Exceptional turnout for Dubai's first-ever American boarding schools fair

The first-ever fair of American boarding schools in the UAE was held in Dubai recently, offering parents a unique opportunity to interact with representatives from 30 of the top private boarding schools in the US.

The event, presented by Singapore-based consultancy Sesameed Education in partnership with Gulf News, took place at the Grosvenor Hotel on Sunday evening, and saw an outpouring of interest from a wide cross-section of parents from the city.

“Boarding schools, by their very nature, are expensive, so in order to make it work, you need a city where there's a critical amount of families who can pay for this service. Dubai checks that box,” says Daniel Szeto, Founder and Head of Sesameed. “Parents here have the means to pay, so there is a demand for a better quality education and a willingness to invest a little more for it.”

The boarding school advantage

The fair was aimed at students in grades 5 to 10, providing them an opportunity to receive a truly international, holistic and immersive education, in addition to the best college prep for entry into top American universities.

“We have 226 boarders from 30 different countries, so we’re an incredibly global institution,” says Luke Heywood, Director of Enrollment Management at The Stony Brook School, a 102-year-old boarding school in Long Island, New York. “We believe strongly in sharing culture, building global competency and exposing our young people to a variety of options of academic, social and athletic offerings.”

Beyond excellent results, the core mission of the school, he says, is character formation – teaching independence, integrity, and critical thinking from a young age.

This appears to be one of the major reasons for parents looking at boarding schools as an option for their middle and high schoolers.

“The families I’ve spoken to in the UAE seem to be looking for a more holistic approach, a more character-based education,” says Laura Burgess, Dean of Enrollment Management at the King’s Academy in Jordan. “Boarding schools are known for bringing kids from different backgrounds together and helping them understand each other and grow into adults who have those skills.”

Founded by King Abdullah II in 2007, the school is modelled after the Deerfield Academy, Massachusetts, where he himself studied, and provides an idyllic environment for students, surrounded by olive groves, vineyards, and peach and cherry orchards, and powered entirely by solar electricity. “They have an incredible exposure to nature and sustainable living,” says Burgess.

Other schools provide students with the tools needed for innovation and creativity from a very early, formative stage. “One of our models is unbounded thinking, which translates into entrepreneurship, innovation, looking at the world with a different lens, building and creating something that people haven't thought about before,” says Taylor B. Stockdale, Head Emeritus of The Webb Schools in Claremont, California. “This part of the world embodies that; it is what Dubai is all about, so I think it’s a perfect match for Webb.”

Multi-cultural visitors

The parents and children visiting the fair cut across cultural boundaries, with families from South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. What they all had in common was a desire to give their children the sort of exposure only these boarding schools can provide.

“We want our child to have that experience of being alone, doing things by herself, learning to be responsible and disciplined,” says Rohit Razdan about his 10-year-old daughter. “We might shift to the US in a few years, so that is also a consideration.”

For Wasiu Kazeem, a Nigerian national, the consideration is more academic. “Eventually we want our daughter to go to college in the US,” he says. “Currently she's in the 8th grade in a British school in Abu Dhabi, but we want her to have a good transition to an American university, and since we are based here, obviously that means that she has to go to boarding school.”

This was the case with Russian 11th grader Mark Koginov and his family as well. “We’re looking for schools that will be good for entering engineering college,” he says.

The fair helped these families get answers to the questions they had through both one-on-one conversations with representatives as well as seminars on topics such as Why American boarding, What US boarding schools look for in student, How to select the right fit for your child and Interview tips.

Encouraging turnout

“The turnout has been very encouraging for a brand-new market,” says Szeto. “All the schools said that when the parents spoke to them, they were hungry and eager to learn more. The exhibitors felt the fair was great, and are looking forward to coming back to the UAE next year.”