Denla British School (DBS) promotes well-being, nurturing students to become outstanding global leaders, fully equipped to handle the challenging world of the future.
It is widely recognised that growing stresses and pressures can have a significant impact on children’s well-being. Denla British School (DBS) is committed to developing an inspiring and nurturing environment in which students fulfil their unique potential as global leaders. DBS is a premium international school that implements the enhanced UK curriculum from the best practice of independent schools in the UK. We believe that to solely excel in academics is not enough to become successful and happy. Therefore, DBS is determined to promote student’s academic excellence together with acquisition of life skills, where well-being is a central element and is cultivated in students from an early age.
Mr Mark McVeigh, DBS Principal, who has extensive experience from leading schools in the UK and South East Asia, says that DBS focuses on the quality of teaching and learning in an encouraging environment to support students to discover their talents so that they develop to their full potential. This Unique DBS Vision is based on 4 key principles: an Enhanced British Curriculum, Academic Excellence for All, Entrepreneurship and Creative Thinking, and Community and Global Perspectives.
Well-being is intrinsically aligned with the vision of DBS. Our enhanced British curriculum ensures that students understand the importance of exercise, the need to have critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students are encouraged to be resilient and confident, with a happy and outgoing mindset. They are supported to be mentally healthy so they can handle a challenging curriculum effectively. DBS focuses on a creative thinking and entrepreneurship mindset, readying students to become global leaders, and acquiring hard and soft skills. Importantly, as good leaders, they understand the need to promote the well-being of those they lead. DBS has appointed Mrs Lisa McVeigh as the school’s Well-Being Manager for students and staff. With her experience as a nurse manager and qualified emergency first response instructor, Lisa has a vital role in supporting the well-being of students, communicating with them on well-being matters, as well as educating them about it in theory, and practice, to encourage good habits. The focus is on promoting co-curricular activities (like sport), healthy eating, positive attitudes and forming good relationships. With her expertise in healthcare management and experience in children’s pastoral care, Lisa can quickly identify areas that need more focus. This can be as simple as overseeing student choices in the dining hall where students whose plates lack colour (fruit and vegetables) are encouraged to make wiser choices to ensure that they have essential nutrients and vitamins. Moreover, there are also workshops for staff in order to share good practice. Well-being influences the agendas of many meetings, and there is a Pastoral Leadership Group whose remit includes discussion of concerns over individual students.
DBS is being proactive by equipping students from a very young age with the tools to be happy and fulfilled. Lisa organises a week-long ‘Denla 5’ initiative to promote a multitude of health and well-being messages for the whole DBS community: parents, staff and students. Each day, the focus will be on exercise, nutrition, relationships, attitude, emotion and mindset, through fun activities with the well-being content smoothly incorporated. This year’s Denla 5 initiative is about the following elements: Get Active – Connect – Keep Learning – Healthy Eating – Give Something Back. The event on 4th -8th November 2019 and students, parents and staff will be happy to engage with the themes together. Students will be encouraged to be thoroughly involved in the project through the Prefects and student council structure. Let’s not forget how children love having fun and learning new things, so, during festival days, including beautiful traditions such as Chinese New Year, Songkran, Loy Krathong and World Book Day, children can practise their creativity by dressing up and crafting things for those special community well-being events.
If you invest time in the well-being of students and staff, it is sure to have a ripple effect throughout the school. A happy school delivers the best education to students. Outstanding activities, promotion of social skills and a well-being mindset makes students well-rounded individuals, leading them to the world’s top universities and successful careers. This is the DBS mission as one of the leading international schools in Thailand. We are dedicated to preparing students thoroughly for the future, in accordance with the school’s vision: ‘Nurturing Global Leaders’.
