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New Year New Bus

We are delighted to have received a brand new Ashok Leyland 31 seater school bus (2022 model) which will replace our old Bus no.8.

Our Senior Driver Mr. Arabath will have the pleasure of driving the new bus on the Bus 8 route which serves areas such as DIFC, Shangrila, Jumeirah Beach Road, Al Wasl Road, Al Manara St. Box Park and Sheikh Zayed Road.

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House update - December 2021

As we approach the end of an action-packed first term, we would like to review all the successes during the exciting events that have taken place during the second half of Term 1 and announce the events taking place next term, which promise to be just as thrilling.

The second half-term of Term 1 commenced with House weeks for years 7-10. Through the variety of activities included, such as: cup stack, group hop, bucket throw, perfect square, hula hoop and rope knot, we saw each house’s teamwork, communication and leadership skills develop as we progressed through each challenge. In the Year 7 House week, Barbarossa dominated the competition by achieving first place in 3 of the activities (perfect square, bucket throw and cup stack) and joint first place with Cousteau for the final activity (group hop). In the Year 8 House week, Chichester claimed first place for two activities (perfect square and cup stack), but Cousteau won the group hop activity and Heyerdahl claimed victory for the bucket throw activity. In the Year 9 House week, victories were divided between Cousteau (hula hoop and bucket throw) and Chichester (cup stack and perfect square), who were both victorious for two activities each. In the Year 10 House week, Chichester came in first place for two activities (cup stack and hula hoop), but Barbarossa won the rope knot activity and the Heyerdahlians were victorious for the bucket throw activity.

We would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff and students who organised teams, timings, equipment and a multitude of other aspects to make these events run smoothly for years 7-10! Congratulations to all the participants of the winning houses and well done to all our year 7-10 students for their effort, enthusiasm and dedication throughout the tournament!

Another event that has taken place this half-term is the Senior Swim Gala, which included a wide range of races such as: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, individual medley, butterfly and the free relay. To encourage the house spirit, students also participated in a few fun races (in which everyone received the same amount of points), this included: the fully dressed race, the noodle horse race, the no arms race and the no legs race. Congratulations to Barbarossa for taking home the trophy! Well done to all the participants of: Heyerdahl; second place, Cousteau; third place and Chichester; last place! We would also like to show our appreciation to all the students and staff who organised teams, timings, equipment and a multitude of other aspects to make these events a success for the Seniors and we look forward to the year 7-10 House Galas that will be taking place in Term 2!

One of the most competitive aspects of the House Competition are the merits. The final standings for this term are as follows:

1st place: Barbarossa

2nd place: Chichester

3rd place: Heyerdahl

4th place: Cousteau

Well done Barbarossa for attaining the most merits in the first term!

We look to forward to seeing even more house cheer and competition in Term 2, which will include house events such as: Senior Football and Basketball, Senior Rugby and Rounders, Year 12/13 Public Speaking, Year 10/11 Public Speaking, Year 7/8 Swim Gala, Year 9/10 Swim Gala, the second round of House weeks (which will be more creativity-focused) and one of the most anticipated events of the year… Sports Day!

New banners and logos for every house are displayed in the auditorium, as well as trophy cabinets displaying some of the awards each house has received over the years.

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Annual London Alumni Reunion

From Sunny Al Sufouh to London W2

A wintery November weekend in London and over 100 members of the esteemed Dubai College alumni had seemingly swapped Dubai Marina for Paddington Basin as we gathered for this year’s annual reunion. Teachers past and present, freshly graduated students barely in to their first term at University and nostalgic 40 somethings, who were part of DC’s first ever graduating batch, had all huddled in to a lively Paddington venue to shelter from the rain and relive fond times spent within those unforgettable maroon walls of the DC campus.

Flown in from Dubai as a special guest for the day was none other than everyone’s favourite Economics titan Mr Agent, whom excitable faces were seen gathering around for photographs and autographs. Similarly, Mr Lakiss attracted a lot of paparazzi as smiley selfies were being snapped throughout the day with many commenting on how he is ageing ever so gracefully since relocating to the UK after 18 years teaching Maths in C Block.

