Welcome to the New School Year

Welcome to the New School Year Principal Iain Blaikie welcomes in the new academic year. Dear Students, Families and Community Members, On behalf of everybody at Regents, it is my pleasure to welcome you to a new school year.

My thanks to the many staff and friends who have made me so welcome during recent weeks whilst arriving from England and settling into Thailand and new surroundings. I am reminded of that mixture of apprehension and excitement we all once felt on our first day at school and empathise with all of those young people to whom we extend a warm Regents’ reception as they arrive here for their inaugural week with us. (For further autobiographical details and some personal observations you might like to read my early blog entries on the Regents’ website). Remember also that there are many new staff this week who are teaching and working in our school for the first time and please join me in wishing them every success and happiness. In the run up to the beginning of term I have enjoyed meeting lots of new faces and I am confident that we have a talented and well qualified staff team ready to launch the new year. Additionally I am delighted to see many new and improved facilities across the campus, most notably our spectacular new running track around the oval, playground upgrades, refurbished boarding facilities, a refurbished IB area and some welcome improvements in our catering provision. Suffice to say it has been a busy holiday for many. I am sure that our students will be very proud of their environment and I hope they will enjoy the changes.

As I begin my first school year as Principal at Regents I am inspired and deeply committed to making a positive difference in the lives of our children. We will accomplish this by setting high academic expectations for all children and providing supportive systems to assure they are met. By addressing school culture, setting high standards for teacher performance, increased academic expectations for all students and engaging the community, it is our goal at Regents that all students fulfil their potential and achieve the very highest outcomes possible. Congratulations to those students who scored some excellent IB results this summer. All of our candidates achieved the magical 24 points, several exceeded 40, and so many are a credit to themselves and their teachers as they head off for top universities. Regents far exceeded the world averages as you may already have read in Mr Garry Russell’s results bulletin.

My past experience has shown me that it takes a team to help all students reach their maximum potential.  I will work collaboratively with the staff at Regents to continue to provide an academic programme where all students can be successful.  We will make every effort so that all students will graduate, become thriving members of society and are able to compete in an increasingly complex world in which they will work and live. Our commitment to the Round Square IDEALS and Global Citizenship remains unchanged.  The caring and dedicated faculty and staff at Regents will continue to encourage all students to set high goals for themselves and to reach for their dreams. Our teachers will continue to strive towards a learning environment where deep thinking and student engagement are paramount.

It is my aim that all students will continue to be involved in our school through athletics, music, drama, student leadership, community volunteering, extra-curricular activities and clubs. Working together, we can ensure that the students of Regents continue to achieve their best in the classroom, gym, on stage or on the field.  Your involvement, partnership and support are greatly appreciated during the school year as we work to build and maintain our menu on offer.

I sincerely hope you will take time to look through our web pages and learn about the opportunities available to all students who are members of our community. I look forward to meeting you at school events – coffee mornings, Jesters fair and other events which form part of the soon-to-be announced Parent Programme, as well as extending an on-going invitation to you to come to school and talk to me or my colleagues about any aspect of school life. You are valued and important partners and key agents in my constant quest to ensure that each and every one of our students is, above all, happy. At my first meeting with staff last week I set out my hopes and expectations and these were summarised as follows:

I want Regents to be a leading (the very best!) innovative international school with a communal desire to be an uplifting place to work and study (and live, for some)

• World class teaching and learning
• High aspirations
• Respecting and caring for others
• Making a positive contribution to society and the world
• Sharing best practice and constantly improving

Excellence in everything we do

As we continue to enjoy being a key member of the leading Nord Anglia Education family of top international schools worldwide I am confident that this will be an outstanding school year and look forward to working with the staff and community to continue the Regents tradition of academic and pastoral excellence.

Thank you in anticipation of your interest and support.

Yours sincerely

Iain Blaikie

Principal