Message From The Deputy Principal of the Senior School - 12.01.2018

Welcome to the first edition of The Lion for 2018!

As many of you will know, this academic year the school community has focused on developing the Cambridge Learner Attributes in our daily approach to school life both inside and outside of the classroom. As we look toward the challenges and opportunities of the new term and the new year, it is perhaps most fitting that, in the weeks ahead, we will be encouraging one another to be innovative and aiming to always be equipped for new and future challenges.

I truly believe that the British School in Colombo is characterised by an innovative mindset as the successes and endeavours of our learning community demonstrates. At the very first assembly of the year, for example, we were able to celebrate the success of a younger than usual group of delegates who bravely participated in the LISMUN Conference hosted by Lyceum Nugegoda during the December break. Likewise, our Under 13 Cricket Team embraced a new challenge and succeeded in bringing a team from the Mahadivulwewa Maha Vidyalya in Tricomalee to participate in a charity match. We must congratulate our team for winning the charity match and we must thank Mr Aruna and his team as well as all parents who supported this initiative and made it a success.

With innovation firmly in mind then, we also congratulate our mathematicians who secured great success in BSC’s first ever participation in the Southeast Asian Mathematical Olympiad. I look forward to seeing our mathematicians receive their certificates and awards in the weeks ahead. Well done to all of our competitors!

I was delighted with further innovation at the start of the week, with the launch of the proposed Colombo Review, an initiative set up by our Head of History, Mr Champion and members of Year 12. The proposed Colombo Review aims to be a student-led compendium of articles, reviews and fiction, to allow students to share their passion and interests in published form. I am delighted with this vision and I wish our founding team every success with this endeavour. I very much look forward to seeing the first publication and I encourage all of our students to take up this opportunity.

Monday afternoon was truly memorable for the British School community as we had the pleasure to welcome former Sri Lanka Cricket Captain, Mahela Jayawardene to inaugurate the bowling machine that was kindly donated by the British School PTA. For all of us, it was an honour to welcome a sporting legend such as Mr Jayawardene whose presence and words of encouragement were an inspiration to our cricketers and to us all. A very special Monday indeed!

It has been a very busy week for our IGCSE and A Level candidates, of course, as they continue their Mock Examinations. I must applaud the organised sense of purpose our public examinations candidates have shown at this very important time and I wish them every success.

A week of innovation and inspiration. A very positive start to 2018!

I wish you all a very happy 2018 and I hope that you enjoy this edition of The Lion.

With my best wishes,

Simon Harwood

Head of Senior School