Read about our new Principal's vision and his reflections on an eventful first semester.
Frederic Bordaguibel-Labayle, High School Principal, ACS Cobham
I am very pleased to take this opportunity to reflect on my first semester as High School Principal at ACS Cobham and thank all those who have helped welcome me into this exciting new role. I have been working in international schools all around the globe – including the UK, Turkey and Ecuador – for quite some time now, and what attracted me to ACS Cobham was the fantastic reputation it has and its rich, international community.
Although ACS Cobham is a much bigger school compared to where I have worked previously, I am incredibly heartened to have had such a warm reception here. It’s a tribute to what the school does well – welcoming all kinds of people from all different cultures.
Joining at the beginning of the school year in August 2020, I was certainly thrown in the deep end with the new COVID-19 restrictions, but I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a school community. The level of adaptation of our teachers has been phenomenal; to enable safe face-to-face education, and to allow students to access learning through different channels when needed. Our students and parents have shown an incredible level of resilience this year and, despite unprecedented circumstances, have worked hard to ensure we can maintain the successful delivery of our High School programmes.
As I look ahead to our plans for 2021, I think there are certainly some key learnings from this experience that we will take forward with us to build a better, more efficient educational programme. In particular, the way we use technology to enhance our learning and ensure that students can be present in the classroom, even if they are away from school, is immensely valuable and must be incorporated into future teaching and learning opportunities. Similarly, I would like to use technology to connect more with our parent community.
Looking forward, this virtual communication could also be used to enhance student voice and put students at the heart of their learning. Rather than having teachers reporting directly to parents on student achievement, we would like to get students more involved in parent-teacher conferences, enabling them to talk about their own growth and areas of improvement. This is so important for helping students to develop ownership of their own learning.
Another area which is already in place, but I would like to focus more on, is personalised learning. I think it is wonderful that High School students at ACS Cobham have such a rich choice of pathways – from the High School Diploma to International Baccalaureate (IB) to Advanced Placement (AP) – and this aligns perfectly with my belief that there is a path to success for every student.
I think we have an opportunity to use data more to inform how we support students as they progress through their chosen pathway. For example, when High School students take MAP tests, it is important that we have healthy conversations about the results. It is not about the number they get, it is about their growth up until now, what they are yet to achieve, and how we get there. Every student is supported by teachers and advisors as they progress on this journey, setting goals and gathering new data to propel them forward.