Are we nurturing global citizens who can make a difference?
What is the purpose of developing international mindedness? I was thinking about this question this week while working with Colegio Anglo Colombiano in Bogotá, a school with a particularly strong sense...
International mindedness: more than being an international school
I was working with a school today as they prepare for their IB Diploma Programme evaluation. One of the challenges of working with the IB is the language it uses. However experienced we are as educators,...
If AI can answer the question, what is left for the TOK student to think about?
Quite a lot, actually. The more powerful generative AI becomes, the more important it is that students understand how knowledge is produced, challenged, interpreted and justified. The challenge for TOK...
Making strategy meaningful
The start of a school year is when strategic plans can either come alive — or quickly disappear beneath the weight of meetings, deadlines, accreditation requirements and the everyday demands of running...
How do international schools assess new admissions?
It is the beginning of our new academic year and we have been reviewing how we assess new students for our admissions. When a student applies to an international school, the school is usually trying to...
Culture comes first
Fifteen months into my role as Director of Education at a school in Cairo, I have become increasingly convinced that when you enter a new school, understanding the culture and building relationships must...
What if your school is trying to improve the wrong things?
I have just completed facilitating the IB Category 3 workshop Leading an IB learning organisation. There have been some great conversations during the month, with participants bringing a fascinating range...
Start-of-year professional learning
A new school year. We are in the middle of staff orientation week and one of the issues we have returned to is our use of AI. A new UK report, AI in Education 2026: Working It Out provides a useful snapshot...
Are you in the process of preparing for your IB evaluation?
I have just completed facilitating an IB Category 3 workshop on Preparing for Programme Evaluation, where we explored practical ways to prepare effectively. This blog brings together some of the key ideas...
Director's Notebook: curriculum coherence
Do you run more than one IB programme? In the school community I work in we are preparing for our first PYP evaluation, as well our consultation (and then verification) visit for the DP. As we develop...