British International School, Riyadh

British International School, Riyadh
Location
Riyadh Saudi Arabia
Coordinates
Information
Type	Private
Established	1979
Chairperson	Andrea Corbett
Principal	Chris Mantz
Vice Principal	Col. Andrew MacLachlan
Gender	Co-educational
Enrollment	1600 +
Website	bisr.com.sa

British International School, Riyadh (BISR) is a fee-paying international school located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It caters for English-speaking boys and girls aged 3 to 18 and follows the National Curriculum.

History

The school was established in September 1979, with the support of the British and Dutch Embassies to meet the educational needs of the growing expatriate community. In March 1981, it was endorsed and incorporated into the Saudi Arabian International Schools under arrangements made by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education.

The school started with just 212 pupils who were taught in a large villa. Due to its popularity, it expanded rapidly and in 1982 moved to a new site in the city's Rawdah district. By September 1995, a larger campus was necessary and new school buildings were built in the south-eastern corner of the Al Hamra Compound, near Exit 9 of the Airport/Al Kharj Highway.

In 2006, another site was opened in a compound called Salwa. Pupils from the Salwa branch of the school visit the main Al Hamra campus on special days, such as the school's sports day, Greek day and House day. In 2008, a sixth form building was opened. As well as the expected educational facilities, the site houses a Starbucks café (a sixth form privilege).

Houses

There are four houses at BISR, each named after a famous British explorer of Arabia. They are:

• Lady Anne Blunt (Green)
• Charles Doughty (Red)
• William Palgrave (Yellow)
• Joseph Pitts (Blue)

The houses compete against each other trying to earn the most house points (rewarded when doing something good) the house with the most points will win the house cup.

They may have sports days/house events or swim galas.

Results

The school was last inspected in 2009, at which time the inspectors found that:

It has outstanding outcomes in its examination and test results which are comparable to the top flight of schools in England."

In 2012, 91% of GSCE exams resulted in A* to C grades, 52% resulted in A* or A grades. In 2012, 80% of A Level exams resulted in A* to C grades, 33% resulted in A* to A grades.

This school is accredited.

Opportunities

There are many school trips such as Thumamah, Tabuk, Dharan, Taif, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Wales, UN Meetings, Microsoft offices and many more.

See also

• King Fahad Academy - Saudi school in London

External links

• Official website