Teach Middle East Magazine Sep - Dec 2020 Issue 1 Volume 8 | Page 24

Featured School
THE BRITISH SCHOOL AL KHUBAIRAT:
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION
BY LEISA GRACE WILSON
BSAK students wearing their house colours
T
he British School Al Khubairat
is celebrating its golden
anniversary (50 years) and
to crown the occasion, they
were recently rated outstanding
in all categories by the Abu Dhabi
schools Irtiqaa inspections. This is
not only a very fitting way to mark
such a momentous occasion, but it
is a testament to the hard work and
dedication of the school’s leadership
team, staff, students and parents.
The school, which was built on land
donated by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin
Sultan Al Nahyan, stands as a beacon
of education excellence in the Abu
Dhabi community. The 1,930 strong
student population hails from over 52
countries. As a not for profit British
Embassy school, The British School Al
Khubairat reinvests its income back
into the school for the benefit of its
staff and students.
When I visited the school in February
2019, they were in the middle of
preparing for their British Schools
Overseas Inspection (BSO), however
you would never know unless you
were told. It was simply business as
usual. Mark Leppard MBE, the school’s
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principal, took time out of his busy
schedule to show me around and talk
about what makes his school special.
Schools tend to be very similar on the
surface, but it is only when you dig
deeper that you realise how different
they can be. What makes a school
special is not the building or the
technology, it is the culture and ethos
that drives the school.
Students at BSAK enjoy a light moment
Class Time
Building Culture and Ethos
at The British School Al
Khubairat
“Culture and ethos are the glue that
hold everything the school does,
together. It has to be lived, not
laminated. It is how we make people
feel, how we look after one another