TBS BOARD OF TRUSTEES

1. Introduction

As a philanthropic educational entrepreneur, my most important passion in life is to contribute positively to the future of young people and to provide them with the best possible opportunities in life.I am happy to create a solid bridge to the future of young people with the vision of "raising people of the world" in our educational institutions. Because of my passion for education, I was honored to be presented with the "Royal Infinity Badge and Plaque" as a World Fellowship by HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburh. The fact that our educational institutions and our support to the youth of the world are crowned with such a meaningful engagement strengthens our motivation to develop more global projects.
 
Mehmet Gültekin is the founder of Horizon Group and a board member of the European Business Council and the British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey (BCCT) Mr. Gültekin graduated from Marmara University, Economics Department and completed his MBA in the UK  
 
The projects he created earned a great respect among the business world, education committees and media. Mr. Gültekin is a global benefactor and supporter of Duke of Edinburgh International Award and his school group, TBS, has the DoE award embedded throughout school life. In a survey conducted by a national magazine, Mr. Gültekin won an award for the best “Social Entrepreneurism”
 

2. Key Business Activities/Services/other details
 
In 1997, he founded the Horizon Education Group, Tarabya British Schools (TBS), Academic Union, Horizon Study Abroad Group, Horizon Language Academy, TBS Media, Istanbul Workshop and International Students Foundation, and transformed it into a worldwide-recognized brand through working on solutions for education and projects with world pioneer universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations.
 
Tarabya British Schools is the pioneer in Turkey that combines the Turkish national curriculum and British national curriculum. All subjects, except for Turkish Language and Cultural lessons are taught in English. Students get an amazing opportunity to enter universities and colleges all around the world.
 
Due to Tarabya British Schools’ internationally recognized success, the European Business Committee and the European Society for Quality Research – ESQR recognized Mr. Gültekin by awarding him the ‘European Quality Award’ for excellence in ‘International Educational Standards’ and ‘Educational Management and Educational Methods’ TBS to this day is the only Patron member in Turkey of COBIS -Council of British International Schools. It is a membership association that represents more than 400 British schools and organizations, globally.
 
Mr Gültekin was instrumental in bringing the Cambridge International brand and suite of exams to Turkey; this subsequently changed the lives of tens of thousands of pupils as they accessed and learnt from world leading curriculum and expertise 
In May 2022 Mr Gültekin led the first ever Turkish school mission to the House of Lords where selected pupils gave speeches on areas of social interest 
 
For 25 years, Horizon Study Abroad Group has been providing the highest quality academic, creative and English language programs, preparing tens of thousands of students for the world's leading universities. With its global portfolio, it meets unique student demands.
Horizon Group has the "Social Entrepreneurship" award, the Socrates Award Nomination Committee (European Union Business Council) and the European Society for Quality Research (ESQR) in the fields of "International standards in education", "Educational management and training methods".
Horizon Group, which carries out national and international activities in the field of education, has made investments in many fields of education from foreign language education, pre-school education to high school.

3. Your life-style/daily routine and how do you keep yourself productive 
and active?
 
For me, it is very important to take care, to maintain a balance between private life and work. Luckily, my wife is also undertaking some of the educational work.  Both of our children continue their education in our educational institutions. Despite the fast pace of working life, I take care to spend time with my family. I devote some of my time to my family to do sports, travel, and social events together.
 
The demands of running a successful company can regularly amount to long work hours, constant stress and a sacrifice of personal time and we are all in this culture that expects both 5am morning routines and working past midnight with little room left for a life outside of work. Thankfully it doesn’t have to be this way and It is possible for successful business owners to strike a healthy balance between their professional and personal life and should really be a requirement for any CEO wanting to lead their business in a healthy and positive way.
 
Moving away from the workplace gives a valuable opportunity for a CEO to look at their businesses from a different angle. For me, that’s time with my family and enjoying nature, this is when I am at my calmest and stress-free.
I also believe that time is my most valuable resource, so I defend it and use it wisely with proactive planning that allows me to have the right balance between work and leisure. This  means that I can actively give the time I need for my family.
 
