Our curriculum explained

One of the great joys of recent weeks has been seeing just how excited my senior team have been in discussions about our curriculum; teachers very rarely get the chance to design a whole-school curriculum from the ground up, so we are jumping at this chance. Our conversations with families have been similar energising, as we have been able to talk with passion about not only what children will study, but how their learning is designed, sequenced, and brought to life over time, and supports or core mission of developing Confident, Able and Responsible young people. 

When founding a new school, a few fundamental questions surface again and again: why does this school need to exist, and what will genuinely make it different? In a city as educationally ambitious and increasingly mature as Dubai, many schools are well led, well resourced, and staffed by talented professionals, something demonstrated clearly in the sector’s response to remote learning and again this week in schools’ handling of the cancellation of GCSE, A Level, and IB examinations.

I've recently fallen into a podcast habit, keeping up to date with nearly ten different shows every week. By complete accident, I discovered last week that one of my teachers from my own school days has launched a podcast, reflecting on a long career in education that culminated in him leading one of Scotland's most successful schools. Listening to a few episodes filled me with nostalgia - and more than a little pride.

Last week marked an important milestone in our project, when I visited our site with the Heads of Senior and Prep Schools. We took delivery of the first two classrooms, on time, and we are delighted with what we have seen. We are deeply grateful to the projects team who, working strictly in line with the best safety advice and government guidance, have kept the project on track in recent weeks.