Harrow International School, Bangkok

Harrow International School, Bangkok was established and gained its license to operate in Thailand in 1998 in association with Harrow School (London, UK). The School has 1160 students, both boys and girls, representing 27 different nationalities ranging from 6 months to 18 years.

The School is divided into 4 schools - Early Years Centre, Preparatory, Primary and Secondary - and closely follows the National Curriculum of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The majority of teaching staffs are recruited from the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth.

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 in order to found Shrewsbury International School.

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 enrollment to increase to 1160. Dr Hensman introduced the boater and the House System, strengthening ties to Harrow School.

Affilitations

Harrow International School, Bangkok is operated by a private company Harrow Asia Limited. Harrow Asia Limited also operates Harrow International School in Beijing, China.

Both Schools are operated under a license granted by Harrow School in London. Close ties exist between the Schools with teacher and pupil exchanges, interviews held at Harrow School, and day-to-day cooperation between staff. Two governors from Harrow School are on the Board of Governors at Harrow International School and they regularly visit the School.

In 2006 Harrow International School gained accreditation from the Council of International Schools (CIS). [ [http://www.cois.org Council of International Schools (CIS) ] ] Harrow is also a member of the Federation Of British International Schools in South East Asia and East Asia (FOBISSEA) [ [http://www.fobissea.org FOBISSEA The Federation of British International Schools in South and East Asia ] ] and the International Schools Association of Thailand (ISAT). [ [http://www.isat.or.th International Schools Association of Thailand ] ]

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. [http://www.harrowschool.ac.th/?q=harrovian]

The Lion

The Lion is Harrow International School's annual yearbook and is published on Speech Day (the last school event of the school year, held on the last day of the school year). The Lion underwent a redesign in 2004 and now the contents are "The Introductions", "The Curriculum", "The Activities", "The Expeditions and Visits", "The Houses" and "The Features". The Lion features articles and photos supplied by staff and students, together with official class photos of all the students in that particular school year. The 2004-2005 edition contained a pull-out section with articles and photos from students who were caught up in the Asian Tsunami in December 2004.

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 Mom Rajawongse Chatumongol Sonakul, First Chair of Governors Harrow International School, Old Harrovian
* Suriyothai (purple) - named after Queen Sri Suriyothai, legendary 16th Century Thai 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 in order 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

The Campus

The campus at Harrow International School features a variety of buildings and facilities;
* The Early Years Centre
* The Primary and Preparatory School
* The Secondary 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

References

External links

* [http://www.harrowschool.ac.th/ Harrow International School, Bangkok web site]
* [http://www.harrowschool.ac.th/alumni.php Harrow International School Alumni]
* [http://www.harrowschool.org.uk/ Harrow School web site]
* [http://www.harrowbeijing.cn/ Harrow International School, Beijing web site]
* [http://www.johnlyon.org/ The John Lyon School web site]