Harrow International School, Bangkok

Harrow International School, Bangkok (Head Master, Mr Michael Farley) is a British independent day and boarding school in Don Muang District, Bangkok.^[1] It was established and gained its license to operate in Thailand in 1998 in association with Harrow School (London, UK).The School has 1,500 students, both boys and girls, ranging in age from 6 months to 18 years, representing 37 different nationalities.The School is divided into two day schools – Upper and Lower – and bases its education on the National Curriculum of England. Harrow Bangkok also specialises in high-quality boarding provision for students from Year 5 upwards. The majority of teaching staff are recruited from the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth. The current Head Master, Michael Farley, joined the School in 2012.

History of Harrow International School

Harrow International School was founded in 1998 and first operated as a language school at Riverine Place Condo, though soon moved to Bangkok Garden Condo in downtown Bangkok. The first headmaster was Mr Stuart Morris, who had previously been headmaster of a school in Malaysia. Mr Morris oversaw a huge period of growth for Harrow International School as the school role rose to over 700 by 2002. Mr Morris left Harrow in 2002 to found Shrewsbury International School.[citation needed] Originally the school was in Yan Nawa District.[2]

Dr J Mark Hensman, previously a headmaster in his native New Zealand, took over as Head Master and oversaw the School's relocation to a purpose built campus at Don Muang, near to Don Muang Airport, in 2003. The new campus gave the School spacious new facilities, sports fields and boarding houses, and allowed the school enrolment to increase to 1160. Dr Hensman introduced the boater and the House System, strengthening ties to Harrow School. Dr J Mark Hensman left Harrow in 2009 to become the Chief Operating Ofiicer of Harrow Asia, Ltd, and become the first Executive Headmaster of the newest Harrow International School, which will be based in Hong Kong. Dr Hensman left his post as Head Master of Harrow Bangkok to become the Director of Schools for Harrow International and oversee the founding of new Harrow International schools in Beijing and Hong Kong. He was succeeded by Mr Kevin Riley, formerly Headmaster of the John Lyon School, the Harrow Foundation's day school at Harrow-on-the-Hill, London. Mr Kevin Riley, formerly Head Master of the John Lyon School, the Harrow Foundation's day school at Harrow-on-the-Hill, London, became Head Master of Harrow Bangkok in 2009. Mr Riley returned to the UK to take up the headship of Bradford Grammar School in 2012 and was succeeded by interim Head Master Mr.Wilf Stout, from 2011 until 2012, a difficult year due to the Bangkok floods. Mr Michael G. Farley, the current Head Master, took up his post in August 2012.

Mr Michael G. Farley, the current Head Master, took up his post in August 2012. Under Mr Farley’s leadership, the school roll has increased to 1,500, and an ambitious redevelopment andexpansion of the 35 acre-campus is in progress, providing new state-of-the-art facilities, appropriate for the 21st century, for its students and staff. Called ‘HBuild’, this is a five-year strategic development project. Harrow Bangkok’s reputation for academic excellence continues to grow, and its students go to top universities around the world, particularly in the UK and USA.

Affiliations

Harrow Bangkok is operated by a private company, Harrow Asia Limited. Harrow Asia Limited also oversees Harrow International Schools in Beijing, China and Hong Kong. Harrow Shanghai is scheduled to open in August 2016.

All Harrow International Schools are operated under a license granted by Harrow School in London. Close ties exist within the Harrow Family, with teacher and student exchanges,interviews for the International Schools being held at Harrow School, and day-to-day co-operation between staff and management across theFamily. Two governors from Harrow School London are on the Board of Governors of the Harrow International Schools and they regularly visit the Schools.

In 2006 Harrow International School gained accreditationfrom the Council of International Schools (CIS).^[3] Harrow Bangkok is also a member of the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA)^[4] ; Mr Farley is an executive member with responsibility for professional development in the Federation, and the International Schools Association of Thailand (ISAT).^[5]

Student body

As of 2010 there were 1,246 students, with 58% of them being Thai and 12% being British; the Thai and British form the first and second largest groups in the student body.

As of 2010 about 100 students live in the boarding facilities.

The Harrovian

The Harrovian is Harrow International School's weekly newsletter and is distributed to parents, staff and governors. Every Harrovian features a last page 'editorial' written by the Head Master, together with news and features from the Primary and Secondary schools written by both staff and students. The Harrovian currently contains 8 pages including a feature called Our People with information about 2 members of staff each week. The newsletter was given throughout parent's e-mails and the school website.

