With our strong results and high university acceptances rates, it is clear that our forward looking approach to education is already providing well for our students. Nevertheless, our strategy must continue evolving so we stay at the forefront of educational philosophy. 

We have now firmly entered the “Information Age” with the production of information growing exponentially. We know that in the modern workplace, it is essential that everyone has excellent technological skills. BGS students are all “digital natives”, but it is their digital fluency coupled with their ability to be creative that will set them apart from their peers. Back in 2006, an IBM paper entitled The Toxic Terabyte, predicted that knowledge would double every 12 hours in the near future. With such a huge amount of information available it is crucial we nurture our students’ imaginations. We don’t want our students to only learn what is necessary to pass examinations. We want them to be curious, to come up with new ideas and to question what has gone before; we really aspire for our students to be the creative-thinkers and the change-makers of the future, and that starts with their journey here.  

Many of our students will work in jobs that have yet to be conceived, and have multiple careers in their lifetimes. They will need the agility to work globally, understanding different cultures, languages, political systems, economies and business etiquettes. It is an exciting time to be part of the education system, but it is incumbent upon us as school leaders, through our curriculum development, to make sure that our students are equipped to succeed in these nascent job opportunities across the globe. 

At BGS, we have always believed that central to success is the promotion of creativity in education; we value it so greatly that being Imaginative is one of our key values. The writer Tham Khai Meng agrees and recently stated in the Guardian: “Creativity is the most powerful competitive advantage a business can have. Companies need to fizz with new ideas and fresh thinking. But there’s a problem – there just aren’t enough fizzy people around.” Our students are given a myriad of opportunities to develop their originality and expressiveness through all aspects of the curriculum; whether that is in the drama and dance studio, art room, a maths lesson or in the science labs, using their imagination and thinking creatively to look beyond the content builds connections, extends their knowledge, embed concepts and helps them find innovative solutions.   

The thinker and writer Edward de Bono wrote: “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” The world is facing monumental issues from COVID, to climate change, to the Black Lives Matter Movement and the continued issues around gender inequality. If we are to change our future for the better, new ways of creative thinking are definitely in order and I have no doubt that BGS students will be part of finding the solutions.