Emma Seith

1 week ago | tes.com | Emma Seith

In Europe, there are snow days - when schools close as thick, icy blankets of white envelop the land - but in Oman, the equivalent might be described, a little less romantically and succinctly, as “thunderously heavy rainfall days”. Different types of precipitation, same headache of school closures - and, typically, same wave of euphoria from pupils given an unexpected day off.

1 week ago | tes.com | Emma Seith

A Scottish private school has said it will accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for school fees, in a move it claims is a first for the UK independent schools sector. Lomond School, a co-educational, independent day and boarding school in Helensburgh, to the west of Glasgow, says parents will be able to start paying fees using the cryptocurrency from August this year. It also said that staff wages could be paid in the currency in the future as part of a voluntary scheme.

2 weeks ago | tes.com | Emma Seith

It’s well known that there has been a “major shift” in the student demographics of international schools, as Janelle Torres of ISC Research puts it. A decade ago, international schools mostly served expatriate families with English-speaking backgrounds; now, “a growing proportion of the student body” is made up of local students. “In some markets they account for over 70 per cent of total enrolment,” adds Torres, who is research manager for South East Asia at ISC Research.

1 month ago | tes.com | Emma Seith

International schools group GEMS Education is aiming to make its schools “vape-free zones” after launching a zero-tolerance campaign against “the dangerous trend”. GEMS Education, which includes around 50 schools in the Middle East, says it plans to re-educate students on the dangers of vaping and nicotine addiction, at the same time as clamping down on the practice.

1 month ago | tes.com | Emma Seith

Changes to curriculum and assessment in England “will ripple across the world”, says Colin Bell, chief executive of the Council of British International Schools (Cobis). This is why he argues that the international schools sector must be given “due consideration” by the current government review that aims to breathe new life into England’s “outdated curriculum and assessment system”.