Teaching English in Brunei is an amazing experience.  Many people believe that it is in the Middle East, as it is a small oil-rich Muslim state. It is however situated in South East Asia on the North East coast of the magical island of Borneo 450Kms north of the Equator. Brunei is divided into two separate sections and is totally surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak.

The country has a lush, green, leafy feel to it that many people find addictive. Every bush that one passes is alive with the sounds of hundreds of creatures and the amount of flora and fauna that one can witness on a daily basis is one of the many attractive aspects of life in Brunei.

Most people tend to live on or near the coast and the rest of the country is mostly primary or secondary rainforest. Despite the enormous amount of development which has taken place over the last ten years, there are still very large areas of untouched jungle, as there has been little or no extensive logging and there is not really any heavy industry. The oil industry is concentrated on the southwest coast and does not have a serious degrading effect on the environment. Because of the small population, the towns are not at all crowded. Overall then, much of the country is in pristine condition.

Dig in to the information pages here to learn more about teaching jobs in Brunei.

Bandar Seri Begawanis the capital city of Brunei and the hub for all teaching jobs and teachers in Brunei.  Bandar Seri Bagawan, often called BSB, is a relaxing city with a very friendly safe feeling.  The Brunei River snakes its way around the city and the river taxis are a great way to get around and enjoy BSB.  There are a couple Western offerings for food and restaurants and these are primarily relegated to Bandar Seri Begawan as it is the most populous area of the country.

Living and teaching in Bandar Seri Begawan is pretty chilled.  There is a great friendly community and it is a fantastic place for teachers who are looking for opportunities to relax.

While you are in BSB it would be sacrilege to miss out on the 500 year old Kampong Ayer village which is the world's biggest community built on stilts spread out over the river.

School vacations in Brunei vary from year to year so for the sake of being able to generalize we are providing estimates here.

• Term 1
  • starts last week of August
  • ends first/second week of December
• Term 2
  • starts first/second week of January
  • ends mid-March
• Term 3
  • starts last week of March, first week of April
  • ends last week of June, first week of July

Public Holidays in Brunei

Muslim public holidays like the Prophet Muhammed's Birthday, 1st Day of Ramadhan, Nuzul Al-Quraan, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Hari Raya Aidil Adha and the 1st Day of Muharram are public holidays where the dates change from year to year based on the Saudi calendar.  It is not uncommon for last minute revisions to dates previously announced for Muslim public holidays...

It should be noted that public holidays that occur on a Sunday are moved to the following Monday.  It should also be noted that Saturday is genreally recognized as a half-working day for most of the Sultanate.

Here is a general overview of the public holidays in Brunei:

• Jan 1 - New Years Day
• Jan 23 - Chinese New Year (changes year to year)
• Feb 5 - Maulidar Rasul (the Prophet's birthday
• Feb 23 - National Day
• May 31 - Royal Brunei Armed Forces Day
• June 17 - Isra Mikraj (The Prophet's Ascension)
• July 15 - H.M. the Sultan's Birthday
• July 21 - start of Ramadhan (changes year to year)
• Aug 6 - Nuzul Al-Quraan (Quran Revelation Day)
• Aug 19 - Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (end of Ramadhan)
• Aug 20-21 - Hari Raya Aidil Fitri Holiday
• Oct 26-27 - Hari Raya Aidil Adha Holiday
• Nov 15 - Islamic New Year
• Dec 25 - Christmas Day