MIDDLE EAST
...Choosing a school in the Middle East
QATAR – A GROWING MARKET Qatar is predicted to see major growth in international
schools over the next decade. According to ISC data, the country currently has 152 English-medium international schools teaching more than 115,000 students. The majority of these schools are located in Doha, where more are urgently needed.
The growing preference of Qatari families for an international-school education for their children, and large-scale infrastructure projects which are attracting more expatriates to the region, are increasing the demand for international-school places. Lusail, the new city that is currently being built 15 kilometres north of the centre of Doha, is attracting much attention.
Alongside a number of Qatari national schools being built in Lusail, there will also be a range of international schools, several of which are due to be in operation by 2018. Qatar’s Supreme Education Council (SEC) is currently running its Outstanding Schools Programme to select the best schools from around the world – which teach the most reputable national and international curricula – and support them in establishing a school in Qatar. As part of this programme, Qatar’s Outstanding Schools include Arabic, Islamic studies and Qatari social studies within their curriculum.
Sherborne Qatar (a sister school to the UK’s independent
Sherborne School) was established in 2009 at the invitation of SEC’s Outstanding Schools initiative. As a joint venture between the Supreme Education Council and Sherborne UK, the SEC regulates the school, sets the fee level, and monitors the admissions process and the delivery of Arabic, Islamic studies and Qatari history, while Sherborne UK monitors the educational standards of the school. “We also have inspections from BSME [British Schools in the Middle East], COBIS [Council of British International Schools] and BSO [British Schools Overseas],” said Michael Weston, senior headmaster of Sherborne Qatar. “The reputation of Sherborne UK counts for a lot, but I think we have proved ourselves to be a proper school in our own right.”
Six years on from opening, Sherborne Qatar now has more than 1,000 pupils – 600 in pre-school, pre-prep and prep, and 400 in senior school. The school completed its age-range expansion in September 2015, when it opened its upper-sixth form. In a region where English-medium British education is prized, demand for places at Sherborne Qatar already outstrips supply.
Kings’ School Dubai
Also established under the Outstanding Schools initiative, the International School of London (ISL) Qatar opened in 2008. ISL Qatar, part of the ISL Group, is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, authorised to offer the IB Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma, a particularly respected and rigorous curriculum chosen by leading international schools around the world, is offered by ten schools in Qatar. ACS Doha, part of the ACS International Schools Group, has recently been authorised as an IB World School. “Once authorised as an IB World School, parents and students can be confident that their school has a rigorous curriculum encouraging student curiosity and international- mindedness,” says Mark London, marketing manager of ACS International Schools.
The school in Doha has also been awarded full
accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), one of six US regional accrediting associations. This is a way for an international school to differentiate itself and to guide parental choice, explains Mark London.
“Accreditation is an important quality mark for an international school, recognising and demonstrating that the educational offering reaches the highest levels of teaching and learning,” he concludes.
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