Many of us wondered how the teachers get selected to join on these London alumni visits and whether we might request a certain staff member to arrive as guest of honour in years to come. Which teacher would you most like to reunite with after all these years? Whose classroom made the most impact on your schooling years? Get your votes in now!

What left an indelible imprint on my mind was how immediate the connection can be, regardless of age, when you strike up a conversation with a fellow DC alumnus. That shared experience of once queuing for an icing donut at the tuck shop, being neat civil and cooperative, decorating your sixth form carol space, no matter how long ago it was – binds us all. Umbrellas and push chairs at the ready, it was time to depart not for the school car park but off to the Circle Line at Paddington Station.

While some of us are already counting down the days till we reconvene on the school pitch for the annual Past V Present sports day taking place on 6 January 2022, we owe a huge thanks to dear Debra Turpie. Thank you for yet again coordinating a memorable gathering and warming us all up in fine surroundings and company.

Sehr Sarwar, Dubai College Class of 2007 CEO & Founder of S&S Strategic Comms www.sands.london

More photos can be found in our Flickr album

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50th UAE National Day Celebrations

This year marks 50 years since the nation was founded in 1971, Dubai College marked The Year of the 50th with an extra special extravaganza.  

In late November, the Arabic A and Islamic department organised a series of events to celebrate. It was fantastic to see students and staff enjoy an abundance of local delicacies, interact with animals and dance to traditional music. The atmosphere was one that was reminiscent of National Days that we have previously celebrated at the College, this year we ensured that there were extra precautions to ensure that everyone was safe. It was fabulous to witness the Dubai Police marching band performing alongside our very own Concert Band, all which took place amongst a parade of horses and a high pursuit police dog hunt! 

The Heads of House also launched a House Competition where form groups were asked to imagine themselves fifty years into the future and to produce a video to share their dreams and hopes for the nation. We are pleased to announce the winners are 7RMH. 

With the nation focusing on the history and growth of the UAE we thought it pertinent to invite one of our very own founding fathers to help students understand Dubai's unique history and economic development. We were delighted to welcome Charles Neil, a long-standing governor of the school to talk about the history and sustainability of Dubai as part of a lecture series called Talks Through Time. 

A huge thank you to everyone who helped to organise the day and took the time to support the celebrations. 

See more photos in our Flickr album

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Pritvik - Rising Global Youth Talent Winner

We are proud and delighted that Pritvik has been recognised as a Rise Global Youth Talent Winner and has been awarded $500,000 in scholarship for his undergraduate education at any accredited university in the world!  He will also be given further funding for either his graduate research or entrepreneurship in the future.

Pritvik received a call from Mr Mark German, Director of the Rise Global Youth Talent Program (world's largest scholarship initiative by Schmidt Futures and Rhodes Trust to support extraordinary talented youngsters) who advised him that he was the only one to be selected from the UAE.  Well done Pritvik #dcproud

https://www.risefortheworld.org/global-winners/

https://twitter.com/risefortheworld/status/1452614224820199429

https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/education/2021/10/27/dubai-teen-who-sent-application-from-hospital-given-500000-scholarship/  

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FDC Y7 & Y8 Family Quiz

Finally, after over a year of ‘Corona break’ we kicked off the FDC Family events with the Family Quiz Night for Year 7 & 8 families. The school auditorium was buzzing with the palpable energy of the students and parents. Rob our resident quiz master did a fabulous job at keeping the participants on the edge of their seats during the different rounds. The ‘Quiz pro quos’ took the elusive trophy whilst the ‘Mini Amp & Co’ took home the wooden spoon!!   There was also a round where participants had to make a hat from newspaper and cellotape. The teams showed their creative side with some marvellous designs and one member of each team paraded it in front of the judges… one student called it the ‘Walk of Fame!’  See our YouTube video!   All in all a great evening and everyone went home with a smile on their faces. For some parents it was the first time that they had stepped foot inside the DC campus.  We’re hoping to be able to do many more events during the year, so watch this space……..  #DCProud #FDC21-22

See more photos in our Flickr album

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House Report October 2021

The House Competition is back and better than ever before!

