History

BSS was founded in 1970 by John Edwards MBE as the Salalah English Speaking School. Granted a Royal Charter in 1973, the school moved to its current premises in 1980. The current location was opened by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on 23 April 1981.

Originally most of the BSS students were the children of British expatriates. However, as many of these families left Oman, enrollment at BSS dropped. At one point, reaching as few as ten students! In the early 2000s, enrollment climbed again as BSS started attracting a diverse mix of students whose parents wanted them to have a 'British-style' education. 2013 saw the enrollment almost double.

Now BSS is the leading British international school in the region and continues to go from strength to strength. In May 2019, BSS formed a new and significant partnership with British School Muscat, an outstanding world class international school. Since then the school’s governance has come under that of BSM; BSS continues to greatly benefit from the opportunities this has provided. In most recent times this has included introducing iGCSEs and International A-Levels through the FlexEd programme, allowing students to continue their studies at BSS.

In 2022, the school achieved COBIS (Council of British International Schools) Compliance, becoming the only school in Salalah to have met the criteria of this rigorous quality assurance process.

Originally created for a small number of students, the school has maintained its family feel and those that work, attend or send their children to the school often comment on the deep affection they have for this family friendly community school at heart the of Salalah.