BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

INTERNATIONAL School Brunei (ISB) opened the doors to its new campus yesterday with students’ safety being the utmost priority.

ISB Executive Principal Dr Steven Geraghty said, during the re-opening of the school at its new campus at Kg Sungai Hanching, that they have taken precautionary measures to prevent students from accessing the incomplete construction site.

He said that the site for the sports and admission buildings has been completely barricaded to keep students out of the dangerous area.

He explained that the school has completed its first phase – the teaching and learning block – while phase two will be completed within three weeks and phase three will be completed by January 2016.

The second phase includes the construction of a 25-metre competition touch-pad pool, a new indoor sports hall and a theatre, among others.

Phase three will include a boarding house for some 190 foreign students.

“We have informed our students to stay away from the construction area and we have closed it off with walls and security tapes,” said the executive principal.

“Safety is our primary objective… there are no safety issues and worries here because there is no way students can cross over the wall,” he added.

The school has also added four new security personnel to ensure the safety of all 1,160 students.

“They will keep an eye on the students and the campus by roaming around and keeping people safe… the campus is safe,” said Geraghty.

Amir Hamzah Hj Rahman and Khairiza Iswanie, parents of three ISB students, said that they were not concerned and that they are convinced that their children are safe.

“We were briefed by the school that our students will not be allowed or be able to get near the area or speak with the workers because it has been barricaded and they will be supervised by teachers at all times,” Khairiza said.

She added that their driver and maid will also ensure their safety after school hours by picking the children up on time.

“After visiting the new campus, we know it’ll be safe for our children and we are not worried at all,” they said.

Daisy Cartwright, a parent of two children in Year One and Three said that she was concerned about her children’s safety before visiting the campus.

“I was worried, but after visiting today, seeing the action taken by the school… it is safe and I am confident about it,” she said.

The Brunei Times