The implementation of our new house logos, spotted on the fantastic banners and trophy cabinets that have recently emerged in the auditorium, are symbolic of the immense house cheer evident in every student that has already participated in the house events this year. Our gratitude goes to Mr Case, who has worked hard with the Heads of House to design and shape the makeover of the House identity which without his help, would not have been possible.

Another new addition to the programme, is the introduction of the Year 7 and 8 Leadership Scheme, that offers the ability for younger students to play a more proactive role in the house competition and to develop their leadership skills with the support of the House Captains. The Year 7s and 8s have been enthusiastically signing up for their slots ready to start working on their House Leadership challenges next half term.

Already, this term has boasted incredible performances in the House Music Competition, a multitude of House weeks and the return of the House Quiz!  This has led to an increasingly tense competition during this half term, with all Houses earning victories throughout.  So far, Chichester won the Year 7 and 9 ‘Get to know your Teachers Quiz’, Heyerdahl’s Year 7 and 10 students won the Languages Quiz while Barbarossa’s Year 10 and 11 students clearly know their teachers well winning both Teachers Quizzes as well as the Year 11 and 9 Languages Quizzes. Not forgetting Cousteau whose Year 8’s won BOTH quizzes. In the sporting events the senior boys fought hard in the basketball games with Chichester, taking home the trophy and the girls sweated it out on the netball courts with a convincing win from Barbarossa.

See our Flickr album for photos

Ultimately, the podium stands as follows: Heyerdahl in last with 19.5 points, followed by Cousteau with 21.5 and Chichester in second with 22.5 points, leaving the current victors, Barbarossa, with a grand total of 31.5 points!  However, as is the nature of the House Competition, we expect the results to fluctuate significantly as the year progresses and urge all students to continue their impressive input throughout!

House Leadership Programme

Each year, the Heads of House are supported by five incredible House Captains selected from Year 12. In order to ensure information is disseminated efficiently across all year groups, two Year Reps are selected from each year. They liaise with the House Captains ensuring teams are organised for various events and they are able to share forthcoming house events with their year group. However, this year the Heads of Houses are initiating the House Leadership Programme. This should see a huge increase in the leadership opportunities offered to students across the school, particularly to those in Year 7 and Year 8.

This year, two students from each form will be a Year Rep for one half term, and then another pair will then take over the following term. This will ensure that all students across both year groups have been given the opportunity to not only represent their house but to focus on the qualities required to be an effective leader. The role will see them supporting at house events, promoting house cheer in form time, supporting administrative tasks in registration and even practicing good oracy in house assemblies. Lower school students will no longer have to wait until Year 12 to consider their involvement in leadership roles, be that for House, Liaisons or Prefects. The House Leadership Programme strives for inclusive leadership opportunities and the Heads of House and the House Captains look forward to working with every Year 7 and Year 8 student over the next academic year.

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Himakshi, Dream for Earth Ambassador

Monday 4th October was an exciting day for Himakshi in Y11, who was asked to be a ‘Dream for Earth Ambassador’ and spoke at the official opening of the Dream for Earth Exhibition in the Swedish Pavilion of Expo 2020.  

Himakshi collaborated with @HackforEarth1 , @UN_UAE and @expo2020se to speak about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and her dream for earth:

E - Equality, love and respect

A - Action and all working together

R - Responsibility for our actions

T - Thoughtful about what we do

H - Harmony - join hands and come together for a united cause

Well done Himakshi! #dcproud

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D of E Gold Award for Lorcan Y13

Congratulations to Lorcan Y13 who has recently passed his International Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.  Lorcan has shown dedication and commitment throughout the past year and his hard work has paid off.   

