The British School - Al Khubairat

Infobox Education in UAE
name= The British School - Al Khubairat
motto= Education - a bridge to a better world
established= 1968
city= Abu Dhabi
country= United Arab Emirates
principal= Paul Coackley (preceded by Mr. Jim Harvey)
headteachers= Primary: Mark Yeowell Secondary: Stephen Rogers
grades= Nursery to Year 13
enrollment_as_of= as of September 2006
enrollment= Approximately 1600
campus= Urban


imagesize= 170px
schoolboard= National Curriculum of England and Wales
colours= Navy blue, Light blue, White
religious_affiliation= Christian
website= http://www.britishschool.sch.ae/
lastupdate= Feb 1, 2007

The British School - Al Khubairat or commonly known and referred to as "Al Khubairat" or "BSAK" or "The British School" or formerly known as "Al Khubairat Community School (AKCS)" is a school for English speaking children and teenagers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The school teaches the National Curriculum of England and Wales. As of September 2005, Paul Coackley is the Principal of the school. He was preceded by Jim Harvey, who ran the school for a number of years. BSAK also has two headteachers who run the Primary and Secondary schools: Mark Yeowell (Primary) and Stephen Rogers (Secondary).

History

The British School - Al Khubairat was established in January 1968 on land that was donated by H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in an area of the city that used to be known as "Khubairat". According to the school's website, "one translation of the word 'Khubairat' means 'good news' ."

In 1980, the school moved into its current location in the "Mushrif" area. During that same year, the school's main purpose was to provide Primary Education for those aged between 3 and 11. At that time, the original campus plan consisted of 4 teaching blocks, two sports halls, an administration block and a 25 m swimming pool which was surrounded by staff accommodation for the first teachers. It is still being used for the same purpose today.

Until the late 90s, the school kept providing education up to Year 6 and then they decided to plan for a Secondary block with specialist teachers and education aimed for Year 7 to Year 13 students. So after 18 months of construction, the new secondary block was officially opened in January 2001 along with a new sports hall. During the construction of the Phase 1 block, the school had decided to proceed with a new block for Year 3 to Year 6 which gave some additional space for further developments. The construction of the Phase 2 block began in April 2001 and was finally opened in April 2002.

The most recent development is the 3rd Phase of the school which commenced in October 2002 and finished approximately 3 years later in September 2005. Al Khubairat now teaches children from nursery to Year 13.

Campus

The school's campus plan consists of 5 gyms, 2 swimming pools, 3 pitches, 2 playgrounds, a daycare for infants that have older siblings who have after-school clubs, and 7 teaching blocks/buildings. The school occupies a space of 39,579 m² alone and 31,137 m² with the car parking provided for parents, teachers, students and visitors.

School Life

Currently, there are 1,740 students in the school, since September 2007. Al-Khubairat has the following subjects offered to its students:
*English - taught as Literacy at Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7) and Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11)
*Maths - taught as Numeracy at Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7) and Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11)
*Science
*PE
*ICT
*History
*Geography
*PSHE
*Design Technology - taught as Art and Design at Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7) and Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11)
*Food Technology & Textiles
*Art - taught as Art and Design at Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7) and Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11)
*Drama - taught at Key Stage 3 +
*Music
*Business Studies
*Economics
*Media Studies
*Health and Social Care
*Travel and Tourism
*Dance

These are the following Modern Foreign Languages that are being taught:
*Arabic
*French
*Spanish
*Pashtun
*Hindi
*Urdu
*Malayalam
*Swahili

Notable Students

*Syed Raza 'Mumbazza' Ali Mehdi, future Pakistani prime minister
*Robert H. Jackson

Clubs and Extra-Curricular Activities

There are numerous clubs and activities that children of different ages can attend; usually after the regular school hours. The extracurricular activities often change and get replaced throughout the year. PE and sporting clubs (both academic and extracurricular) change according to seasonal and ½ semester timetables. Students that join PE clubs can get a chance to enter sports teams who then play against numerous inter-school and Varsity matches.

External links

* [http://www.britishschool.sch.ae/ The British School - Al Khubairat]