THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MONACO

ANNUALREPORT

2018 - 2019

 Monaco

Our Focus is on Student Learning

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Dear Parents, Staff, Alumni and Friends,

Having completed the first twelve months on the Board of ISM, this is myfirst opportunity as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees, to address thestakeholders of our fine school. I am extremely proud of what has beenachieved in this short time.

The Board has focussed on governance, developing committees to adviseus and co-opting other members of the Association and professional advisorsto assist us on our path towards educational excellence and our determinationto make ISM one of the best international schools in Europe.

We have the will and resources to achieve this, enhanced by the Principality’s commitment to ISMnotably through the development of the Testimonio II project and, in 2015, the conversion of the formerYacht Club into our Early Years facility.

The Government recently approved the draft of our new Articles of Association which has beenreviewed by our working group and we look forward to wider distribution to the members of theAssociation.

The Board also commissioned a due diligence review which was carried out by KPMG, assessinggovernance, risk and the correct functioning of the executive and non-executive. A financial audit wascarried out by Ernst and Young and posted on the parent portal along with the Council of InternationalSchools Accreditation summary and the Board’s report at the Annual General Assembly. Theseprocedures have confirmed that ISM is in good order and the tasks ahead clear.

The Board was delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Stuart Burns as our incoming Directorfrom August 2019. A graduate of Cambridge University, and with experience of major international brandssuch as Dulwich College and Brighton College, and a fluent French and German speaker, Stuart knowsa great deal about educational excellence. Before the year had ended he had already made significantinroads with the senior leadership team on education review, results analysis, extra curricular and sportingactivities and well-being.

At the end of the year, assisted by our newly appointed Director of Finance and Administration,Mr Jean-Claude Michel, the Board appointed a new catering firm, Eurest, under the leadership of ourexecutive chef Mr George Gavrias to ensure the nutritional well-being of our students and staff.

To strengthen our education expertise within the non-executive, the Board was pleased to appointMr Julian Thomas, former master of Wellington College, as an advisor continuing the excellent work ofMrs Vicky Tuck who worked with us throughout 2018-19. In addition, in consultation with Stuart Burns,the Board has appointed specialist educational consultants GABBITAS, who have been providingindependent educational advice since 1873, to conduct a full review of education, governance andstaffing, and to help draft new strategic plans.

The future looks bright with many inspirational and innovative ideas regarding student leadership,artificial intelligence, coding, sports, pastoral programmes, environmental studies and more. There areopportunities to place the International School of Monaco at the centre of educational thinking as well asoffering our students the best possible preparation for their future.

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The Board had the pleasure of attending the wonderful Graduation Ceremony in June, an outstandingoccasion for our truly international and diverse community. We were most grateful for the presence of MrAndrea Casiraghi and indeed the support of the whole famille princière.

Well done to the 36 graduates and we wish you all the best in your bright futures as ambassadors notonly of ISM but also the Principality of Monaco. Know that ISM is committed to ensuring you achieve yourgoals.

I would like to thank my fellow Board Members with whom it has been a pleasure to work alongsidethis year. My thanks go also to the School Council, the PTA and all the volunteer members of theAssociation. As we head into our transformational Silver Jubilee year, celebrating 25 years of internationaleducation in the Principality, your commitment, hard work, advice and precious time will be more valuablethan ever.

Lastly I would like to thank Stuart Burns, the Senior Leadership Team and our dedicated teachers andour support staff for giving our next generation one of the irrevocable gifts of education.

Justin Hilbert Chair, Board of Trustees

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The Board appointed Mr Stuart Burns as Director of theSchool, with effect from August 1st 2019. The Board approved the appointment of Mr Luc Blais asDirector of Finance and Administration from September 2018.At the end of the year, the Board appointed Mr Jean-ClaudeMichel to take over from Mr Blais with effect from September2019.

Following the elections of June 2018, Mrs Raffaella PerrisMagnetto Tamborrino served as Board Chair for most of theyear with Justin Hilbert as Vice Chair, Carole Kloosterman asTreasurer, and Christina Bergamasco as Secretary. At thetime of the AGM in June, Justin Hilbert became Chair, withRaffaella Perris Magnetto Tamborrino as Vice Chair.

Given the small size of the Board with just four members, theBoard unanimously co-opted professional advisors and re-formed the School Council to assist us with the Committeesstructure. With non-voting roles, the School Council memberscomprise: Ken Judge (Governance and Finance Committee),Marco Repetto, (Facilities Committee), Lee Robinson(Finance Committee), David Burns, (Finance and DueDiligence Committees), Felicity Reardon (Due Diligence andGovernance), and Richard Stephenson (Joint Venture andEducation Committees).

The role of the Education Committee is to hold the educationalexecutive to account, analyse examination results anddevelop action plans to improve our provision. The Board has opted to work with education specialists,employing high quality professionals who have providededucational excellence in their own leadership: Vicky Tuck,formerly Director General of the International School ofGeneva, and Head of Cheltenham Ladies College, wasinstrumental in helping the Board to find a new Director, with

CIS accreditation, on a review of staff pay and benefits, aswell as governance structure. We would also like to thank Mr Michael Featherstone who wasinvaluable in helping the Board with CIS accreditation.

