Welcome to School Year 2025-2026, exciting site developments, new governor appointments and more

Dear BSM Family,

Mabuhay! Happy New (school) Year 2025-2026.

A very special and warm welcome to our new BSM family members! We are most grateful to have you all on board as part of our BSM family.

Speaking of gratitude, please remember to be grateful for all that you have and think of those who face incredible challenges in their lives. Just here, on our doorstep in Manila, there have been devastating floods and fires, and around the world—conflicts and disasters. As we always do, we have supported relief efforts through our Service and Sustainability Fund. Thank you to those of you who have contributed to the fund through various channels last year.

On your behalf, my gratitude must go to our hardworking BSM teams. You will notice many changes and improvements which have been actioned over the break. To everyone involved in the holiday work, thank you. A huge thank you to our COO, Maita Borromeo, Operations Manager, Dee Trovela, and their teams. 

Site Developments

There have been over 30 projects completed, with the Adventure Playground installation still ongoing. Each project falls under one of our three strategic vision elements for our campus:

Upgrade, Uplift, or Development. 

These three elements reflect our strategic vision with the goal to:

Develop and maintain a dynamic, inspiring, and world-class future-ready campus that enables outstanding learning experiences and demonstrates our commitment to our guiding statements.

Teachers and academic staff have also been hard at work preparing for this school year. Thank you to those teams, too.  

As you know, this school year began on a Wednesday, a change from previous years, and feedback from students, families, and staff alike suggests it has been a welcome shift. Many parents have commented on how the mid-week start gave their children a smoother transition back into school life. Students themselves have expressed excitement and enthusiasm from day one. The week has been filled with a vibrant sense of energy, warmth, and connection across the campus, setting a wonderfully positive tone for the months ahead.

As per our Guiding Statements, we seek for every child to flourish and measure success not by exam results only, but by how each student flourishes. Examination results are important, though, and we will hold off reporting on the highly anticipated IB Diploma Programme results and IGCSEs until everything has been finalised by the exam bodies. I can say, however, based on what we already know, that we can proudly claim to be a school of distinction globally. 

Our students remain at the centre of our community and at the centre of our purpose, and I urge each of them to appreciate the opportunities they are given and grasp them with both hands.

As I shared with students at our Welcome Assembly:

Embrace curiosity and inquiry, pushing boundaries in academic and creative learning.

Act with integrity, kindness, and responsibility toward each other, our school, and our global community.

Build resilience and adaptability, empowered to navigate challenges with grit and positivity.

Celebrate our sense of belonging through learning, friendships, and shared experiences.

You will find courage within yourself, and you will find support from the people around you. 

Your family. 

Your school.

Your community.

Grasp them with both hands.

Have a fantastic year, BSM. 

Martin van der Linde

Head of School

New Governor Appointments

On behalf of the Chairman of the Board of Governors, it is our pleasure to present to you our new Governors:

Mr Trevor Morrish-Hale - Service and Sustainability Governor

Mrs Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng - Communications and Marketing Governor

Mr Marthyn Cuan - Information and Communication Technology Governor

To know more about our Board of Governors, please visit the Leadership page of the school’s website.

We are fortunate to have such committed parents amongst our community. 

Parent Workshops

'Year 13 HE Parents' Evening', Wednesday, 20 August, 04.00pm, LRC, Level 2 Screen Space

Year 13 parents are warmly invited to the HE Evening on Wednesday, 20 August at 04.00pm in the LRC, Level 2 Screen Space to meet with the College Counsellors and extended IB team about supporting students through the year ahead.