Harrow International School, Bangkok

Harrow International School, Bangkok (head master, Mr Michael Farley) is an international school in Don Mueang District, Bangkok.[1]"It was established and gained its license to operate in Thailand in 1998 in association with Harrow School (London, UK). The School has 1160 students, both boys and girls, representing 27 different nationalities ranging from 6 months to 18 years.

The School is divided into 4 schools – Early Years Centre, Preparatory, Primary and Secondary – and closely follows the National Curriculum of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The majority of teaching staff are recruited from the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth. The current headmaster, Michael Farley, joined the school in 2012.

History of Harrow International School

Harrow International School was founded in 1998 and first operated as a language school at Riverine Place Condo, though soon moved to Bangkok Garden Condo in downtown Bangkok. The first headmaster was Mr Stuart Morris, who had previously been headmaster of a school in Malaysia. Mr Morris oversaw a huge period of growth for Harrow International School as the school role rose to over 700 by 2002. Mr Morris left Harrow in 2002 to found Shrewsbury International School.[citation needed] Originally the school was in Yan Nawa District.[2]

Dr J Mark Hensman, previously a headmaster in his native New Zealand, took over as Head Master and oversaw the School's relocation to a purpose built campus at Don Muang, near to Don Muang Airport, in 2003. The new campus gave the School spacious new facilities, sports fields and boarding houses, and allowed the school enrolment to increase to 1160. Dr Hensman introduced the boater and the House System, strengthening ties to Harrow School. Dr J Mark Hensman left Harrow in 2009 to become the Chief Operating Ofiicer of Harrow Asia, Ltd, and become the first Executive Headmaster of the newest Harrow International School, which will be based in Hong Kong. Dr Hensman left his post as Head Master of Harrow Bangkok to become the Director of Schools for Harrow International and oversee the founding of new Harrow International schools in Beijing and Hong Kong. He was succeeded by Mr Kevin Riley, formerly Headmaster of the John Lyon School, the Harrow Foundation's day school at Harrow-on-the-Hill, London. Mr Riley returned to the UK to take up the Headship of Bradford Grammar School and was succeeded in Summer 2012 by our current Head Master, Mr Michael Farley, formerly Head Master of the British School in Tokyo.

Affiliations

Harrow International School, Bangkok is operated by a private company Harrow Asia Limited. Harrow Asia Limited also operates Harrow International School in Beijing, China and Hong Kong.

Both Schools are operated under a license granted by Harrow School in London. Close ties exist between the Schools with teacher and pupil exchanges, interviews held at Harrow School, and day-to-day co-operation between staff. Two governors from Harrow School are on the Board of Governors at Harrow International School and they regularly visit the School.

In 2006 Harrow International School gained accreditation from the Council of International Schools (CIS).[2] Harrow is also a member of the Federation of British International Schools in South East Asia and East Asia (FOBISSEA)[3] and the International Schools Association of Thailand (ISAT).[4]

The Harrovian

The Harrovian is Harrow International School's weekly newsletter and is distributed to parents, staff and governors. Every Harrovian features a last page 'editorial' written by the Head Master, together with news and features from the Primary and Secondary schools written by both staff and students. The Harrovian currently contains 8 pages including a feature called Our People with information about 2 members of staff each week. The newsletter was given throughout parent's e-mails and the school website.[5]

The Lion

The Lion is Harrow International School's annual yearbook and is published on Speech Day (the last school event of the school year, held on the last day of the school year). The Lion underwent a redesign in 2004 and now the contents are The Introductions, The Curriculum, The Activities, The Expeditions and Visits, The Houses and The Features. The Lion features articles and photos supplied by staff and students, together with official class photos of all the students in that particular school year. The 2004–2005 edition contained a pull-out section with articles and photos from students who were caught up in the Asian Tsunami in December 2004.

Houses

The House System was introduced in 2003 when the School moved to Don Muang. The House System is modelled on the Houses of Harrow School. There are six houses at Harrow International School;

Each House is led by a teacher called the Head of House. All students from Year 1 (age 5) to Year 13 (age 18) are enrolled in the Houses. The Houses compete in a number of competitions and activities held throughout the year to win House trophies given on Speech Day. In addition the Houses are involved in local community and charity work.

House Cup Winners

Leadership in Action

Overview

The Co Curricular Programme at Harrow International School aims to provide all students with a broad and exciting educational experience beyond the classroom.

Leadership, team work, charity, resilience, service and creativity are the core values of the Harrow Co Curricular programme. Through creative, physical and community based activities Harrovians learn to identify their strengths and weaknesses; establish understanding of where best they may succeed and; find their purpose with which to live a life of leadership, service and personal reward.

Creative

Harrow students have many opportunities to pursue their creative talents. Music, dramatic and visual arts are studied in varied forms. Individual and group music lessons support rock, classical and jazz concerts which are the culminating highlight on each term; drama activities, stage design, make up and lighting courses provide the skills for drama productions by all sections of the school and; art technique, textiles, craft and figure drawing activities ensure that art displays and exhibitions form an integral part of the school calendar.

Physical

The Harrow ethos very much supports the philosophy "mens sana in corpora sano" – a healthy mind and a healthy body. A comprehensive range of physical experiences focusing on team work, leadership and resilience are built into our programme. Outdoor education experiences include yearly expeditions, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme at Gold, Silver and Bronze levels and optional skiing, trekking and mountaineering trips. An extensive recreational and competitive sports programme gives students access to 50 plus sports clubs every week and our competitive team sports programme ensures students compete in both local Bangkok and South East Asian competition.

Community

The themes of charity and service are cemented in wide ranging community service projects.

The six Harrow Houses support six local charities; expeditions raise funds and provide service at their locations annually; local charities visit the Harrow site for a range of educational, sporting and physical support programmes; holiday programmes include developing schools and housing for underprivileged children in Thailand.

Citizenship and global community issues are addressed in a number of activities. Harrow students attend Model United Nations (MUN) conferences both within Bangkok (BISAC) and South East Asia (SEASAC). Amnesty International and Greenpeace are active activities and in addition Harrow addresses school, local and global green issues through its own environmental group, "Life".

Students have opportunities in both Primary and Secondary to engage at a deeper level with the world outside Thailand. Exchanges to both China and Australia are annual visits on the Harrow calendar.

The Campus

The campus at Harrow International School features a variety of buildings and facilities;

On top of the Dining Hall is the word HARROW, written in large letters. This is clearly visible on Google Earth.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Contact Us
  2. ↑ Council of International Schools (CIS)
  3. ↑ FOBISSEA The Federation of British International Schools in South and East Asia
  4. ↑ International Schools Association of Thailand
  5. ↑ http://www.harrowschool.ac.th/?q=harrovian

External links

Coordinates: 13°54′22″N 100°35′09″E / 13.9062°N 100.5858°E