Meet the Shrewsbury School Principle
Expat Life sat down to talk to Amanda Dennison, the Principal of the Shrewsbury International School Bangkok City Campus opening in August 2018
Where are you from?
I’ve lived and worked in Bangkok for 8 years now, having formally been a Head Teacher in London, but originally I’m from a small seaside town called Morecambe in the North of England.
Is anyone in your family also a teacher? Role model?
I was actually the first member of my family to go to university. My mother was extremely supportive and encouraged me to follow my dreams, and in turn that inspired me to achieve things I never thought possible. She was a strong believer in the power of education and the opportunities that stem from a good education. Ultimately, it is an outlook that has shaped my life and my career; my mother is my inspiration.
What attracted you to teaching? How has your background influenced you as an educator?
I was attracted into the profession for a number of reasons. I absolutely loved school and was lucky to have many great teachers who left a positive impression on me. That said, school was not always easy for me as a child, but I believe these experiences have actually helped me to become a better educator in my adult life. Education should be fun, and allow children to explore their creativity. They should also be given the time, opportunities and support to develop their emotional intelligence and values, and to learn to build positive relationships through them.
Guidance from adults is of course invaluable, but ultimately this cannot happen unless children understand the impact of their choices and are allowed to make mistakes. Only then do they have the chance to reflect, recover and put things right if possible, and then to move on. This nurtures resilience and character, and helps children to become respectful, kind and compassionate members of society; qualities which define a Shrewsbury education, and create the foundations of success in life beyond.
When did you first become a Principal?
My first Headship came 15 years ago when I was appointed the Head of The Millennium School in Greenwich. It was a fabulous place to work; a fully inclusive inner city Primary school with children from all over the world, and my experience there led to my appointment as Head of Junior at Shrewsbury Bangkok’s Riverside Campus in 2010.
“At the heart of this is my firm belief that all children are capable of being successful in their learning, and that schools should do everything in their power to remove any barriers that may lie in the way”
What do you consider your greatest success in schools before coming to Shrewsbury? What was the most challenging teaching/administration situation you faced before coming to Shrewsbury?
In London I oversaw the relocation of my school to a brand new site with double the student enrolment. It was my greatest challenge as an education professional, but something I am incredibly proud of. The school was chosen to be the ‘heart’ of a new community on the Greenwich Peninsula because of its strong, caring ethos, which had shone throughout our ‘excellent’ Ofsted inspection report.
It was important that throughout the move we remained true to our objectives and values, but also to adapt and embrace the opportunities that came with changes to our physical environment, technology, size, and the community around us. We did this so successfully that the school was awarded ‘Beacon Status’, especially for our outstanding work in the areas of inclusion, ICT, the creative arts, emotional well being and pupil voice initiatives.
In turn we became heavily involved in supporting other schools and became a showcase of good practice to visitors from other organisations within London, across the UK and internationally. Although this was a very challenging time in my career, it was also extremely exciting and rewarding. Little did I know that the experience gained through the project – from design, delivery and into the operational phase – would prepare me so well for the adventure I am currently enjoying halfway around the world.
It gives me strength and confidence that I can, with the support of the excellent team around me, deliver everything that we’re trying to achieve here at City Campus; to build on the experience and exceptional 15 year track record of Riverside campus, and to deliver the very best primary education in Thailand.
Your philosophy: Do you have a personal educational philosophy?
My educational philosophy is grounded in nearly 30 years as a teacher. At the heart of this is my firm belief that all children are capable of being successful in their learning, and that schools should do everything in their power to remove any barriers that may lie in the way; no school should allow themselves to set limits or restrictions to the things that pupils can achieve. Sound policies that reflect the wide-ranging needs of the student community, as well as co-curricular opportunities and comprehensive pastoral services that remove barriers to learning are all key to ensuring a rich educational experience.
Outstanding schools are built around core values, which permeate the whole school community. They define the culture of a school and creates a sense of purpose, hope and optimism. Core values help nurture a climate where learners take risks and build confidence in a trusting environment. As educators, we have a moral imperative to enable learners to hone and demonstrate citizenship skills; to become engaged, positive and proactive members of society. A school’s curriculum and values should reflect a world where inequalities are evermore evident and the planet increasingly fragile.
The curriculum should provide learning opportunities that develop empathy and understanding of social, economic and environmental issues, whilst enabling students to build independent learning skills that lead to creative problem solving and to finding solutions that benefit society. Aligned to a school’s values, should be a firm understanding and clear vision of what quality learning and teaching means in practice. Learning is deepest when pupils are able to learn from experience and make real connections with the world, whilst successful teaching is multisensory and shows awareness of, and makes provision for, the full range of individuals’ learning styles.
A high quality learning environment, meanwhile, must reflect these wide-ranging learning preferences and allow itself to evolve and respond to good practice, informed by sound research and advances in technology, to maintain optimal conditions for learning. The design of the curriculum and physical environment here at City Campus reflects this thinking. The last central tenet of my educational philosophy is that learners must take ownership of their learning. Assessment for learning is the driving force for pupils leading learning.
This means pupils being allowed to work alongside teachers to develop the success criteria for lessons, pupils having a clear understanding about what high quality work consists of and using language at every opportunity to extend cognitive thinking. About City Campus: What is the unique selling point of City Campus for prospective parents? From inception, the Campus has been designed and equipped specifically for Primary aged children, and that makes a big difference to how effectively they learn. It is a spacious, secure, and technologically advanced learning environment, positioned in a convenient city-centre location that also benefits from extensive natural landscaping and carefully designed spaces for recreation and play.
More importantly though, Shrewsbury has always been about people. Like Riverside, children here will be guided by caring and supportive teaching professionals, who are themselves part of a growing, collaborative network of teachers in the Shrewsbury family that brims with experience and expertise. And of course, this will be school where values matter; where children are given opportunity to explore their passions, to become engaged, responsible and confident young people, to find their potential inside and outside the classroom… to thrive.
Ultimately, it is a unique prospect for families seeking the best international Primary age education in Thailand, coupled with all the benefits of Shrewsbury’s extensive experience and track record in Bangkok and an assured pathway into secondary education at the School’s renowned Riverside campus.
