Welcome to Secondary School

When students arrive at the British School of Bucharest, they experience a rich and stimulating environment offering both breadth and depth of learning. This stays the same when our students move on to Secondary School. We continue to provide our students with an outstanding and well-rounded education. Our teachers and staff instil genuine curiosity and love for learning in our students, work closely with them at a social, emotional and personal level and assist them in preparing for their GCSE and IGCSE at Key Stage 4.

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A Learning Experience Like no Other

At the British School of Bucharest, academic expectations are high, and success is achieved through determination, effort and curiosity. We provide our Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 5 with rigorous and challenging academic learning, complemented by a range of extracurricular activities and encourage our students to strive for excellence inside and outside the classroom.

Taking Responsibility Seriously

Our school is particularly noted for the strong sense of community and the strength of pastoral care we provide to our students. We’re honoured by the responsibility to be consecutively rated `Excellent` for the quality of students’ learning, achievement and personal development by the UK Independent School Inspectorate (ISI).

Our students are exposed not only to a rigorous programme of academics but also a range of bespoke learning experiences which allow them to explore and discover their interests and talents beyond the curriculum, from musical and theatrical performances to exhibitions, gastronomy and engineering.

Jason Porter, Head of Secondary School

A Place where Wonder Meets Rigour

At the British School of Bucharest, we enrich the National Curriculum for England with an extensive extracurricular and co-curricular programme, including our popular school trips and inter-school events. We aim to inspire students through specific enrichment activities, enabling them to find true passions and apply interests and aptitudes from and beyond the classroom.

Academic success is excellent, as evidenced through examination results at IGCSE and A level. Pupils achieve places and scholarships at a wide range of universities both at home and abroad, including to study medicine, engineering, art, languages and the humanities. Pupils take pride in their work and show initiative and independence, as well as a keenness to work collaboratively. Pupils showed the skills they had employed to tackle challenging homework, appropriate to their competency levels, including high-quality individual work, in the form of an extended project in the sixth form.

2025 ISI Report

We focus on educating the whole person, and this remains central to the mission and ethos of our school. We are passionate about providing every learner at BSB with the stimulus, encouragement and support to develop their academic abilities.

Grant Gillies, Headmaster

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A Culture of Inclusivity & Belonging

Each student who joins our school is placed into one of the four academic Houses – Arges, Mures, Danube and Olt, named after the four major rivers in Romania. While they’re at the British School of Bucharest, their House is like a second family. Through the House System and House Competition, our students establish lifelong friendships, develop a sense of identity and belonging, celebrate achievements and learn how to get along with people from various cultures.

Academic Achievements

Striving for academic and personal achievement helps our children develop invaluable aptitudes, build mental skills and paves the way for them to fulfil their full potential. Each success builds the confidence to dream even bigger, fueling passion in everything they do. We’re proud of their accomplishments and excited to assist them in achieving high on their academic and personal journey.

Meet Our Teachers

Jason Porter

Head of Secondary
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Jason Porter

Head of Secondary

Jason Porter joined the British School of Bucharest in 2013 as Deputy Head of Secondary and is now our Head of Secondary. He graduated from Exeter University, where he read Russian and German, and later qualified as a Modern Foreign Languages teacher at the University of Nottingham. Jason joined the school following nine years as Housemaster at Chigwell School, a prestigious HMC Boarding School in the UK. Jason has obtained an MA course in Applied Educational Leadership and Management at University College London (Institute of Education).

Philosophy

I advise my students to always expose themselves to different languages because that’s how we understand and appreciate others’ cultures, values and ways of life, which enrich our lives. Language is a window into another person’s life. Children growing up surrounded by, understanding and adopting these values are more likely to become tolerant, respectful and accepting adults.

What I teach my students

To learn and develop together, personally, academically and professionally, and aspire to leave BSB a bit differently than when they started – in a good way, of course.

Something unexpected

Despite studying languages, I took A-Level physics when I was at school. This was because I wanted to learn about black holes and the Big Bang, only then to discover these topics didn’t really feature in the syllabus. But my physics teacher took a syllabus detour, and we studied them anyway!

Rob Notley

Director of Pastoral Care and Inclusion
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Rob Notley

Director of Pastoral Care and Inclusion

Rob joined the British School of Bucharest in 2019 as a Senior Leadership Team member, contributing to the school’s development for three years. After a year in the UK as Vice-Principal at a large academy, he returned to BSB in 2023. He holds a BA in Physical Education and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) from Southampton University, alongside the NPQML from UCL. Currently, he is pursuing the NPQH and leads the COBIS Student Leadership Weekend.

With over 14 years of teaching and leadership experience, Rob has held roles such as Director of Sport and Vice-Principal in the UK. He has worked as a consultant supporting school improvement and served as a school governor. At BSB, he has introduced impactful programmes including the BSB Prize, TEDx events, the EPQ, LAMDA qualifications, and pastoral systems to enhance the school’s well-being. Additionally, he delivers the CPML, a COBIS programme that develops Middle Leaders in international schools, and he is a COBIS Peer Accreditor.

Before his career in education, Rob served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. A keen sportsman, he has collaborated with the Youth Sport Trust on a nationwide sport education programme and worked with the FA to increase participation in girls’ football. At BSB, Rob serves as Director of Co-Curricular, Development and Community Outreach.

Innovation Hub

Established in 2016, the BSB Innovation Hub was created to teach students how to apply innovation principles and provide a hands-on approach to classroom learning.

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What’s Been Happening in Secondary?

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Emma

Emma
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Leming

Leming