The One Where They Say Goodbye

After a blockbuster four years at The British School New Delhi, it is time to move on to my next adventure. 

If you had told me this time last year that I would be leaving TBS, I wouldn't have believed you. 

The way the TBS community has embraced me makes me long to continue to stay a part of it, like that distant family member who comes back from time to time. Hopefully to enjoy the journey of growth and improvement TBS is well known for.
I am reminded of the advice of my parents when we used to travel.

"Say thank you and leave things 'ship-shape' and tidy for the future."

This has guided me during the last few months and even though times are turbulent due to the COVID19 situation, the TBS ship is safe and set for the future.

Led by our able captain, Mrs Vanita Uppal and her two first mates, Melisha and Mark, the ship is indeed steady as she goes. Rarely have I seen individuals brave the oceans and stand in harm's way to protect the institution as a whole. 

Now I might be biased but visitors who come to the school often comment on how happy the children seem and how everyone they encounter is full of energy and passion. That is indeed the right kind of infectious and a testament to the kind of place TBS is.

Sailing a ship in the right direction requires vision and the support of crew members and a big thank you to the community who have helped us achieve some truly memorable achievements during my time onboard.

The Innovation Lounge was one of our initial successes, a truly world-class place, a place of envy if I might say so, for other schools. But hardware on its own isn't great, you need to have the right software. Backed up by reforms to both Digital Citizenship and the Computing curriculum and providing a pathway for Innovation and STEM, turned a room with cool gear into a thriving hub of creativity and learning. Plans are afoot to provide a similar space for upper school and I can't wait to see the end results.

Global success and thought leadership have gone hand in hand for us. I can't imagine a year when we haven't been recognised for our fantastic work. Now we have historically been modest and it was a pleasure to be part of the journey to showcase our achievements and inspire others. To paraphrase the iconic line from Three Idiots:

Pursue excellence, and success will follow.

​And oh my, have we been successful. It doesn't get better than being recognised as the Best British International School in the World or as an Innovative School or a Future Ready School or being recognised for our use of technology for safeguarding and for learning. 

Much more importantly though was the success of our younger passengers. From academic success to representing India twice at the F1 in Schools World Finals, Young Founders success, Ideathons, Hackathons, Girls Who Code, Robot Wars, MITx, Harvardx, individual awards, the list goes on. None of this was possible without the tireless work of our Computing, IT, passionate teachers and support teams. 

There are often some secret missions that not everyone is aware of but these have a huge impact on the way we work. Thanks to our IT squad we have upgraded our wireless potential and brought in new hardware and software to better integrate technology for learning and these changes have really put us in a league of our own within India.

 We have upgraded all of our communications systems as we established a higher level of transparency and closer communication with home. This is an area we continuously strive to improve upon and our fab Communications team will no doubt build upon their successes. Thank you to the team who like the Energiser Bunny, keeps going on and on and on.

There is so much more that I can talk about especially of all the individuals that have truly made an impact on me. The ones who have inspired me to go that extra mile, students and parents included in this. But one does have to save some stories for their memoirs. 

Well, I trust that you can see, the cabin is quite tidy, the bunk bed has been made up, we are ‘ship-shape’ but before I depart, it is right and proper to give my thanks to the entire TBS community, and my thanks to you all, are the most sincere. 
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Farewell, for now, and I leave below a passage that neatly sums up my time at TBS.

Global recognitions, innovative world firsts, unparalleled student achievements and some truly ground-breaking work. My time at TBS feels like a blockbuster movie. Every scene, an event to cherish, and the cast members, superstars. TBS takes your passion and has a way of amplifying it that it becomes addictive. No wonder, you find so many of us, not working but living and breathing the TBS vision. What a ride! 

​and if you want to stay in touch, Google me, I'm out there. 😉