Mark Atkins
Mark Atkins, School Principal, Durham School UK Image Credit: Supplied

What should parents know about Durham School Dubai?

Durham School Dubai opens at the end of August conveniently located on Dubai Investment Park backing onto the Green Community. Durham Dubai is the third international school launched by Durham School UK following the establishment of Durham School in Qatar in 2019 and Durham School Kenya in 2021. Durham School Dubai is a full branch school of Durham School UK and brings to Dubai traditional British independent school education with the same standards, quality and ethos of its prestigious UK headquarters.

How is Durham School Dubai helping students and teachers succeed?

Durham School Dubai prides itself on the quality of its teaching staff who are all recruited from the UK, many with management experience. Small class sizes coupled with experienced teachers and support from excellent teaching assistants combine to help every child thrive academically and socially in a structured, supportive and kind environment. Teachers are led by experienced management well-versed in new school set-up and have access to outstanding facilities and excellent resources. Pupils and teachers are further supported by like-minded parents who take an active interest in their children’s education fully subscribing to the school’s ethos and values.

Which programs are you most proud of?

Durham is proud of its strong pastoral care and ‘down-to-earth’ approach. Durham’s ‘MARK’ values: moral integrity, academic ambition, responsibility and kindness underpin everything we do. Durham is proud of its traditional, gimmick free curriculum that addresses core subjects with great rigour. Durham’s curriculum is designed and weighted to ensure pupils have a firm grasp of the basics in order to provide the foundations for academic success.

What are some of your goals for 2022-2023?

Durham School is aware that you only get one chance to make a first impression and the overriding goal is to get off to a flying start, showcasing our quality teaching and ambition for our pupils from the outset. It is essential that parents see the value we bring both educationally and socially to their children. We also aim to be a happy and kind school — academic rigour and ambition, and kindness and happiness, are not mutually exclusive — you can have both and Durham will provide this.