To complete Gold, Lorcan fulfilled the requirements of volunteering, practising a skill and a physical activity. As well as this, Lorcan spent a week in Ireland completing his residential, and spent 4 days hiking the Hatta mountains. Completing Gold Duke of Edinburgh is a very impressive feat, and as his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Leader, I am extremely proud of Lorcan. Well done, Lorcan! #dcproud

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The RAF Red Arrows visit

The Red Arrows are an aerobatic team from the Royal Air Force and an international sensation. They are the world’s premier aerobatic display team. Their extensive hours of practice are put in to 4,800 displays that they have performed in 57 countries worldwide. They represent the nation by showing their agility, accuracy and speed. The Red Arrows is made up of 11 pilots supported by over 100 engineering & support staff who stand in the frontline. Since 1979 The Reds have been flying BAE Hawks. Red Arrows are the best reminder of the talented people within the nation as well as the service.

Earlier last week Dubai College had the opportunity to host a handful of prestigious engineers and pilots from the Royal Air Force. We were blessed to have been given a detailed overview of the Royal Air Force, in which the pilots and engineers shared details about the displays, but most importantly the secrets behind the famous and much-anticipated formations.

Aakriti Y13

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House Summary - June 2021

Undeterred by lockdowns and social distancing, the House Competition continued to forge ahead this year, and actually broke new ground with the introduction of brand new competitions to make sure everyone, wherever they were, could get involved and support their House.

One of the main reasons for having a house programme is to foster teamwork and encourage students to take on new challenges.   With many students working from home this certainly did present a challenge in itself.  Nevertheless, solutions were quickly found and students in all year groups have been able to take part in the House Competition throughout the year.

Online puzzles, speed-typing activities, fitness and dexterity challenges, mask and computer screen designing are just some of the new events that were held this year.  Well established events such as House Music, Public Speaking and General Knowledge quizzes also took place, featuring literally hundreds of students.   Overall over 55 separate competitions took place, focusing on the Academic, Creative, Sporting and teamwork skills.  

By mid-June, with just a few competitions left, the overall competition is still very close – with Barbarossa narrowly ahead of Heyerdahl, and Chichester closely behind.  

At the end of another extraordinary year, we must again recognise the leadership, planning skills and creativity of our dedicated Heads of House: Miss Dibble (Barbarossa), Mr Ashby (Heyerdahl), Mr Thomas (Chichester) and Mr Jackson (Cousteau)  

On their behalf, I would also like to sincerely thank our hard-working House Captains, for all the sterling work that they have devoted to recruiting, inspriing and leading their teams.

And finally – well done to the hundreds of students who rose to the challenge and participated whole-heartedly in the House Competition this year!

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New Babies!

It’s been a busy term of new arrivals to the Dubai College Community.  

DT Technician and his wife Maricel were delighted to welcome their first baby Zazrak weighing 2.89kgs on 1st May.  Mum and Zazrak are doing very well and Ted could not be more proud of the new addition to the family.

Rachael Maguire and husband James welcomed their first baby Fionn Thomas Maguire 15 days early on 9th June and weighing 7lbs 4oz to his doting parents who are smitten!

On 18th June Jemma Stilwell and husband William were over the moon with the arrival of their first baby Albert (Albie) Robin Spencer Lee weighing in at 6lbs 3oz and can’t wait for him to meet his Dubai College baby friends.

To end the term and to keep him busy as he embarks on pastures new, Mark Samways and his wife Aisling welcomed a new son Felix on 4th July.  A welcome playmate for brother Teddy.

Photo from left to right: Zazrak, Fionn and Albie 

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FDC gift bags for Y13

Sincere thanks to our parent group Friends of Dubai College (FDC) who presented every Y13 student with a gift bag at their graduation ceremony.  The gift bags contained a DC branded blanket, a personalised power bank, a T-shirt with the DC logo together with a poem titled ‘Success’ which was read out by Mr Lambert at the Graduation Ceremony.  The FDC wishes all our Y13 students the best of luck as the embark on their next journey.  

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New Admin staff members

During the summer term we have welcomed two new members of staff to the Admin team.  

