Headmaster's message Friday 10th November

By

 Dear Parents and Guardians,

Unfortunately I have been out of school for most of this week due to covid. Today, my predecessor Mr McVeigh came to visit the school with his wife Lisa as they were passing through Bangkok. Whilst I wasn't able to give them a tour of the facilities myself, I did chat with them on the phone. They were delighted and amazed by how the facilities have improved in the last two years and were so pleased to see how some of the students they remembered from their time hear have grown up.

Today, Prep and Senior students had a very touching Remembrance ceremony to pay respects to all who have died in wars around the world. Whilst this is a typically British celebration, our approach at DBS was to give it international relevance. Our students heard personal perspectives from staff with a range of nationalities. The mode of the assembly was poignant and as we watch the news, I'm sure we all sadly see the relevance of recognising this event almost 80 years since the last world war where sadly, smaller regional conflicts continue to regularly emerge.

Last weekend we had our first BISA tournament. Most of our teams finished middle of the table with one win and one second place. We did also have 2 last place finishes. The positive thing is that we now have a better idea of which areas we need to provide significant support to with the aim of improving our performance. Whilst our students began the tournament, I was in the keynote speech at the FOBISIA conference listening to Sir Clive Woodward who led the English Rugby Team to their first world cup victory and also led the Team GB Olympic team to many successes. Here were my key takeaways from what he describes as the DNA of high performers:

  • Teamship: The key to success is not individual brilliance, but rather a team that is united in its goals and values. He calls this concept "Teamship," and it is based on the idea that everyone on the team has a role to play, and everyone is equally important.
  • Preparation: Woodward emphasizes the importance of being prepared for every situation. He believes that the best teams are those that have thought through every possible scenario and have a plan in place for how to react.
  • Mental toughness: Mental toughness is just as important as physical toughness in winning. The best teams are able to stay focused and positive under pressure, and they never give up on their goals.
  • Culture: Woodward believes that winning teams have a strong culture. This culture is based on shared values, beliefs, and goals. It is also important to create a culture of trust and respect, where everyone feels valued and appreciated.
This year, we have begun the long journey of improving sport at DBS as we enter a more challenging league. Our first step has been to dramatically increase participation. The rationale behind this is that it will increase the baseline level of talent and reap longer term rewards as we develop a wider body of athletes. We still however have much to do on developing some of the above attributes. Some of these issues are structural. Take preparation as an example. We utilise both games lessons as well as after school sessions. Not all of the squad can make the after school sessions as they have other commitments. If we insist, we may not have a squad, therefore we have to be flexible. We also have some areas where we require more specialist coaching intervention but need to find ways that this can be facilitated through the structures that we currently have. We have been looking this week at some ways we can solve this issue and we feel we may have some ideas we can move forward with. 

Next week, I will be in the UK from Tuesday conducting our first recruitment round. I will also be having some meetings relating to our new revised scholarships and how we can build a world class programme. I should add that our new concept of scholarships will be very different, much more challenging and providing something extra that benefits the student reach exceptional levels of performance, instead of a discount and embedded in the programme will be getting all of our scholars to develop the DNA of high performers as shown above. 

Have a nice weekend

Jonny Liddell
Headmaster