Today's school wherein tomorrow's leaders live

As parents we seek the best education for our children. For some, this means a focus on curriculum breadth and holistic education. For others, academic rigour is the key to success at school and in life.

As parents, we face three competing ambitions: a wish to keep the family together, a desire to give our children the best education, and a duty to help our sons and daughters learn the language and culture of their country.

As parents, we see that Haileybury Bhaluka has a remarkably different approach. Holism is at its core. Learning is framed around what works best. Its research-backed approach to teaching is a refreshing change for Bangladeshi parents.

Even before the school has opened, parents are turning against overseas solutions and turning towards an education made in Bangladesh. Without question, Haileybury has a school campus where children have space to learn and air to breathe.

Focused on the future of our children, many experienced parents are looking for schools that focus on tomorrow’s skills.

High school boarding students are ‘78 per cent more likely to feel prepared for the independence, social aspect and time management needed in college than just 23 per cent of their state school peers’, says the Association of Boarding Schools study. As a result, future focused parents care about their child’s ability to collaborate, think critically and be creative.

Swapping hats, from concerned parents to forward thinking citizens of Bangladesh, we are looking to education to stop the exodus of talent through having choice of outstanding schools, colleges and universities in country. We are looking to education to give our children a journey in Bangladesh.

We see these different desires as mutually compatible ends. We need institutions that provide a unique social setting where students form lasting friendships and develop vital life skills through coexistence. Closely-knit communities further instill a sense of discipline, tolerance, and mutual respect, completing the groundwork for their personal and social development.

Living, playing, studying, and socialising among a diverse group of peers expose students to a multitude of perspectives. Their diverse backgrounds create a unique platform for building future professional connections. When we look at the Haileybury alumni, we see networks of hundreds of people who have influenced every area of human endeavour.

Such early connections are seen to translate into healthy peer networks later, providing individuals with valuable opportunities and advantages for adulthood. This is why alumni networks from boarding schools are typically stronger and more constructive.

School environments are critical for the physical, emotional, and intellectual development of our children. Basic routines, engrained early, encourage them to make decisions for themselves from a very young age. An early exposure to independent thinking cultivates a sense of autonomy and develops an ability to navigate choices and accept opportunity costs with relish.

Small class sizes at Haileybury Bhaluka are an advantage for its learners. Intimate settings are proven to generate more personalised interactions between students and teachers, bridging relationships that exceed traditional academic boundaries.

Students in smaller classes tend to feel more confident while voicing their views, and thereby grow in a learning atmosphere that is conducive to academic and personal development.

Haileybury Bhaluka has a vast campus with lots of open space for sport and play. Students have opportunity to pursue sports such as athletics and gymnastics, cricket and cycling, football and handball, tennis, golf, and swimming.

Haileybury is already a Duke of Edinburgh Award centre with plans in place to be a UN-approved institution for Model United Nations. Learning is always enjoyable when interactive, stimulating curiosity and creativity inside young minds.

Globally reputed schools uphold century-old traditions and culture, which connect students to the lessons of history, broadening their horizons for future challenges. With bright students hailing from all corners of the globe, the diversity in such institutions creates functions like a melting pot for ideas, principles, and values.

Parents who love to see their children grow independently, with expert care and scope to meet them regularly, send them to such schools describing it as a strategic investment.

Also, the early investment, in most cases, is seen to result in acclimatised students who see their school campus as their second home. It gives them a sense of ownership, integrity, and responsibility – the very qualities that become ingrained in their characters to make them dependable and commendable for any task.

We can hope that more institutes with such eminence will eventually join and continue to uplift the local education sector. Bangladeshi parents may now align their visions by recognising the needs of tomorrow, and how such schools can be a school of life for their beloved offspring.

*Simon O’Grady, is the Founding Headmaster of Haileybury Bhaluka