Adama Abrar has joined us as Examinations Officer.  Adama brings a wealth of knowledge and experience having worked at Jumeirah College, Brighton College and Nord Anglia International School where she has held positions of Exams Officer, Data Manager, MIS Specialist and Admissions Officer.   Adama and family have been in the UAE since 2013 and is mother to three children, a daughter aged 8 and twin boys age 7.

Gail Kirkcaldy has joined us at SPACE and Lettings Administrator.  Gail has worked at the British Embassy as a Deputy Head of Corporate Services and Office Manager and more recently at Kings Education Head Office.

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FDC Y7 Scavenger Hunt

FDC usually hold a Year 7 Family Fun Day that takes place on the school field in January each year to encourage our new Year 7 families to meet each other, get competitive and have some fun! Unfortunately, this was not possible this year due to COVID restrictions, however, FDC rose to the challenge of finding an alternative that promised to be as much fun, if not a little less physical!

The Y7 Scavenger Hunt took place online on Monday, 22nd March and involved students, parents and siblings who were set up in Form groups to solve 25 missions through Zoom and the GOOSECHASE App.   Our Sixth Form reps joined their Form groups to provide hints and tips and to cheer on their team.

The missions involved solving a puzzle and then finding the item in their homes which they then had to photograph and submit!  Bonus points were given to the most creative submissions (some of which you can see below!)

The parents had to get involved too, as some of the students had no idea what a cassette or video tape looked like or possessed a red tie! 

It was a great evening with lots of fun and games and a fair amount of cheating, however, Miss Alikhan’s Form were the quickest to complete the correct missions and were awarded the prestigious orange man trophy!

Results:

7SAL - 470 points

7STU - 450 points

7JBE - 450 points

7SHE - 420 points

7RHQ - 410 points

7JAL - 360 points

7JKI - 360 points

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(WhichSchoolAdvisor.com)

Headmaster, Mr Lambert, talks to WhichSchoolAdvisor about what education will look like in 2030.

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House Update March 2021

Maya (For Cousteau): It’s been a very difficult year for everyone and adapting to school life amidst COVID, but somehow, the DC community has pulled through, and thanks to the help of the amazing teachers who have co-ordinated and overseen the different activities, we have been able to make house events possible. From the likes of house mask designing or background designing, we have been able to innovate and adapt according to the current situation. 

Emily (For Chichester): This term we have had to face the challenges of competing in the house competition during a pandemic. The once-intense House basketball has been replaced with a lonesome basketball shootout, our usual house quizzes have been transformed into sitting in front of your laptop on your own desk, and our once beloved sports day has vanished from existence and was instead left solely in the hands of your house captains, which I must say tug of war and archery will never replace the usual buzz on the field during the 100m sprint. Yet through all of this, every single one of you has persevered and made the most of every event. I have seen with my own eyes the enthusiasm brought to each house week, whether it be the fitness challenge or a quiz. As house captains we are all proud to see the resilience and zest that you have each brought to the house competition this year and I hope that this continues into the next term.

Kian (For Barbarossa): In addition to all of you who participated in the House activities with great enthusiasm, we would like to give a special thanks to the Heads of House: Ms. Dibble for Barbarossa, Mr. Ashby for Heyerdahl, Mr. Thomas for Chichester, and Mr. Jackson for Cousteau. We know a lot of work has gone into organising numerous creative games ranging from Basketball shooting to typing tests and rowing challenges to puzzle solving, whilst at the same time ensuring that we remain COVID safe...so thank you for allowing DC to enjoy the House activities and the spirit of the House Program in the midst of a pandemic.

Ping (For Heyerdahl): Your passion, drive and enthusiasm for these house events has undoubtedly made a contribution to the overall house standings, and as a result, many house points were awarded for participation, achievement and effort.

The Final House Points scores for this term are as follows:

CONGRATULATIONS to Barbarossa for earning more House points than the other houses!

Now, after adding up the House points to the points from all of the other house events, the current house standings are as follows: