The British School at Seoul Foreign School is celebrating its 40-year anniversary.

The British School was founded on Aug. 25, 1981, through collaboration among the British Council, the British Businessmen’s Group and the British Women’s Group as well as the Seoul Foreign School.

The British School began with two classes, 17 students and two UK-qualified teachers, and in 1984, the British School was recognized as a permanent entity. With permission granted, a new school building was completed and opened by British Ambassador Nicholas Spreckly on May 29, 1986.

The British School grew rapidly, reaching 137 students by September 1992. Since then, it has established itself as a school of choice in Seoul, offering a British-focused education. Currently the student body is composed of 280 students representing 38 different nationalities.

Throughout this school year, the British School community is celebrating the past 40 years, reflecting on its history and planning for the future. In May, two weeks of special events included a homeroom decorating contest, the creation of a time capsule, a 1980s-themed dress-up day, morning tea with parents, a flag parade and finally an all-school British-style street party featuring fair games, a bouncy castle and other fun activities for students and faculty.

In conjunction with the school’s 40th anniversary, the entire SFS community has come together to fund the building of a new playground at the British School. Seoul Foreign School aims to create innovative learning spaces and facilities for its students. The “Pitch In: Playground” fundraising campaign is facilitating a new space with updated equipment in age-specific sections and increased safety measures to help students lead balanced, healthy lives. The playground is slated for opening in August, at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year.

Today, the British School at Seoul Foreign School is a place where values build community and where learning connects students to relevance in the world around them. Alongside the English National Curriculum for Mathematics and English, the school has recently introduced innovative frameworks for international learning in all other subjects which add thinking, collaboration and relevance to a strong learning environment. These are underpinned by six core values that bind the community together and, along with the benefit of small class sizes, give the British School its reputation of being “like a family.” In addition to academic rigor, the sports, arts, music and drama facilities provide balance, ranking among the best in Asia.

By Korea Herald staff (khnew@heraldcorp.com)