 

Steve Phillips is a managing director of the British Study Centres Group looking after Transnational Education and University Pathways. Steve has worked in the ELT industry for over 25 years as a school owner, in private higher education, and in the not-for-profit sector. He is TEFLQ (Cambridge Delta) and is a Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

After graduating from Galatasaray High School in 1978 and from Istanbul University Faculty of Law in 1982, he started working as a research assistant at Istanbul University Faculty of Law, Department of Administrative Law at the same year.

In 1984, after completing his LL.M. dissertation entitled “General Overview of Administrative Jurisdiction with Respect to New Regulations” he has started his doctorate studies at Istanbul University Institute of Social Sciences. He has completed his doctorate in1986 and started working on his doctorate thesis. He has continued his doctorate studies at Lausanne University Faculty of Law on 1987-1988 under the advisory of Prof. Dr. Pierre Moor the head of Public Law Department.

After completing his doctorate thesis titled “Identity of Administrative Procedure” in February 1989, he qualified for the title “doctor”. His doctorate thesis is the only one to be published by the Council of State.

In 1989 he was appointed as Assistant Professor to Istanbul University Law Faculty, Department of Administrative Law. Following the specialty exam held on October 01,1993 he became an Associate Professor and continued at assigned to Istanbul University Law Faculty from that November.

Prof. Dr. Celal Erkut transferred to “partial status” in December 1998 and was assigned to Galatasaray University Faculty of Law–Department of Administrative Law as Associate Professor. He became the head of department in this university in August 2000. Prof. Dr. Celal Erkut qualified for to the title “Professor” on July 2004.

He has been working as a board member of Vehbi Koç Foundation since 2014.

Teacher Trainer at Cambridge Assessment International Education
A dynamic, adaptable educator and successful member of school senior leadership teams; who teaches with creativity and leads with energy and flair. Driven about education, teaching and learning. An encouraging, supportive, focused facilitator who enables students and colleagues to realise and surpass their potential.
 

Kireçci received his PhD degree from the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, with his thesis titled "Decline, Discourse and Self-Orientalization." He has taught at the same University and has worked as a lecturer at the Stevens Institute of Technology. Kireçci, who joined Social Sciences University of Ankara Department of International Relations as a faculty member in 2019, after working at Bilkent University for a while, is the editor of Istanbul: Metamorphosis in an Imperial City (with Ed Foster, 2011), Arap Baharı ve Türkiye Modeli Tartışmaları (2013) and Türk Cumhuriyetlerinde Bağımsızlık ve Devlet İnşa Süreci (2018), and the author of Arap Milliyetçiliği (2012) and 2023'e Doğru Kültür Politikaları (2015).

It is a pleasure to introduce myself as the School Director. My role is to ensure that the strategic mission of the school, articulated by the Board, is put into practice, and grown at TBS.
I arrived here in August 2023, after working as a school improvement partner at Sandford School, Addis Abba, before that I was the Principal and CEO of the British School in Alexandria, Egypt. Pre-Covid I was the Director of Avenor College, Romania, after having been the Kazakh countrywide STEM advisor. My UK experience was 13 years of Headship in a school which I lead to Ofsted outstanding status. I qualified as a Chemistry teacher many years ago, and still enjoy teaching my subject when time permits.
On a personal level, I have two wonderful daughters, one currently at boarding school in the UK, and the other just completing her Masters in Social work, with the intention of working with vulnerable families around the world.
My educational philosophy is simple, education is about progress, every single child should make some measurable progress, every single day, in every single lesson. It is my job to ensure that all our young people become better versions of themselves each day. I believe that the keys success in any school, are the interpersonal relationships that develop between families, teachers, students and staff. It is upon these positive relationships that we holistically nurture the talents, aspirations and skills of all young people.
I am proud to serve as the Director of TBS, and hope in some way, that I will contribute to the development of the children in our care, and the missions and vision of the schools group.