Chris Nash, principal at Beijing Changping Xinxuedao Linchuan School in China and co-author of Starting Your International School, meets Dr Helen Wright to talk about his long and varied career.
He talks about how his many years working in challenging London state schools helped him build the resilience and interpersonal skills needed to work in a very different system abroad.
He discusses how his UK school’s involvement with international choral competitions led him to China, and a “gambler’s instinct” led him to accept a job there.
Chris also gives some advice to UK heads hoping to make the switch to international schools, explaining that UK experience is “a good preparation but not a full preparation” for what international work can throw at you.
He talks about “meeting another culture with humility” and going “out of your comfort zone to engage with a culture in order to find treasure”.
Helen and Chris also discuss how UK schools can learn from other cultures and attitudes to education, especially in the areas of parental involvement and students’ sense of collective responsibility.
The book Starting Your International School will be published later this autumn.
