From the Head of School

A Diverse Community

When I was a child I went to a state primary school in England, as did all the other children in my catchment area.  Although fully funded by the government, it was a ‘Church of England’ school, and the nearby church had lots of practical involvement: we used their hall for PE on rainy days, the vicar gave talks to the older children, we sung Christian songs in assembly, and the church helped us celebrated major festivals like Christmas and Easter.

Of the 160 pupils about 155 were, what the census describes as, white British; two were of African origin; two of Indian; and one of Chinese.  It was a ‘tolerant’ environment in the sense that teachers were expected to treat every child the same.

However, we were all expected to assimilate into a single culture: we were taught a single national story; other countries and cultures were only referenced in relation to Britain’s - never in their own right; there was certainly no interest in providing opportunities for the students who were not white British to explore their identities or even to acknowledge their unique experiences.

International schooling is very different. Families choose to come here; they are not here because they happen to live nearby. We are not funded by the government and do not follow a national curriculum.  We have a far more diverse student population. And we are not trying to assimilate children into a dominant national culture.

However, we do want our students to become global citizens, and we recognise that all citizenship starts locally. We are part of a host country’s national life - especially at ISA, where many of our staff and half our students are UK citizens.  

This last week has been a significant moment in the national life of the UK, our host country.  The sovereign of 70 years died, and the nation entered a mourning period.  Many people living in the UK feel strongly about the person of Queen Elizabeth; others (perhaps sometimes the same people) have taken this moment to consider the institution of monarchy.

As an international school, we have a statement of internationalism to give a greater understanding and a set of values to support it. But unlike my primary school as a child we are not attached to institutions like the UK state or the Church of England.  

It is not our position as a school to either endorse or condemn particular institutions or parties.  This still leaves room for us to signal appropriate respect for widespread feelings in our host country - for example by flying the union flag at half mast and giving condolence messages on social media.  On Monday, we also will observe the national holiday that has been given for the queen’s funeral.

We are part of a local and national community; communities that all our students, regardless of their nationality, should participate in actively and responsibly.  We don’t live in a bubble, but nor are we trying to assimilate students into a single identity.

We want ISA to be a place where families can celebrate and affirm all their various identities: where those children’s classmates can find out about Diwali and Eid as well as Christmas and Easter; where monarchists can engage respectfully with republicans, capitalists with socialists.  A place of diversity united by common values of how a community should interact.

This means that not everything that happens in the school is necessarily a school event, sometimes it is run by students or parents.  Nor is everything expressed here the official line.  We are a very different community to the one I grew up in (and perhaps you did too, although in a different place); but a community nevertheless.  We don’t all have to be the same, nor always agree, to share a sense of commonality.