Rethinking Excellence
As part of our paideia of areté – an education which cultivates excellence of character over and above an exclusive focus on academic success – Byron students have taken on a multitude of challenges this year in academics, arts, sports, and leadership, bringing home significant accomplishments.
Science was an especially strong showing this year: more than 170 students competed in maths, physics, and chemistry competitions with more than 70% receiving distinctions at Gold, Silver, and Bronze level. Cambridge offer-holder Youchen Liu won Byron’s first Gold medal in the prestigious British Maths Olympiad and ranked in the top 4% globally in the British Physics Olympiad – an astonishing achievement for a young man who will go far.
We also expanded our EPQ programme this year with several students undertaking an independent, university-level project on their own initiative. Stand-outs include Valentina Kiliorides who adapted and created her own filmed adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s pioneering modernist novel The Waves; Zimo Chen who researched, designed, built and tested a novel suspension system combining fluid dynamics and electromagnetic effects; and Elena Zheng who researched the impact of the evolution of quantum computing on economic analysis. Congratulations to all our EPQ scholars: we are extremely proud of you!
Our established participation in the International Duke of Edinburgh Award tested our students’ teamwork and resilience as ever – staying spirited even when a storm overtook the Bronze qualifying expedition! Sports also flourished, with an enriched curriculum, tournament participation, and individual successes such as Mikolaj Kuskowski achieving Second Place in the Syggrou Park cross-country meet.
We continued establishing a firm presence nationally and internationally in MUN and Debate, with standout roles like Christina Palamidi serving as Secretary-General in another school and Nataliia Bortnyk delivering an inspiring speech in support of Ukraine.
In Forensics, Creative Writing, Byron Voice and Byron Little Voice we continued to develop powerful, original, and impassioned creative voices that have stories to tell and are not afraid to speak up – discover the year’s output at byronvoice.myportfolio.com, as well as in published works from our ‘There’s a Story’ creative writing clubs like The Last Cocoa Bean and Picky Eaters!
Our Art@Byron Festival gained in strength in its second year with exhibitions and performances which dovetailed with our Chinese New Year celebrations – a three-day event where the school came alive with music and colour.
With Byron Talks in its fourth year, inspiring professionals from our parent community and beyond as well as university reps from five different countries guided our Secondary students toward their futures. This programme was expanded to include parent workshops as well, including a series on supporting students’ mental health.