and provide a supportive network. They also allow school staff to get to know each family on a personal level and provide easy access for parents to voice concerns and share ideas. Our annual Parent Voice survey also provides a key opportunity to gather detailed feedback that feeds into our School Development Plan, ensuring that parent voice shapes the future of learning at The British School of Bahrain.
Teachers are drawn to the wealth of opportunities available within the school for professional development and career progression, the welcoming atmosphere and community feel of the school, and a fantastically motivated student body. They are also drawn to the opportunities that are afforded by being a member of Inspired Education Group, the world’s leading global group of premium schools including teacher exchanges, professional development, networking and collaboration opportunities. This is coupled with a highly supportive environment underpinned by an ethos of servant leadership that allows teachers to feel safe in taking risks, being innovative and trying new things. Staff turnover is extremely low as a result and with the support of a dedicated Inspired Education Group recruitment team, we are fortunate to be able to attract and retain top-tier talent in all phases of the school.
We actively support all teachers in achieving their career goals and provide opportunities for career progression through a distributed leadership structure and a coaching approach to performance management. Early identification of talent via Inspired Education Group’s talent management process allows the group to retain the very best talent across its 118 schools.
Every student is encouraged to participate in after-school activities as part of our extensive extra-curricular programme and as part of our extended specialist academies programme, Elements by BSB. Extra-curricular activities are an integral part of student life at The British School of Bahrain, allowing students to explore new interests, develop skills, and form lasting friendships.
Our extra-curricular activities are designed to add value by inspiring, engaging and empowering our students beyond the classroom. All of our students are exposed to public speaking opportunities through extra-curricular activities such as Model United Nations, LAMDA, and World Scholars’ Cup, but also as a unique dedicated lesson within our curriculum. I believe that public speaking and the ability to present oneself convincingly an absolutely critical skill that builds confidence and also has a hugely positive impact on future success in both further education and the workplace.
Success is when all members of our school community feel happy, safe, empowered, heard and valued. We want all our students to leave The British School of Bahrain as confident global citizens fully equipped with the skills, creativity, emotional intelligence and courage to lead, inspire and impact global change in the path that they choose.
Carpe diem – seize the day and don’t miss a single opportunity!
Twitter
Add a Comment
Please do not post:
Thank you once again for doing your part to keep Edarabia the most trusted education source.