It is a real pleasure to welcome everyone to the British International School Abu Dhabi for the new academic year. For our returning families and our new families, we wish you and your children every success.
There are many new developments in the school which we will be sharing in this newsletter and in the coming weeks. Please do keep an eye out and stay up to date with the ongoing improvements and opportunities available for all our students.
For this article however, I want to focus on just one aspect which is crucial at this time of year: examination results. I am delighted to report that this year’s examination results have smashed the school’s records, both at IB and IGCSE.
At IB, our students achieved 100% pass rate, something which few schools achieve. Every single student obtained their IB Diploma and now heads off to the next exciting stage of their lives, most of them to University and their chosen field of study. Our students are obtaining University places all over the world, including highly prestigious institutions such as the University of London, the University of Toronto and the University of Edinburgh, all of which are ranked among the top Universities in the world.
The results obtained by our Year 11 students were equally impressive. Just under half of all IGCSE grades were at grades A and A*. In comparison with other schools, in the UK and overseas, the BIS Abu Dhabi students are performing at a very impressive level. Our school remains an international and inclusive school and it is wonderful to see that students of all abilities are obtaining these outstanding results. So many students now begin their IB Diploma with a host of A and A* grades behind them and we look forward to even greater success from this group in the next two years.
School offers so much to help young people grow and develop, yet we need to remember that academics are always at the core of this and successful examination results open so many doors for the future. I am sure our whole community will be extremely proud of what our senior students have achieved. They have set the target extremely high and this will no doubt inspire all our other students to aim for the very highest levels too.
Patrick Horne, Principal
A few weeks ago, as part of our IB DP Language programme, Year 12 students in the French Ab Initio and French B classes united to celebrate Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday). Originally a catholic event welcoming the ritual fasting of Lent, Mardi Gras is celebrated in France with festive parades and sumptuous public celebrations.
At BIS Abu Dhabi, students came together to not only recognize the festivity but rejoice at the opportunity to share and learn about the international traditions fostered within our community. With the help of Monsieur Depose and Mademoiselle Merchadier, the French DP classes baked tasty treats, including crepes, waffles, brownies, and traditional beignets!
As a teacher at BIS Abu Dhabi, I have the privilege of watching students grow — not just academically, but as young people finding their path in a complex world. One thing I’ve learned time and again is this: success doesn’t come from rare moments of brilliance — it comes from the quiet power of habits.
Research tells us that up to 40% of what we do each day is driven by habit, not active decision-making. That means the routines our students form — the way they begin their morning, how they handle a setback, whether they choose to read or scroll — are shaping who they become.
I was really touched by Áine’s newsletter piece last week, posing the question: ‘What would I tell my younger self?’
I spent some time afterwards thinking about my own parenting journey, and what it’s all been about, now that my two are adults and have ‘flown the nest’. Parenting isn’t easy for any of us, and that’s true even if you’re an experienced school leader – at home, I’m just Dad.
You might have seen the trend going around - “If I could tell my younger self one thing…” - a moment to reflect, to offer advice we wish we’d heard earlier, or to remind ourselves of what truly matters.
As students prepare to cross some of the biggest milestones in school life, it feels like the perfect time to pause and join in that conversation. But it’s not just our students who are preparing — so are we, as parents. These milestones don’t just belong to them. We’re living every part of it too: the anticipation, the pride, the nerves, and the quiet hopes. Sometimes, it’s the hardest thing in the world — to watch them take these big steps, to stay strong when they wobble, to let go just a little more. It’s a milestone for us as much as it is for them — and we’re walking it together.
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