Mr Borja Ferraz

For years, I’ve heard educators talk about school culture.

How do we build it?
How do we change it?
How do we strengthen it?

Today, I think I finally saw it.

Over the past two years, I’ve listened to our leaders talk about learning, growth, inclusion, and student development. The message has been repeated in meetings, professional learning days, and countless conversations.

Then today, a student wrote me:

“Walking into your classroom never felt like entering a room to be graded or assessed. It felt like entering a space to grow, learn, and make unforgettable memories.”

When I read those words, I immediately thought of those conversations.

Not because the student was repeating them, but because that’s the message we hear every day. And now we can see that students feel it too. It has become the way we do things here at UWC.

And that’s when I realised it:

That’s culture.

It’s what happens when ideas are repeated, shared, lived, and eventually become part of who we are and how we work.

I’m proud to belong to a place that lives education this way.

This is definitely a class I will never forget.

During these two years, I have had the pleasure of working with these students, and they have challenged me to rethink the way I teach, the way I structure my classes, and how I can be more effective in responding to students’ needs.

I have been fortunate to work with groups that were completely different from one another, each with their own needs and challenges. As a result, I have had to reinvent myself, becoming more flexible and adaptable to what students say and what students need.

Through the growth and learning culture at UWC South East Asia , I find myself thinking more every day about how to be more inclusive, more responsive, and more intentional in meeting the needs of every student.

This is probably one of the classes in which I have invested the most time and effort to help them succeed, and in many different ways they have.

They have also given me one of the most enjoyable years of my career, and I will always be grateful for that. When you work with students like these, who remind you why teaching is the best job in the world, there is no feeling quite like it.

I will never forget this class. They are truly special.

I’ve seen this student grow so much this year, and most of that growth came from confidence and believing in herself.

Before we could build the language, we needed to build the confidence.

It made me reflect: when I look at subject curricula, I rarely see confidence, self-belief, or belonging explicitly mentioned. They live in wellbeing programmes, pastoral care, and mentoring, separate from the academic content.

Yet in my experience, these are often some of the biggest drivers of academic progress.

Wellbeing and academics aren’t two separate things. Experiences like this remind me how deeply connected they are.

I’d love to see these human aspects embedded more intentionally into curriculum and teaching, because they can make all the difference to student success.

Language Idol in Grade 5 is always one of those moments that reminds you why these experiences matter so much.

Our students prepare and perform songs in different languages bringing together the diversity of our school in one celebration. The final performances in the auditorium are always a highlight: energy, nerves, excitement, and a real sense of community across the whole grade.

But what makes it special is everything that happens before that. Over the weeks of preparation, students are not only developing their speaking and pronunciation in the target language, but also building essential skills such as self-management, teamwork, and problem-solving.

It becomes much more than a performance. It’s a cross-curricular learning experience where language, collaboration, creativity, and confidence all come together.

A great event, a lot of fun, and most importantly, meaningful learning in action.

Today, after some peer assessment with my Grade 8 students, I went through their papers and could see them filled with encouraging messages and compliments from their peers.

I never asked them to do that. It just came naturally.

It honestly filled my heart. With all the negativity we see around us every day, moments like this remind me how wonderful young people can be.

I’ve recently become a dad, and moments like this make me think a lot about the values I want to raise my boy with.

I also feel very lucky to work with students like these. After teaching internationally for many years in different countries, I’ve realized that kids are wonderful everywhere. I’ve met amazing students all over the world.

But there is something quite unique about the students at UWC. It’s hard to explain exactly what it is, but they have this special way of being: kindness, awareness, empathy, openness, something different.

I think a lot of it comes from the school philosophy itself. An education based not only on academics, but also on values, on trying to develop wonderful human beings first.

And I think that reflects so much on the students.

It’s such a pleasure to teach young people like this. I’m very proud of them, and very happy to be a teacher here.

Love has a new meaning today for us ❤️ Welcome to the world Dario 👶🇪🇸🇹🇭🍼 We’ll surround you with love and kindness so you can make this a better world❤️ LOVE YOU

There is evidence that boys tend to have lower self-regulation on average, especially in the early years, and current educational systems tend to reward behaviours like sitting still, focus, and organisation. This can disadvantage some boys. At the same time, newer generations, regardless of gender, are showing similar struggles with attention, regulation, and engagement. Even with some changes already happening, I think a more fundamental shift in how education is structured is necessary to better support all students.



https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/upshot/boys-falling-behind-data.html

It is always great to come back to a place where one was happy. So many good memories, such a great time here. I really grew a lot while I was there, and since I left I have grown even more, to the point that I am not the same person I was back then.

I love seeing so many familiar faces. Colleagues, friends, but especially my former students, who I really love. So many smiles, so many happy faces. I was really happy to see you all. I really appreciate the love you still show me, even four years after I left.

And for all of you asking me “do you remember me?” or “do you remember my name?”, I understand that. But over the years I have had more than 200 students every year, for 8 years, so it is difficult to keep up with all the names.

But I do remember YOU. I remember the moments with you guys. I talk about you all the time, the stories in the class, the trips, the football games and tournaments, the noisy buses 🤦🏽‍♂️ I will always remember you!

Last but not least, sorry about the no hugs. I keep hugs for graduation day. Until then, high fives and fist bumps. It is not that I do not want to, I would love to, but for safety reasons and students’ wellbeing, hugs are for graduation day and when you are a legal adult out of school, sorry 😬

Always a pleasure to see you guys, and looking forward to the next time.