Adam Drew

Headmaster

Management

[email protected]

Since joining HeadStart International School in August 2014, I have been genuinely impressed by the hard work and commitment of all those involved in making HeadStart a place where students are inspired to have the ‘love of learning’ described in the school’s motto. The school community here is one of the best I have ever-worked with and the positive energy that this creates enables us to achieve so much together. Since our last inspection where the school was rated as a good with a number of outstanding features highlighted, I strongly believe that HeadStart International School is well on the way to becoming one of the best schools in Thailand, providing the highest standards in teaching and learning. As we prepare for the next phase where we hope to gain a solid ‘Outstanding’ rating, the next few years will be a truly exciting time for all those involved. Having had a successful Teaching career in the UK for a number of years and having worked in various different management positions, my wife Amy and I made the decision to move to Thailand in 2012 where I worked at an International School in Bangkok. The opportunity to make a real impact at HeadStart and to help shape the future successes of the school drew me to move to Phuket. On a personal level, I am a keen sportsman and have an interest in many sports both as a spectator or participant. A highlight for me was having a leadership position for Event Services at the London 2012 Olympic Games. I am also keen golfer and compete in many of the regular competitions held here in Phuket and further afield. My wife Amy is a teacher in the Foundation department having joined HeadStart shortly after I did. Since working at HeadStart we have become parents for the first time. Ted Drew was born in April 2018 and is excited to be joining pre-school in this academic year. I look forward to continuing to working with the inspired staff and students and the committed and supportive parents that make up the HeadStart. Together we will ensure that we continue to build on the existing successes of the school and make each academic year even more successful than the last. Please feel free to email me at any time to discuss your ideas on how we can do this together. I look forward to meeting you again as the year progresses!

Top in Thailand & Top in World

With over 10,000 Cambridge schools worldwide in 160 different countries, there are over 1.2 million examination entries for Cambridge IGCSE, AS and A Level qualifications on an annual basis. In Thailand alone, there are over 100 schools offering these qualifications and thousands of students completing them. This makes the following news quite exceptional indeed!

In October of each year, Cambridge announces those students who have scored the highest marks in their exams within Thailand, as well as in the world. HeadStart students have regularly received ‘Top in Thailand’ awards over the last nine years. However, this year our student’s performance in their exams has been truly exceptional. 14 of our students have scored the highest marks in Thailand and for the first time, one of those students scored the highest marks in the world! The diversity of the subjects that have received such high marks is incredible: Literature, Mathematics, the Sciences, Humanities, Computing, Language and the Creative Arts.

The success of these students is a result of sustained hard work, effort and dedication on their part, and outstanding teachers and supportive parents helping them to achieve success. The students truly deserve the recognition that they will receive from the community and at the Cambridge Awards Ceremony in Bangkok. Each one should be rightfully proud of all they have achieved. I am sure you will join me in congratulating them on this amazing accomplishment. Well done to all of you!

Timothy Davidson

Deputy Head of Secondary (Academic)

Management

[email protected]

My name is Tim and I have been teaching at HeadStart International School since 2018. I was born and raised in the beautiful county of Cornwall; located in the southwestern tip of the UK. After sitting my A-levels at Cornwall College I was awarded a scholarship from Pilkington Optronics to study Physics at Reading University. Post University I entered research at the National Physical Laboratory researching the use of quantum dots to replace fluorescent tag molecules for medical diagnosis. However, the life of a researcher often left me in need of human interaction and I decided to opt for a career change; studying a PGCE at the Institute of Education, in London. After my PGCE I took up my first full time teaching post in West London. I remained at this school for seven and a half years during which time I took on a variety of roles including Head of Physics, running the school’s science specialism and Learning Leader; a role which saw me helping to develop the teaching practice of my peers. I then took up my first International post in Prague where I worked as both the Head of Physics and the Teaching and Learning Coordinator for four years. Post Prague I moved to Phuket where I took on the role of Head of Science at HeadStart. I then remained in this post until 2022 when I took on the role of Deputy Head of Secondary - Academics. My approach to teaching has been formed from educational research and personal experience. The key to creating lifelong learners to is to give the students ownership of their learning and ensure they are suitably challenged and engaged throughout their time in education. To do this I endeavor to create an environment that fosters deep learning and stimulates students’ curiosity. In the past this was an approach I used when teaching and which we developed in the Science faculty; a strategy that saw continued improvement in terms of student progress and attainment. In my new role I am now trying to promote this approach across the entire Secondary School. So far my first year at HeadStart has been the only year where every lesson was taught face to face. With these constant challenges to their learning I have been impressed by the resilience and attitude of the students; attributes that have led to continued increase in attainment across the school. I have no doubt that the current cohort is capable of continuing this improvement and I look forward to helping, and ensuring, that this prediction is proven to be true! I am excited about continuing my adventure at HeadStart International School and being given the opportunity to further aid the students in developing a love of learning.

2022 Academic Results

The summer of 2022 marked the first full set of external examinations sat by a Year 11 or Year 13 cohort at HeadStart in three years. So the question is: “How did they do?” Were the students and the school out of touch with what is required to succeed in such a high pressure environment? Well, as it turns out, the answer is - not at all!

The results were truly amazing and are a testament to the hard work the students have put in over the last few years under incredibly challenging circumstances. Our IGSCE students obtained an incredible 39% A* to A grades and a 100% pass rate. The Year 13 BTEC students obtained 39% distinction or above, and a 100% pass rate (this may look like we have copy and pasted the percentages and then forgot to change them, but I can assure you these are the correct results for both groups). Lastly, our A-level students obtained 36% A* to A grades and a 98% pass rate. This is a phenomenal set of results that sets the bar very high for our new Year 11 and 13 students!

Although the final grades are what make headlines on results day, the true inspiration has come from those students who pushed themselves to succeed during times of struggle, and those who worked hard to obtain results far beyond what they thought possible. The banners below show some of the highest achieving students this year.

We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our students, parents, and teachers for the astounding effort that has gone into making these results a reality. Well done everyone!