Featured School

Over the years, educators have laid down roots in a number of GCC countries, where they thrive in harmony with the citizens, while making valuable contributions to education in the region.

In a recent issue of Teach Middle East Magazine, we highlighted the good practice that is happening in one of the outstanding schools in Kuwait. In this issue, we shine the spotlight on the Al Jazeera Academy – Secondary School( AJA) in Qatar and give you greater insight into the good practice that is taking place in this school.

Al Jazeera Academy – Secondary School belongs to the reputable Ta’ allum Group of schools in Qatar. As one of the three schools belonging to the group, AJA shares their vision of“… being a progressive institution of learning experiences by offering a quality education based on an Islamic ethos that aims to serve humanity.”

Ta’ allum Group’ s Secondary Consultant, Sheila Thompson who works closely with the school shared that AJA is a lively, happy and purposeful school. The students are described as academic leaders who possess strong Islamic values.

All of the school’ s programmes are designed to prepare students to

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become productive and progressive global citizens.

There is an extensive Tarbeya programme that promotes positive, universal Islamic values, which underpin all the goals that the school plans to accomplish with the students. Deputy Headteacher( Pastoral) Marcus Hamlin and Saad Hayajneh, Head of Tarbeya coordinate aspects of the‘ Culture of Respect’ project. This project includes a tutorial programme, international enrichment trips and the incorporation of the Islamic values in all lessons.

Today, rapidly evolving digital technologies continue to shape the world and present students with vital learning opportunities.

Ta’ allum CEO, Ahmed Al Mannai recognised the central significance of technology and spearheaded the introduction of an electronic tablet for each student with associated development of E-learning content and virtual learning environment. The school is a Microsoft partner and staff have benefitted through worldwide training opportunities.

Another noteworthy programme is the Art Programme at AJA. The school’ s Art programme is led by Subject Coordinator Shahida Ahmed and provides a creative outlet for students. Shahida is an internationally renowned and inspirational Islamic artist. The evidence in pupils’ work is both civilising and highly visible around the school. The growth of interest in boys’ Art has been a particularly strong feature with students now following GCSE and Advanced courses.

Language learning presents an enduring challenge for Qatar in its development. Al Jazeera’ s curriculum programmes seek to balance and preserve Qatari culture and Arabic language. This is done alongside English language learning in order to give students a competitive edge in international employment.

Students are said to be dual linguists, and there is a rich array of programmes and competitions, such as the‘ Spelling Bee,’ public speaking competitions and Arabic Story writing to engage students in language development.

In keeping with our Special Education Needs( SEN) theme for this issue, focus was given to the school’ s Knowledge Centre and the innovative programmes that are in place to assist SEN and Gifted and Talented students, as well as other programmes that result in academic success for the school.

AJA takes a progressive, supportive and enlightened view of its provision for the needs of students with Special Educational Needs. Neelam Bhatti, SEN Coordinator at AJA, leads the department.

• At the AJA Knowledge Centre, pupils access the powerful online reading recovery resource LEXIA