Greg Barker, the Head of Secondary, joined Britannica International School, at the beginning of this academic year. Greg studied Drama at the University of Leeds and began his international teaching career in China and the Middle East.
“I am very excited to be here at Britannica and I am very impressed with what I have seen so far; a very welcoming, committed staff and delightful, friendly pupils,” the new head told the Budapest Business Journal. “I am really looking forward to this year during which I hope we can build on this summer’s examination successes for even better outcomes next year.”
BBJ: What excites you most about joining Britannica?
GB: I was initially drawn to the friendly family atmosphere of the school, it felt a very caring community, small enough that all the children were known by the adults in the school, yet large enough to have a rich diversity of cultures, I think there are 56 different nationalities in the school, which enriches the international school environment.
BBJ: What would you like expat parents to know about you?
GB: I love education, I love seeing potential realized, I try to keep the student at the center of every decision I make. I’m a parent of three and a grandparent of two and the first question I always ask myself of every lesson I visit is “Would I be happy for my own children to be in here?” If the answer is yes, great; I may have ideas or suggestions but we have some very gifted teachers here at Britannica and I know I will learn much from them. If the answer is no, then that’s where I need to take action!
BBJ: What do you want to achieve this academic year?
GB: We had a very good set of external examination results this year; I’d like to build on that next summer. More than one-in-three (36%) of the results achieved by our “A” level students were the very top grades of an A or an A*. This is 10% higher than the United Kingdom average. With these outstanding results our students gained places in prestigious universities such as UCL, University of Buckinghamshire, University of Sussex and Kingston University, just to mention a few.
We have very high expectations of our students and I’d like to see every student fulfil their potential. I’d also like us to keep a strong focus on developing independent learners, helping to grow those skills that are going to be essential at university and to build, a word I use a lot at the moment, resilience!
BBJ: Besides the job, what are you most interested in trying out in Hungary?
GB: I’ve started on a quest to try all the spas in Budapest, so far Rudas and Gellért are my favorites, but I’m open to any recommendations. I’m fairly confident I need never be bored here, there seems so much to do and a festival most weekends; what’s not to love!
