From a room upstairs in a villa to a centre of excellence, school turns 55

It is a year of birthdays for a group of the UAE’s bestknown, non-profit British curriculum schools.

Dubai College celebrates its 40th anniversary, the British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi turns 50 and Dubai English Speaking School marks its 55th year.

One of the oldest schools in the country, Dubai English Speaking School was established in 1963 in an upstairs room of a residential villa.

In 1962, there were only 20 schools in what was then the Trucial States. Today, the UAE has one of the most dynamic and diverse education environments in the world.

The first 10 pupils at Dubai English Speaking School were taught by some parents and a British serviceman, Flight Lt F Loughman, from the Royal Air Force Educational Corps.

Within months of opening, more than 20 pupils had joined and new premises had to be found in what is now the Dry Docks area of Dubai. A young man named Harry Atkinson was subsequently appointed as the school’s first full-time teacher.

Mr Atkinson revisited the primary school in 2013, as part of its 50th birthday celebrations, and told The

National: “I couldn’t even find an atlas that mentioned Dubai” before he travelled to take up his employment there in the 1960s.

He was chosen for the job after replying to a handwritten advertisement that had been stuck to a noticeboard at Exeter University. But when he arrived in the city he sensed that “something was going to happen and Dubai was going somewhere”. He stayed for two years.

The primary school moved to its present site in Oud Metha 51 years ago, to a plot that was allocated to it by Sheikh Rashid, Ruler of Dubai. It was registered as a legal entity in June 1969.

Today, about 1,000 pupils, aged between 3 to 11 years old, attend the school. The last Knowledge and Human Development Authority inspection rated it as “very good” and praised its “strong culture of innovation”.

Dubai English Speaking School has celebrated its 55th birthday with a Global Picnic, attended by the children, parents, staff and alumni.

The school has also been connecting with former pupils through its Facebook page. More than 1,000 alumni have so far joined the group.

Jane Shaddick-Brady, deputy headteacher, said: “It’s amazing to see how many memories have been shared so far and how emotional it was for the alumni who attended our picnic.”

But the school won’t be dwelling in the past for long. Mrs Shaddick-Brady said it would seek to “maintain its reputation as a forward-thinking, innovative organisation and a centre of excellence”.

The school has a sister secondary school, Dubai English Speaking College.