International school leaders from around the world descended on London over the weekend for the 42nd Cobis conference to share ideas, exchange insights and swap stories.
Tes was there over the two days to hear a raft of keynote speeches, attend breakout sessions and chat with leaders during the breaks. Here are some of the key things we learned.
1. The sector is resilient
Data from ISC Research underlined the ongoing growth of the international schools sector, with CEO Leigh Webb sharing statistics showing that there are now more than 14,000 international schools worldwide as the sector has remained strong despite the pandemic, inflation and global conflicts.
International schools have maintained “really good growth when times are good, but also, you get bounce-back and resilience when times are tough”, he said, adding: “There aren’t many industries that perform like that.”
He also said there are clear signs that certain private schools in the UK are looking at international expansion to offset financial pressures being felt in the UK - and ahead of possible VAT changes from any potential Labour government.
“Given the headwind that UK independent schools are facing, we are seeing more and more wanting to explore the international route [to create] different income streams,” he said.
2. Measuring pupils’ personal growth
Can schools measure the personal development that pupils go through during their time at a school?
It’s a big question, but one Tomas Duckling, deputy school director at Aiglon College in Switzerland, explained that his school is trying to answer during a session with leaders keen to know more about what has been created, its impact - and what pupils and parents think.
Duckling acknowledged that it has been a struggle to find a measurement system they are happy with and this has meant some cohorts have been “guinea pigs” for the different systems trialled before alighting on their current model.
However, he said the wider ethos of the school and how this is communicated to parents has made it possible to trial this work as part of its innovative spirit.
That may mean experimenting with similar models is unrealistic for most other schools, but it shows that there are those out there pushing the boundaries of what assessment can mean to go beyond exams grades and numbers. You can read more about the project in this Tes article.
3. Hiring returning international teachers
Why don’t schools in the UK hire returning international teachers? It’s an issue that was touched on by Will Goldsmith, head of Bedales School, who said his school does embrace returning teachers owing to their experience and outlook.
“At Bedales, what we really like about teachers who’ve worked in the international sector is the fact they are able to think slightly differently, beyond just the narrow paradigm that there is in the leadership of the British education system,” he said.
“So we do look to them for recruitment in the way that maybe other schools don’t tend to.”
They’re certainly not the only school to do this but, given the current recruitment crisis, it is perhaps an avenue others should explore.
4. Should the UK university admissions process change?
Across several sessions and conversations over coffee, headteachers often raised points about the UK university application process.
Some said it would be better if applications were made after results were received earlier in the year, while another said there needed to be greater scope to recognise the other work students do beyond grade outcomes, which is increasingly becoming key to what international schools seek to offer.
In particular, US universities were cited as being more open to students’ extracurricular work as part of an application process than the Ucas system, which remains rooted in achieving the necessary grades to gain access to a chosen university.
6. The importance of empathy
Wellbeing was an important topic at the conference, with many headteachers touching on how they focus on this - and why it remains so important.
One particularly interesting discussion was on empathy and how you teach this potentially nebulous topic, led by Richard Charlesworth, principal of Sara Village School, a small primary in Saudi Arabia.
He explained that his school has worked to put empathy at the centre of the curriculum - something he said has had a “transformative” effect on the students and is a key reason why “we very rarely have to deal with any behaviour problems”.
In literacy lessons, for example, the children “talk about characters, motivations, feelings and how they would feel in those situations”, which allows them to “develop a really strong vocabulary around empathy, expressing how they feel and recognising how other people feel”.
Empathy is also taught in terms of care for the natural world, with students growing fruit and vegetables in the school garden, and connecting climate action with the values of understanding and kindness that runs through their curriculum.
7. Questioning what’s Weird
How Weird is your school, asked Francesca McGeary, director of the Centre for Educators of Bilingual and Multilingual Learners. The acronym - which stands for western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic - was coined in 2010 to describe a lack of diversity in academic research.
The same principle can be applied to international schools, said McGeary, who pointed out that although bilingual and multilingual learners (BML) are the fastest-growing student groups in schools today, they can sometimes be underserved.
This is a particular oversight when thinking about these students’ futures because “businesses want multilingual and multicultural employees”, McGeary said.
While English will likely need to be prioritised for assessment, she continued, schools should look for opportunities for students to use other languages elsewhere, such as teaching PE in a local language or putting on a play native to your school’s country rather than Shakespeare.
McGeary also noted that most international schools have plenty of resources to help with this, given that increasing numbers of staff being hired are local from the host nation, meaning there are plenty of ways to bring their language skills into the classroom and beyond.
8. Boosting English language learning
Sticking with the theme of language learning, Angela Hollington, head at ICS Paris, spoke about the methods she has used to increase English literacy among students with English as an additional language (EAL).
At Hollington’s school, which has 400 students with more than 65 different nationalities, it used to be the case that specialist EAL teachers took children out of lessons for separate literacy classes.
However, building on her experience doing similar work at the Canadian International School in Singapore, Hollington said she has ensured all teachers are trained in BML strategies - including using a literacy coach to help all subject teachers understand how to work this into their lesson plans - so pupils are using a full vocabulary throughout school rather than simplified language in some subjects.
She also noted how, when working in Singapore, her school had put up a list of keywords in the staffroom that teachers were encouraged to use and this was something she recommended others use too: “We said, ‘Try and use these every day.’ And very quickly, we could see the difference.”
9. Look and listen
Leadership ideas and insights were a major theme of the conference and one particularly notable session was delivered by Ruth Sanderson, principal at The British School of Amsterdam, who talked about the importance of listening when you move to a new school as headteacher.
Specifically, she said she spent the entire first year in the job meeting with every member of staff to gain a sense of what they liked about the school and also what they felt could be improved.
She admitted that doing this takes a lot of time and requires patience to not simply want to start acting immediately on everything you hear, but to try to spot themes and areas of concern, and then consider your response to what you can change carefully as well as discarding anything unrealistic.
10. A final thank you
Finally, at the conference dinner to mark the end of the event, Cobis celebrated and honoured the work of a long-standing board member, Jennifer Bray, who is stepping down after 24 years.
Cobis CEO Colin Bell praised the support, expertise and guidance she had provided during that time as well as remarking on her long career running international schools, from Hong Kong to Brussels. A standing ovation from the room underlined the extent of gratitude for her service.
