In the loop | ISB Secondary

In the loop
Be the Difference

Term One

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students,

Re: Head of Secondary End of Term 1A Update

"Be the Difference"

As an international school that firmly believes in a holistic education focused equally on academics, wellbeing, and enrichment, we have made a fantastic start to the new academic year, building proudly upon the excellent IB and IGCSE examination results achieved over the summer. Throughout our community, our guiding theme for this year is "Be the Difference", inspiring everyone to leave a positive, meaningful mark on our school and the wider world.

Our annual Board Awards Ceremony was a fantastic celebration of our world beating exam results with over $50,000 in awards provided to students for their IB achievements including two Silver Award students, Rohan Rajurs and Jia Yi Wu who attained 42 out of 45 potential points which is equivalent to 4 A* A level grades.

Settling In and Student Voice

Our newest cohort, particularly our Year 7 students, have begun their Secondary school journey wonderfully, quickly finding their feet and navigating their classrooms with confidence. Our new students have also settled in seamlessly, making strong friendships across Year groups. Furthermore, our student committees and councils have already commenced active discussions, highlighting areas they are happy with, alongside constructive suggestions for further school improvement. When unexpected challenges arose from school closures due to the haze, our community coped admirably, and we have reviewed our online learning platforms to ensure even more robust learning experiences in the future.

Personal Growth and Academic Pathways

A key focus this term has been the introduction of a new strategy centred on self-reflection and student self-efficacy, supported through reflection journals and one-to-one coaching conversations with our tutors. Rather than focusing solely on academic success, these conversations emphasize holistic personal growth areas that students themselves wish to develop.

For our senior students, preparation is well underway. We have launched a series of study skills 'Elevate' sessions with Year 11 students to support them early in their preparations for their final IGCSEs in 2027, fostering independence, organization, and self-planning for success. Additionally, our senior students engaged in a dynamic range of 'Futures' events, including university talks from alumni and professors, an insightful visit to the UBD laboratories, a specialized talk linked to medicine and a visit from Hengyi who led a session linked to engineering.

Outdoor Education and Sporting Excellence

Beyond the classroom, experiential learning thrives. Over 40 students recently took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award, undertaking challenging camping and trekking expeditions in Temburong for their adventurous journey.

In competitive sports, our basketball teams showed incredible dedication, energy, and teamwork. Both our boys' and girls' teams reached the finals of the Brunei interschool basketball competition, only to be narrowly beaten, and we are immensely proud of their stellar efforts on the court.

House competitions have also brought tremendous energy, featuring our House bake-off, a typing competition, and a photography competition, alongside a brilliant House swimming gala won in true style by BLUE House.

Community Partnership and Cultural Celebration

Building strong relationships with parents and tapping into parent voice remains central to our mission. This term, we hosted a range of valuable parent workshops and seminars, including sessions on ‘IB and Residence Life at ISB’, ‘Teens and Technology’, ‘Assessment@ISB’, and our new parent coffee morning.

We brought the first half term to a vibrant close with our annual International Day celebration of culture and countries from around the world. Secondary students created inspiring social enterprise stalls aimed at fostering intercultural understanding, while students, parents, and friends participated in a magnificent parade proudly representing ISB's many nations, followed by breathtaking cultural performances spanning dance, music, and drama.

Adding to our cultural richness, we held a very special evening of music at the ISB Musician of the Year 2026 concert. Ten exceptionally talented musicians competed across a diverse range of music genres and instruments in a truly spellbinding event. A heartfelt congratulations to Chloe Chua, our ISB Young Musician of the Year, whose world-class rendition of Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu on the piano captivated the audience.

Student Leadership

One final piece of news is that the school has now elected our new Head Students for 2026–27. Congratulations to Pasha Zak and Kyla Khalidkhan! I would also like to thank Aaryan Hadzrin and Naomi Chong, our outgoing Head Students, for being such excellent leaders and outstanding role models for ISB. I know that Pasha and Kyla will now build on your legacy.

Looking Ahead

As we look forward to the next half term, an exciting lineup of events awaits our students:

IGCSE 2026 celebrations

U15 FOBISIA Games in Bangkok
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award outdoor education trip for our Year 10 students
Year 6 & 7 Bintan outdoor education trip

Curriculum art and geography trips

Year 8 & 9 Performance Showcase

Volleyball, football, and various other sporting competitions

Computing and Maths challenges

University fairs, visits and talks

Please continue to monitor the ISB Secondary Events Calendar and our website for further updates. Thank you for your continued partnership. I wish all our families a wonderful and productive term ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Peter R Jones

Head of Secondary

Hope everyone has a restful half term!

Week 9 (WEEK A)

Mon 19 Oct

7.15 - 7.25am: Tutor time

Tue 20 Oct

7.15 - 7.25am: Tutor time

Year 6 & 7 Bintan Trip until 24th Oct

Y7 Health Screening

Y9 Parent Teacher Student Conference

Wed 21 Oct

GLS: Fire/evacuation process

Y7 Health Screening

Thu 22 Oct

7.15 - 7.25am: KS3 (Y7-9) Tutor time in tutor rooms. KS4-5 (Y10-13) Assembly in Theatre

1-2-1 with Tutor and theme Day for Y9 (IBWR) Business Enterprise & Y12 (normal timetable)

Fri 23 Oct

7.15 - 7.25am: House Assemblies

P3 & P4 (may run into 10 mins of) Y12 CEM assessments IBWR

Coming up

Well-being week

26th October: Year 11 Geography trip

27th October: DPMM FC visit to ISB

27th October: Fire Drill

27th October: Year 8 & 9 Music Showcase

29th October: Year 12 & 13 Trip to Brunei Supreme Court
30th October: ISB Pre-U Personal Pathways for Future Success
2nd November: Year 8 Parents’ Evening

3rd & 4th November: Year 9 Art Trip – Impressionists Landscape Exhibition

Notices

Head of Secondary End of Term 1A Letter – so much to celebrate and look forward to

Student Leadership update: Congratulations to the new Head Boy, Pasha Zak & Head Girl, Kyla Khalidkhan. We will be announcing our new House Captain/Deputy House Captain and student committee leaders' team in the coming weeks.

This week is Dyslexia Awareness Week... follow the link to the BDA's website for further information and resources, have a little explore! Dyslexia Awareness Week 2026 - British Dyslexia Association. The focus this year in on Dyslexia in 'real life'/ in the workplace, however, the website has a lot of information and many resources: Resources - British Dyslexia Association

Lastly