British Council Sri Lanka hosts Principal’s Forum 2026, celebrating partnership and educational leadership

Annual event uniting principals islandwide for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and professional dialogue

British Council Sri Lanka, the market leader in delivering UK qualifications worldwide, hosted its annual Principal’s Forum on 17 September 2026. The event united principals representing every region in the island who are part of the British Council’s network of over 90 partner schools, through which the organisation delivers UK qualifications each year.

The forum convened principals to exchange ideas and explore key developments in education and school leadership. Proceedings opened with a welcome address by Clare Sears, Country Director, British Council Sri Lanka, followed by a session on the British Council’s value-added services to schools and the introduction of a new safeguarding toolkit.

Guest speaker Fiona MacDonald, an education leadership coach currently based in Scotland, delivered an engaging keynote on ‘Connection, Culture and Continuous Improvement’, offering principals fresh perspectives on leadership and school development.

The forum additionally featured the announcement of the winner of the 2025/26 Your World Competition, which invites students from British Council partner schools to create short social action videos on issues in their own communities, helping them apply classroom learning to real-world challenges. Through the competition, students are encouraged to understand the importance of social responsibility and are inspired to contribute positively to the world.

At this year’s competition, themed ‘Smarter Choices, Stronger Futures,’ Brisbane International School was recognised for its winning entry on community efforts to eradicate dengue risk, with the award presented by Mark Barnabas, Head of Market, English and Exams, British Council Sri Lanka. Next year’s competition will be themed ‘Healthy Habits in a Digital World ‘.

The forum further marked the introduction of two new awards for next year’s Principal’s Forum, such as the Next Level Award, recognising the school achieving the highest aggregate growth in exam entries, and the OSS Champion Award, recognising the school which has engaged most actively with the British Council’s Online Support for Schools (OSS) platform.

The OSS platform is an easy-to-use online resource hub for teachers and school leaders at British Council partner schools, offering access to over 150 teacher training modules, catering to a diverse range of professional and personal development needs. The platform also offers resources such as toolkits and expert-led webinars on classroom management, safeguarding, core teaching skills, special educational needs, and more.

Speaking at the forum, Clare Sears, Country Director, British Council Sri Lanka, said, “This is a once-a-year event designed to create space for us to connect, explore our shared interests, and learn from one another. We also hope it will serve as a platform for sharing valuable insights and ideas to help improve education standards in Sri Lanka.”

Principals from partner schools also shared reflections on their long-standing relationship with the British Council.

Jill McDonald, Principal, The Study, said, “I have been interacting closely with the British Council for many years in the field of school examinations, and it has been a truly wonderful relationship. We are extremely impressed with the way the British Council has coped with various difficulties in an imaginative, productive, and always proactive and positive way. During the COVID period, we were supported every step of the way in ensuring results and qualifications were possible for pupils in those exacting and difficult circumstances. On a day-to-day basis, too, we have greatly valued the enormous care and concern of the examinations team at the British Council, the constant communication, and their timely response to questions. We have also valued their initiative in gathering senior leadership teams and teachers together for forums on leadership. It is very clear the British Council is playing an important role in ensuring pupils and teachers can work productively and positively towards good outcomes in exams and progression towards university and employment.”

The Principal’s Forum demonstrates the British Council’s continued commitment to strengthen ties with its partner school network in Sri Lanka and to support principals and educators deliver the best outcomes for their students.

Photo caption: Mark Barnabas, Head of Market, English and Exam (far right), handed over the award for the Your World global video competition, country winner, to Mrs Padma Jeevananda, Principal, Brisbane International School (pictured here with the winning team)

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