the British School of Lome

Tom Vignoles

International School Builder

I have been an international school leader for more than a decade now. It is a fulfilling and fascinating job, and I have had the pleasure of leading schools in four different continents, in Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Milan and now as the Head of School at The British School of Lomé in Togo (BSL). Each of these experiences has been quite unique and yet there have been many unifying factors.

As an international school leader, one must always stay strongly focused on the needs of the whole community. This will include a broad range of expatriate professional families representing many different nationalities and cultures and also local families seeking to develop their children as future global citizens. Within such a diverse context, it is always necessary to balance academic excellence with support for well-being, and with the development of personal pathways through an extensive co-curriculum.

Balancing Academic Excellence with Holistic Student Development

In each of these schools, our students have graduated with the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBDP), in my view the ‘gold standard’ for high school education across the world. This is a challenging programme, emphasising inquiry-based learning ahead of knowledge transference. IB programmes strongly encourage initiative, and our graduates invariably go on to make a significant difference within their chosen fields, as reflective and balanced adults. The IBDP includes the Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) programme, strongly encouraging students to develop as caring, principled leaders. The desire to make a difference becomes embedded within the DNA of any IB graduate.

“We focus on growing the good, ahead of fixing the bad and teachers find this empowering.”

At BSL, we are also members of the Round Square group of schools, whose ethos is based around the IDEALS of Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership and Service. Our co-curriculum empowers students to follow the spirit of each ideal and they develop their personal interests along unique pathways. Crucially, they understand that how they do things is even more important than what they do. Notwithstanding the diversity of cultures and nationalities, any international school must be values-driven if it is to meet the needs of its whole community.

Adapting to Evolving Educational Expectations and Global Standards

Any school will face challenges that are beyond its control. During my time as a leader, I have led schools through periods of economic recession, political unrest, not to mention Covid! I was in Hong Kong during the pandemic, and our schools closed for in-person learning long before almost anyone else. The resilience our whole community showed in devising and implementing online learning at a day’s notice was quite incredible and the rest of the world followed our example! As I write, there are schools in war zones that are operating through online learning: at least they know what to do this time around.

Disruption can also be an opportunity. During COVID in Hong Kong, we responded with ever better systems to support well-being and those gains were permanently sustained. Likewise, through being compelled to teach online, our teachers became much more adept in differentiating for the needs of individual students. The highest academic results of my career came during the pandemic, when our students had sat the actual IBDP exams, unlike most of the rest of the world! It is possible to emerge from adversity enhanced rather than diminished.

Supporting and Developing Teachers for High-Quality Learning

Supporting and developing teachers is always essential. Many schools across the world implement compliance-based appraisal or inspection systems, where teachers are judged against a fixed set of standards, sometimes feeling disconnected and demoralised at the conclusion. I have always sought to do the opposite - to develop teachers through a process of appreciative inquiry, to catch teachers doing something interesting, and define their development contributions through how they coach others. We focus on growing the good, ahead of fixing the bad and teachers find this empowering. Initiative, creativity and meaningful collaboration shoot up once everyone understands that pedagogical innovation is our key objective.

Evolving School Leadership in a Globally Connected, Student-Centered Environment

International school leaders must understand the inter-connectivity of the world. They see a high turnover of families, and deal with unexpected incidents on a daily basis. They understand clearly that supporting the unique needs of each student is the key objective. International schools cannot operate within a ‘one size fits all’ model, we have to be flexible and adaptive, responding to feedback and creating bespoke educational opportunities to help every student achieve their dreams. For example, at BSL we have recently launched our English Language Institute, which runs a bridging programme for francophone students who wish to become bilingual, as well as offering an extensive programme of English language lessons for the Togolese adult community. We must always serve our local context.

Leading an international school is never easy, yet always fulfilling. We never know what is around the corner. However, there can be few jobs where you have a greater opportunity to make a genuine difference to the future.