THAT'S A WRAP - THANK YOU 2025-26!

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Dear Parents and Guardians,

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Re: Head of Secondary End of Year Letter 2025-26

 

As the 2025–26 academic year draws to a close, I want to share my deepest gratitude for your continued partnership and support. It has been a year of remarkable growth, ambition, and community spirit at the International School of Brunei, beautifully anchored by our annual theme, 'Daring to Do'. Below is a reflection on the incredible milestones our Secondary students have achieved over the past year: Academic Excellence and Pathways Our academic foundation remains exceptionally strong. We began the year celebrating the Class of 2025, who achieved an outstanding 92.3% IB Diploma pass rate, significantly surpassing the global average with an average score of 33 points. Our graduates are now studying at premier institutions worldwide, spanning fields from Urban Planning at UCL to Medicine in Cyprus. We also celebrated Ahmad Shufiady, who became one of only five students in Brunei to receive the prestigious Sultan’s Scholar Scholarship.

 

Now, as we bid farewell to the graduating Class of 2026, we are proud to see them leave ISB truly "world ready," equipped with the skills to navigate and lead a fast-changing world. Enrichment and Leadership Our students consistently stepped out of their comfort zones this year. Highlights included

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• Academic Competitions: The inaugural ‘Dare to Speak’ House Speech competition gave students a voice on bravery and integrity, while Lewis Lu and Xuan En Peh achieved Gold Awards in the UKMT Intermediate Mathematics Challenge, placing in the top 10% globally.

• Sports: Our U13 and U15 FOBISIA teams brought home a combined total of over 200 medals, including a historic 1st place finish in girls’ football for the U13s. Students also proudly represented Brunei in the ASEAN games across multiple disciplines.

• House: Houses competed furiously over the year. Most recently we finally held our Sports Day after it being called off for rain in which Green House won. We also just held our end-of-year lip-sync which Red House won. I am pleased to announce that overall, this year the Secondary House Champions AND Whole School Champions are...BLUE HOUSE. Well done to all students for showing the House spirit. We look forward to 2026-27 for more House competition!

• Global Citizenship: Fifty senior students traveled to Vietnam for a vital service project, fundraising to repair a local primary school prone to flooding. Back home, our student diplomats successfully hosted the 21st ISB Borneo Global International Conference (BGIC), welcoming over 350 participants to tackle Sustainable Development Goal 7 in an entirely student-led forum.

• Service: ISB made history by becoming the first international school in Brunei to deliver the Brunei Red Crescent (BRC) Youth Programme and receive an official BRC Registered School Cadets Certificate.

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Outdoor Education and Duke of Edinburgh Awards

From Key Stage 3 expeditions to Temburong and Mount Kinabalu to our on-campus 3-day enrichment initiatives, our outdoor programmes challenged students to build tangible resilience. This foundation directly supported our Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award participants, who navigated challenging terrains across Brunei, Sarawak, and the Philippines. We are incredibly proud of all our awardees, with a special congratulations to Riley and Jasper Coulter for achieving their GOLD Awards.

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Creativity, Community, and Well-being

Creativity flourished through the 2026 IB Visual Arts Exhibition—which seamlessly integrated augmented reality—as well as the high-energy Battle of the Bands and cultural celebrations like International Day, Chinese New Year, and Hari Raya.

 

Behind all of these successes sits our unwavering commitment to student well-being. This year, we introduced "1-2-1 conversations" for individualised pastoral care (which we will be taking to a next step in 2026-27) and hosted Mental Health First Aid workshops for parents. This dedication to holistic care was globally recognized this year, with ISB being named the ‘Best International School’ in the world by The Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA) and by Boarding Schools' Association (BSA) alongside a TES Award for Inclusive learning and high praise in our preparatory evaluation report from the Council of International Schools (CIS).

 

Final Reflections

Everything achieved this year is a testament to the dedication of our staff, the resilience of our students, and the steady encouragement you provide at home. Together, we have truly lived our vision of "Everyone Excels". Thank you for a wonderful school year, and I wish you all a safe, restful summer break. Let us continue to carry this spirit forward—always daring to dream, daring to lead, and above all, Daring to Do.

 

Have a wonderful holiday and see you in the new year!

 

 

Dr. Peter R. Jones Head of Secondary