Dubai schools that taught UAE leaders set to reopen next year
Two of Dubai’s oldest schools, which were closed for upgrades in 2020, will be reopened in autumn next year.
The Rashid and Latifa Schools Establishment, which is responsible for Rashid School for Boys and Latifa School for Girls, said construction will start this autumn, with pupils in classes 12 months later.
Both schools are in Nad Al Sheba.
Latifa School, which opened in 1982, offers the British curriculum and the Arabic and Islamic curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education.
Rashid School, established in 1986, was a secondary school until 2003, when it began offering elementary classes.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, is a former pupil of Rashid School, while Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, graduated from Latifa School.
As part of a strategy shift announced on Sunday, the schools will be integrated under joint leadership and named the Rashid and Latifa School.
It will offer single-gender education from Foundation Stage 1 to Year 13 as its predecessors did, with the girls situated on the Latifa site and the boys on the Rashid site.
Ahmad Al Falasi, Minister of Education and chairman of Rashid and Latifa Schools Establishment’s board of trustees, said the school will be “an international leader in terms of design, materials, equipment, information technology infrastructure, and use of outdoor spaces for learning and inspiration”.
Construction of Rashid and Latifa School is expected to begin in autumn, with the first phase open to pupils from Foundation Stage 1 to Year 4 in September 2024, said Mr Al Falasi.
Rashid and Latifa Schools Establishment was formed in April last year under a law issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
The establishment can also create its own schools in the emirate and abroad – either on its own or in partnership with the private sector.
Mr Al Falasi said Sheikh Mohammed issued a directive to the board of trustees from the outset “that Rashid School for Boys and Latifa School for Girls should offer a transformative educational experience, one that transcends the traditional and serves as an incubator for the future leaders of the nation”.
“Our plans and the resources accompanying them are focused on this one goal, and we are confident that we will achieve His Highness’s vision for the schools,” Mr Al Falasi said.
This will be achieved “through comprehensive development and setting plans that enable students to manage their education by exposure to real challenges, mastering skills and project-based learning, and providing an educational environment that focuses on the student and looks forward to the future,” he said.
Rashid and Latifa School has appointed Emma Nolan, who is British, as principal.
Ms Nolan has worked in education for 20 years, with experience in establishing bilingual and multilingual schools in the UK, China and the UAE.
She also served as the founding principal of a Nord Anglia bilingual school in China and, most recently, as the principal of Al Danah Charter School with Aldar Education in Abu Dhabi.
“Our journey is only beginning as we aim to grow caring, ambitious, healthy and enterprising young people, ready to learn throughout their lives and equipped to play their part as leading ethical members of society,” Ms Nolan said.
“It will be a school not just renowned for its incredible academic profile but also for the exceptional contribution our students make to Dubai, to the UAE and the rest of the world.”