ABU DHABI: The newly-developed residential community at Reem Island will have its first school with the opening of Repton Abu Dhabi in September.
Work is underway on the first campus that covers 7,000 square metres and which will cater to 520 students from FS1 to Year 2. The second campus will open in September 2014 for children from Year 3 and beyond.
One of the finest schools in the UK, Repton opened its first school in Dubai in 2007 in partnership with Evolvence Capital Ltd to coincide with the 450th anniversary of the British school in Derbyshire, UK.
Repton Abu Dhabi is located within Sorouh Real Estate’s residential and business community development, Shams Abu Dhabi, that will cater to more than 53,000 residents.
Robert Relton, who will take charge as headmaster, said the school will combine the best of the British education system with the dynamism of the UAE.
“Our live experience in the UAE coupled with the quality of the British education system will add to our dynamism and help us meet expectations of our parents and the academic requirements of each child,” Relton told XPRESS on telephone from the UK.
Relton is relocating to the UAE with more than 20 years of experience in British education. He was the headmaster at Ravenscourt Park Preparatory School in London.
Originally trained as a school inspector, Relton said his new school will go beyond replicating the successful Dubai model. “We will strive to further expand the academic standards as well as overall development of students as global citizens by taking advantage of the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic educational landscape in Abu Dhabi,” said Relton.
“The responsibility of Repton is to prepare pupils for adulthood through the highest standard of academic studies and varied activities that comprise life in a school environment. The Abu Dhabi school will welcome families of all nationalities offering the best in British education within the context of an international school community and epitomised by the school’s philosophy of ‘the best for every child’,” he added.
