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7 questions for Ray Holliday-Bersegeay, head of St John’s International School

11:06 12/11/2014

In 1964, a small group of expatriate parents living and working in Belgium approached an order of Catholic sisters and asked them to help them build a school. The idea was to provide their children with an education in English. St John’s International School was born.

What began as a small band of 114 students in a schoolhouse in Brussels has, 50 years on, moved to Waterloo and stands as one of the foremost international schools in Europe, counting over 700 students representing some 55 nationalities.

On top of celebrating its 50th year of English-language education in Belgium, on 1 August of this year, the school welcomed a new head, Ray Holliday-Bersegeay. We sat down with Mr Holliday to find out who he is and what St John’s is like today.

1. How did you end up at St. John’s doorstep?

I have 25 years of experience leading international schools. I got into international education while I was working in a middle school in northeastern England. I was spending a lot of my vacation time working as a director of international holiday camps in France, which gave me a taste of international flavour that told me this what I wanted all year round.

I applied for a leadership post of the British Council School of Madrid, went on a two-year contract and stayed for 14 years. Since then, I have worked as a director in Madrid, Boston, Budapest, Paris and now Waterloo.

2. What brought an international school to Waterloo?

St. John’s started out in Brussels, founded at the request of a group of expats business parents wanting to find an English language education for children between grades 1 and 8.

It was so successful that they soon needed to expand. In Waterloo there was prime land available to have a school that could have outdoor facilities like playing fields as well as room to grow. They moved in 1969 and it grew quite rapidly from there. Today we provide education for children from two to 18.

3. How is 50 years of St. John’s being celebrated?

It’ll be a yearlong celebration, which I’ve arrived just in time for. Along with days of festivities and events for students, teachers and administrators, we’ve also invited alumni, former teachers and the public to celebrate with us.

This includes the inauguration of a lecture series called the Legacy Lectures, which will be an on-going event from now on and which invites former students who have made a success in their careers to come to the school to talk about their area of expertise and how St. John’s influenced them.

 At the end of the year, the celebrations culminate in a big alumni event with former students flying in from around the world.

4. How has the school changed since its beginnings?

When the school moved to Waterloo in 1969, it was built for 250 students. This year we have 715 students, so a lot has changed. A middle school was built, along with a sports arena, gymnasium and first-class art facilities.

5. What does the student body at St. John’s look like?

Well, it’s easiest to talk about language groupings. The two main groups are the English speakers and the francophones. But from a nationality point of view, you’ve also got, for example, Scandinavians and Japanese. We’ve also got quite a number of students from the Arab world and different countries in Africa are highly represented. There is also a very strong Korean group and we host a Korean school on Saturdays so students can keep developing their home language and culture.

Even though we really embrace our Christian values, we are open to all faiths and cultures, so it’s a very strong mix of nationalities, cultures, religious backgrounds, etc.

6. How does St. John’s stand out from the other international schools you’ve worked at?

Where I find it stands out is in the extent to which students really living the three values of the school: companionship, integrity and respect. The way they treat each other, listen to each other, the respect that they give to each other – I’ve actually been very impressed with that. 

Students here are not noisy, neither in formal times nor on the playground. They are measured, they are relaxed, they are thoughtful. When I’ve gone into the classrooms, they are totally focused, they listen to each other, to the teacher, they’re on task.

7. What is the most important thing you have learned from your students?

I have a sense of humility when I listen to our students. I understand from them that we are all learners together, and I sometimes find that our young students are actually teachers. They have the knowledge in certain areas – certainly in technology – and by respecting that, we become a team of learners together.

Written by Katy Desmond