The Board, together with the Buildings and FacilitiesCommittee, met with the Testimonio II architects, andconsulted with staff members, to agree on some importantmodifications to the plans. The aim was to make better use ofthe space available, and these have been approved by theGovernment and their contractors. Within the present school, routine classroom upgrades andsome improved staff areas were completed during the year.

Enrolment remained high with 657 students enrolled by June2019. As a non profit association with no external subventions,fee income is by far the largest source of revenue. The Boardapproved an overall increase of 3.5% in tuition fees to meetrising costs and in particular staff expenses. As part of thesocial review led by Vicky Tuck, there were significantimprovements for health insurance, and travel subsidies forstaff members, and extended fee remissions for the childrenof teachers. This has led to a strengthening of the quality andexperience of the staff recruited during 2018/19, notably forthe coming year.

The Board of Trustees along with the PTA and School Councilhosted two “Happy Hour” welcome drinks for parents and staffin September 2018 and April 2019. Regular BoardCommuniques were issued to the ISM community throughoutthe year with a special edition being sent to all staff inFebruary 2019. The Audited Accounts for 2017/18, the planned budget for2019/2020, and the Board Report were placed on the secureparent portal for the first time, enabling parents to study thesedocuments at home.

The AGM took place on June 4th. Lacking a quorum, aninformal discussion took place covering a number of areas,and the outgoing Director made a report. The re-convened AGM took place on June 25th when theaudited accounts for the previous year, and the budget for2019/20, were approved by the attending members.

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I am pleased to give this Director’s report of the past school year which has been my fifth andfinal year at ISM.

The main focus this year has been the re-accreditation process by the Council ofInternational Schools (CIS) which concluded eighteen months of hard work by all stakeholdersincluding the Board of Trustees, parents, staff and students.

To quote the CIS, which is a major accrediting body for international schools, “The final award of CIS accreditationshows that the school has achieved high standards of professional performance in international education and has acommitment to continuous improvement.” Council of International Schools

ISM was successfully re-accredited in December 2018 when the school was especially commended for its globalcitizenship, multilingualism, partnership with parents, extra-curricular activities, a commitment to well-being, andgovernance, which has provided a stable financial model for investment in the new campus.

The Visiting Team made a number of recommendations in December 2018 which were implemented by June2019, when ISM was reported as having “made good progress in aligning with the CIS Accreditation Standards”.I would like to thank all members of the ISM community for their hard work in achieving this.

A major priority this year was to redefine and clarify our strategic Core Values and Learning Principles, in line withour Mission. Much time was spent thoroughly examining and defining what these mean and our learning principles:planning, engagement, celebration, content, expectations and feedback. Visual portraits demonstrating theseattributes have been devised and displayed across the school. A Quality Assurance and professional learningframework ensures that the quality of learning, teaching and professional practice are of a high standard.

Student well-being continued to be a high priority with expansion of the well-being team, workshops with bothparents and students on anti-bullying, internet safety and the use of social media, and understanding the teenageyears.

I am pleased to report a successful set of examination results. Students in Year 11 achieved some of the bestresults in the Cambridge IGCSE results that we have seen in a number of years, and a restructuring of this programmefor next year will give students more choice of subjects in line with their particular aptitudes.

I had the great pleasure of addressing the 36 students of the Class of 2019 at their Graduation in June. Theyachieved overall good results in the IB examinations, with a pass rate in the IB Diploma of 91% and an average scoreof 32 points, well above the worldwide average.

Most pleasing of all were the university acceptances with many students admitted to some of the most prestigiousand selective universities in the USA, and into the UK’s most highly regarded ‘Russell Group’ of 24 research-intensiveuniversities. Other students are pursuing vocational and sporting careers. I wish them all the very best for the future.

As I conclude my five years at ISM I would like to thank all our teachers and colleagues, the parents who haveentrusted their children to our care, and the Board of Trustees. I am also grateful to the Monégasque authorities,including the Education Nationale, the Conseil National and most especially the famille princière, who have allcontributed to the success of the school.

Francis GianniISM Director 2014-2019

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5 years

6 years

7 years

8 years

9 years

10 years

11 years

12 years

13 Years

14 years

15 years

17 years

19 years

20 years

21 years

22 years

23 years

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Parenting and Teaching in the Digital World

Action Innocence

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20

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700

600

500

400

300

200

100

01994

34

1997

90

2001

230

2004

300

2007

370

2010

473527

20162013

630

2017

659 651

2018

657

2019

Italy18%

16%

10%

9%7%6%5%4%

25%

United KingdomOther AnglophoneRussiaScandinavianGermanyFranceSwitzerlandAll Other

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

02010

Remaining students

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018474

429 442 448 467 465 470 541 568 533

2817 52

30

54

28

4116

73

33

53

32 52

3758

33

86

32

524 530 524 571 555 630 659 6512019

557

64

36

657

Other leavers Graduates

Total number enrolled

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MULTIPRINT - MONACO

International School of  Monaco12 quai Antoine 1er

98000 Monaco

Telephone: + 377 93256820Fax: + 377 93256830

www.ismonaco.org

ecoleism@cote-dazur.comadmissions@ismonaco.com

All information correct as on October 1st, 2019photo credits: Ed Wright Images, ISM staff.

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