The Lion

The Lion is Harrow International School's annual yearbook and is distributed on Speech Day (the last school event of the school year, held on the final day). The Lion features articles and photos supplied by staff and students, together with official photosof all the students in that particular school year.

Houses

The House System was introduced in 2003 when the School moved to Don Muang. The House System is modelled on the Houses of Harrow School. There are six houses at Harrow International School;

• Byron (green) – named after George Byron, 6th Baron Byron, poet, Old Harrovian
• Churchill (blue) – named after Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, Old Harrovian
• Keller (yellow) – named after Helen Keller, author
• Nehru (red) – named after Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India, Old Harrovian
• Sonakul (orange) – named after mother Rajawongse Chatumongol Sonakul, First Chair of Governors Harrow International School, Old Harrovian
• Suriyothai (purple) – named after Queen Sri Suriyothai, 16th Century Thai Heroine Queen

Each House is led by a teacher called the Head of House. All students from Year 1 (age 5) to Year 13 (age 18) are enrolled in the Houses. The Houses compete in a number of competitions and activities held throughout the year to win House trophies given on Speech Day. In addition the Houses are involved in local community and charity work.

House Cup Winners

• 2003–2004 Keller
• 2004–2005 Keller
• 2005–2006 Nehru
• 2006–2007 Keller and Byron
• 2007–2008 Byron
• 2008–2009 Keller
• 2009–2010 Keller and Byron
• 2010–2011 Suriyothai
• 2011–2012 Sonakul
• 2012–2013 Suriyothai, Nehru, and Keller
• 2013–2014 Churchill
• 2014–2015 Sonakul

Leadership in Action

Overview

The Co Curricular Programme at Harrow International School aims to provide all students with a broad and exciting educational experience beyond the classroom.

Leadership, teamwork, charity, resilience, service and creativity are the core values of the Harrow Co Curricular programme. Through creative, physical and community based activities Harrovians learn to identify their strengths and weaknesses; establish understanding of where best they may succeed and; find their purpose with which to live a life of leadership, service and personal reward.

Creativity

Harrow students have many opportunities to pursue their creative talents. Music, dramatic and visual arts are studied in varied forms. Individual and group music lessons support rock, classical and jazz concerts which are the culminating highlight on each term; drama activities, stage design, make up and lighting courses provide the skills for drama productions by all sections of the school and; art technique, textiles, craft and figure drawing activities ensure that art displays and exhibitions form an integral part of the school calendar.

Physical

The Harrow ethos very much supports the philosophy "mens sana in corpora sano" – a healthy mind and a healthy body. A comprehensive range of physical experiences focusing on teamwork, leadership and resilience are built into our programme. Outdoor education experiences include yearly expeditions, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme at Gold, Silver and Bronze levels and optional skiing, trekking and mountaineering trips. An extensive recreational and competitive sports programme gives students access to 50 plus sports clubs every week and our competitive team sports programme ensures students compete in both local Bangkok and South East Asian competition.

Community

The themes of charity and service are cemented in wide ranging community service projects.

The six Harrow Houses support six local charities; expeditions raise funds and provide service at their locations annually; local charities visit the Harrow site for a range of educational, sporting and physical support programmes; holiday programmes include developing schools and housing for underprivileged children in Thailand.

Citizenship and global community issues are addressed in a number of activities. Harrow students attend Model United Nations (MUN) conferences both within Bangkok (BISAC) and South East Asia (SEASAC). Amnesty International and Greenpeace are active activities and in addition Harrow addresses school, local and global green issues through its own environmental group, "Life".

Students have opportunities in both Primary and Secondary to engage at a deeper level with the world outside Thailand. Exchanges to both China and Australia are annual visits on the Harrow calendar.

The Campus

The campus at Harrow International School features a variety of buildings and facilities;

• The Early Years Centre
• The Lower School and Preparatory School
• The Upper School Building, including Administration
• The Science Building
• The Art Building
• The Library
• The Dining Hall, including the Drama Suite
• The Sports Hall, including the Swimming Pool
• Tennis Courts
• Sports Fields
• Boarding Houses, The Knoll and Bradbys
• The Clock Tower
• The Lake
• The Staff Townhouses
• The Head Master's House

On top of the Dining Hall is the word HARROW, written in large letters. This is clearly visible on Google Earth.

See also

• Harrow School, in the UK
• Harrow International School Beijing, in China

External links

• Harrow International School's Information in one click
• Harrow International School, Bangkok web site
• Harrow International School Alumni
• Harrow School web site
• Harrow International School, Beijing web site
• The John Lyon School web site
• Little House School web site