Character: what the best schools do best

This weekend I had the chance to watch a recently released documentary that explores the rapid development of AI, and which painted (an at times alarming!) picture of the world that we are about to step into. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, is framed around the director’s reflections as he prepares to become a parent and the film repeatedly returns to a simple but profound question: what kind of world are we creating for the next generation? The answers to that question were in parts inspiring, and in others terrifying, but throughout, there was a sense that certain human attributes will increase in importance, like good judgement, empathy, resilience, ethical reasoning, and the ability to collaborate with others.

The implications for educators are clear. Academic rigour will always matter, but it will become an increasing imperative for schools to focus on developing the attributes which will support the development of the habits of character needed to flourish.

A key element of a QE education that attracted me to the role of principal was that at QE Barnet, in spite of its incredible track record of academic success, there is a relentless and deliberate focus on character development, and we are building our culture to ensure that a similar focus will be found at QE Dubai Sports City.

Schools don’t develop character by chance; it needs to happen by design. Our approach to character development is brought to life through the QE Flourish Programme, which runs through and beyond our academic curriculum. This is so fundamental to the school’s ‘DNA’ that we have appointed a Whole-School Assistant Head to lead on the design and delivery of the programme. I hope that you will have seen our announcement about this post; Jemma Stilwell brings considerable experience in shaping purposeful co‑curricular provision and ensuring that character education is structured, inclusive, and genuinely impactful. She will be working to ensure that our Flourish programme is rooted in the QE Barnet ethos, and that all of the our activities contribute across the ‘Four Cs’:

• Create: creativity, culture, and innovation
• Care: empathy, service, and community contribution
• Challenge: academic stretch and intellectual risk‑taking
• Compete: teamwork, physical development, and resilience

Working closely with class teachers and tutors, each student is expected to contribute across the range of the ‘Four Cs’ during their time at the school, with the breadth and development of their contributions tracked by a Flourish passport, which develops as students gain more experience, and expertise.

Character education is most effective when it is seen as integral to students’ wellbeing, which is why our pastoral systems are built around calm routines and consistent expectations. Wellbeing is taught explicitly and reinforced daily through Personal Development Time, helping students develop emotional literacy and resilience.

Character is shaped through consistent expectations, delivered in a culture of high structure and high expectation. QE’s atmosphere of free-thinking scholarship, which encourages young people to revel in the acquisition of new skills and knowledge, may well be the strongest gift of character that the school can bestow. In classrooms, this is fostered through simple but powerful habits: attentive listening, respectful disagreement, thoughtful contribution, and the confidence to attempt difficult work. Here, our small class sizes matter. They allow teachers to know pupils well, reward effort, and insist on high standards, both academically and personally.

As the project of building QE Dubai Sports City, both physically and culturally continues, our ambition is clear: to create a school where academic excellence and strong character are inseparable, and where young people are equipped with the confidence, ability and responsibility that will set them up for success.

The building project has reached an important inflection point, with the handover of ‘Phase 1’ of the development, and the team moving over to start the second phase of works. We expect that we will be able to offer individual tours to families from the first week of May, and the admissions team will be in touch to organise.