What Comes Next? The ACS Podcast

In this episode we are joined by Head of ACS Cobham, Barnaby Sandow. Today we’re going to be talking about sustainable outdoor learning, and how ACS inspires students to be the best they can be.

Find out more about Briana's lifelong dedication to education and professional growth, along with the innovation within ACS about inner crisis.

Jamie is Director of Co-curriculum and Athletics at ACS Egham and we’re thrilled to have him join us on the podcast today to talk about our sports programmes, and the transformation that they have gone through since COVID-19.

In this episode we are joined by Head of ACS Hillingdon, Martin Hall. Today we’re going to be talking about the spirit of international communities, and some really exciting work that ACS Hillingdon has done recently around global citizenship for our students.

A special episode as we look backwards as well as forwards as we are celebrating 10 years of ACS International Schools in Doha. We are joined by Trevor and Cathy who have both been teachers at ACS Doha for 10 years.

Alexandra is our co-ordinator for digital teaching and learning at ACS Hillingdon, and has work extensively with teachers across the school on the topic of creativity, and incorporating creativity into every day learning for our students. In this episode, we will be talking about all things creativity,  and Alexandra's journey of incorporating creativity into everyday learning for our students.

Partnerships Director, Graeme Lawrie MBE joined the final episode of this series of What Comes Next? The ACS Podcast to tell us about the incredible efforts behind our Partnerships team at ACS International Schools, and fantastic community outreach programmes. Achievements include hundreds of boxes of donations for Ukraine, the use of our facilities for local young carers, and the upcoming STEAM event at Thorpe Park Resort for 10,000 students across the UK. 

Deputy Head of School at ACS Doha, Vanessa Robitaille joins us this episode to talk about the vibrant, welcoming community at the school, our ability to tailor academic pathways to the strength of the child, and the exceptional learning environment that we have in our campus at ACS Doha. In a post-covid world, our ACS Doha campus has so much potential to further enhance our students learning, academic and co-curricular opportunities; we explore what that looks like with Vanessa, and what is coming next for our academic curriculum offering. 

Gideon Sutcliffe is Head of Sports at ACS Cobham, looking after our Cougars sports programme, PE and recreational sports activity for all of our student's aged 2-18. In this episode, Gideon joins us to talk about the exceptional sports provision we have at ACS Cobham and what new sports opportunities are coming to the Cougars. He shares how his coaching team are driving excellence in our core sports programmes, and the importance of instilling a love for sports and physical activities in all of our students for physical health and wellbeing.

Dom Dalais, DEI Council lead joins us to talk about the efforts to date in DEI at ACS International Schools. In 2020 the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council was established, working together across our UK schools to inform, unite and progress our DEI efforts. This led to an organisational Charter to be developed to sit across our schools, with four networks covering Racial Equity, Gender Equality (ACS Equals), the Omnist Society and an LGBTQIA+ Network. Listen to our full episode to find out what we have done so far, and what comes next for DEI. 

Andy Groark, Head of Creative Arts at ACS Hillingdon joined the ACS Podcast to talk about exciting developments in our IB Careers-related programme with VFX and Game Design courses added this academic year for our Grade 11 and 12 students. Industry partnerships with Pinewood Studios give our students real-life experience with individuals from the industry. Find out more in this episode, and the exciting plans for the future including the re-development of Harmony House on campus. 

In this special episode celebrating 10 years of ACS International Schools Doha, we speak to Trevor and Catherine Furness who are two of our original teachers who have been with us in Doha since our doors opened. We talk about their first memories of the school, how the community grew and evolved over the years, and what they think comes next for the school. 

Holly Fairbrother, Middle Years Programme Coordinator at ACS Doha joined us for this episode to talk about her passion for the MYP and why it's such a strong programme for students. It's an important time in students lives in both learning and choosing their future academic pathways, with the eAssessments playing a significant part of their end results. Holly talks us through the programme of support she has put into place to enable our Middle Years students in ACS Doha to be their best selves and achieve their optimal results during their online assessments, and how the new campus has the power to further transform the Middle Years Programme. 

"What is right for one person, is not right for the next person". Dr Ryan Hinchey, Coordinator for College Counselling at ACS Cobham talks us through the philosophy of 'best fit' that they abide by, working with our students from Grade 9 to guide and steer them to think about their future choices after their time with us at school. We're incredibly proud of our robust careers counselling programme, and the services that we offer our students. Find out current trends we see in our students, and how we go about helping them plan for their future in this latest episode. 

"Sports breaks down barriers..." We spoke with Jamie Johnston, Director of Co-curriculum and Athletics at ACS Egham to find out sports unifies our international student community; immediately giving them something in common. More importantly, as highlighted even further during the pandemic, it gives students an opportunity to simply 'play' with their friends. Find out in this episode how ACS Egham is reimagining its sports and co-curricular programme for academic year 2021/22/