Dear Parents and Guardians,
Happy New Year!
Further to our end-of-term-1 bulletin, we would like to share with you some key dates to add to your diary for this term.
January 2026
8 – 23 Jan: International A Level Modular Examinations
9 Jan (Fri): House Meet
19 – 22 Jan (Mon – Thu): Inter-House Event
23 Jan (Fri): House Meet
February 2026
4 Feb (Wed): DBIS Live (4pm)
6 Feb (Fri): Children’s Mental Health Day
9 – 11 Feb (Mon – Wed): Secondary School Production
16 – 20 Feb (Mon – Fri): Chinese New Year Break
23 Feb (Mon): Start Back at School
23 Feb – 5 Mar (Mon – Thu): Year 12 & 13 Mock Exams
27 Feb (Fri): House Meet
March 2026
5 Mar (Thu) IAL January Modular Results Published
6 Mar (Fri): Professional Development Day (school closed to students)
7 Mar (Sat): International Food Fair
13 Mar (Fri): House Meet
16 – 19 Mar (Mon – Thu): Inter-House Event
20 Mar (Fri): World Down Syndrome Day
24 Mar (Tue): Year 12 Mock & Short Report Published
25 Mar (Wed): Spring Concert (5pm)
26 Mar (Thu): Year 12 PTSC
26 Mar (Thu): Year 13 S&T Reports Published
27 Mar (Fri): House Assembly – Term 2
27 Mar (Fri): Last Day of Term 2
April 2026
13 Apr (Mon): Start of Term 3
Alumni
If you are DBIS alumni or have children who previously attended the school, please make sure you email [email protected] to stay up to date with our alumni news via our termly newsletter. We are looking forward to organising a Class of 2019 reunion this year, so we are particularly keen to hear from any students from this cohort.
Careers
We are always looking for guest speakers to discuss their career journeys with our students, so if you would like to arrange to come in and share your expertise, we would be delighted to welcome you. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in supporting our careers programme.
Ms Cecilia Lau publishes university and careers guidance information about upcoming events and internship opportunities on the Google Classroom for our students on a regular basis. Please reach out to her should you have any further questions about university applications and career opportunities: [email protected].
Dress Code
While Sixth Form students are not required to wear a uniform, they are expected to adhere strictly to our dress code policy, which is clearly set out in our Sixth Form Handbook. Please see our expectations below:
– When your child has core PE, they need to wear the school’s PE uniform, which consists of the house top and shorts in the summer time and navy tracksuit bottoms in the winter. Please see this link for information on the school’s PE uniform.
– The uniform shop is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 8.15am – 12pm and every Wednesday afternoon from 1.30pm – 4pm, and clothing can also be ordered using the order form.
– If your child does not have core PE, they will need to comply with the dress code. If they do not comply with the dress code, they may be sent home to change or required to attend an after-school reflection for one hour.
Absence
Finally, a reminder that if a student is absent, please complete the relevant absence Jotform. These can the found via this link. Students are expected to be onsite from 8.20pm – 3.20pm and are not allowed offsite during their study periods, other than at break and lunch time. If a student falls ill during the day, they must notify Ivy at the North Plaza Campus reception or their Head of Year to sign out and go offsite. These procedures are incredibly important as part of our school’s safeguarding and child protection policy.
Year 13 Graduation
A letter will be sent to the parents of all Year 13 students after Chinese New Year with further details about this year’s graduation ceremony and the graduation dinner (the dinner is for students only). We are also in the process of finalising designs for the graduation merchandise, and the students will receive a Google form over the coming weeks asking for their orders and payments.
Best wishes
Rebecca Boddington and Ashley Jennings