Strategic Vision 2021-2024
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Introduction On 27th March 2021, the senior leadership team, the board of governors, the head boy, head girl, deputy head boy, deputy head girl and three guest speakers, met at the PwC headquarters in Dubai to discuss the future of Dubai College. Equipped with annual survey results from staff, students and parents, we came to discuss three key questions: • What must a 21st century education look like? • How big can Dubai College grow? • How can we finance the development of a campus to support these aims? I am delighted to share with you the Dubai College Strategic Vision 2021-2024 which details the outcomes of that day and our broader educational vision for the next three years.
Michael Lambert Headmaster
Who we are Dubai College is a community of excellence in the heart of Dubai. Our students have a long track record of excelling academically but our reputation as one of the pre-eminent schools in the region stems from our consistent and sustained excellence in what we see as the four pillars of the College: sporting, creative, philanthropic and academic endeavour. We continue to provide these brilliant basics as part of an increasingly innovative education at the school. Our evidence-informed focus on the skills and values of the 21st century ensures that our students are ready to play a meaningful role in building the world of tomorrow. Since its establishment in 1978, Dubai College has existed to serve those families who are on short- or long-term contracts, and for those UAE children whose parents wish them to experience a modern secondary education in the British style, to the highest academic standards. While we would like to serve even more students than we can currently accommodate on site, our focus remains on supporting a community of 1,100 students in the near term.
Vision, values, culture and ethos A shared vision, values, culture and ethos, based on the highest expectations of all members of the school community, remains the number one priority for Dubai College. While our founding mission remains the same as it ever was, our vision is to be leading British education overseas. Reinforcing our values, culture and ethos will be a key priority over the next three years. Today some 70% of our graduates attend university in the UK and a further 25% head to the US, to which end we are committed to providing our students with a modern and comprehensive personal, social and health education curriculum which equips them for life in their university destinations.
Priority: We are committed to celebrating diversity within our school community while respecting the values, ethics and traditions of our hosts.
Inspirational leadership at all levels A characteristic of great schools is that they grow and develop great leaders as well as great teachers, through coaching, mentoring, role modelling and providing a range of leadership opportunities. The demand for English-medium international schools is set to double by 2030. Now more than ever Dubai College must continue to cultivate home-grown talent that is visionary, inspiring and values based. We will also focus on developing great pedagogical leaders determined to enhance and improve the quality of teaching and learning, as well as excellent operational leaders, who can plan, organise, resource, and deliver, paying attention to detail and getting results through being resilient and determined.
Priority: We are committed to developing our staff to be leaders at all levels through training, appraisal and partnership.
Exceptional teaching, learning, assessment and feedback The promotion of high-quality learning is at the heart of the school’s endeavours with a shared philosophy and a shared language of learning transmitted into every area of the curriculum. We prioritise the careful selection, induction, training and retention of consistently high calibre teaching staff with excellent subject knowledge and a passion for their curriculum area. Staff members collectively consider what constitutes great learning and use a variety of learning technologies and resources which encourage independence and are used imaginatively across the curriculum. Assessment for learning is very well developed and consistently utilised, with regular opportunities for learning dialogues, self and peer assessment and diagnostic and developmental feedback
Priority: We are committed to developing oracy and the science of learning throughout the school.
A relentless focus on engaging and involving students Our students are already involved in leading, managing and planning their educational experience at all levels. Student voice is strong throughout the school: through the student council and student leadership teams but also through day-to-day opportunities in every classroom such as student surveys, feedback and evaluations which capture every voice on school matters. Students also play a key part in the appointment of staff, edit and contribute to school publications and communications, are represented on school working parties and the governing body and its committees and act as ambassadors in representing the school within and beyond the institution. Student focus groups research, investigate and report back on school issues and they are supported by peer counsellors, mediators and mentors.
Priority: We are committed to creating a whole school parliament over the next three years.
Personalised and highly effective continuous professional development Dubai College is a learning community within and beyond our four walls. We are committed to the professional development of our staff as both pastoral practitioners and classroom teachers. Dubai College has a regular publication – The Third Space – detailing practitioner case studies of the best practice in learning and teaching, based on action research and professional masters degrees. Collaboration is structured through the development of teams and teamwork, study groups, reference groups and collaborative planning, teaching and assessment. We are enquiry-minded and geared to innovation and research; we are a knowledge-creating institution which aims to produce exceptional educational outcomes.
Priority: We are committed to building an online professional learning platform for teachers.
A stimulating and inclusive environment and climate for learning Our school has consistently high expectations of the behaviour of community members and the relationships between them, based on mutual respect, trust and kindness. Students are taught about healthy lifestyles, how to avoid risky behaviours, build successful relationships, manage emotions and act responsibly as mature citizens. Considerable attention is paid to the whole school environment and the quality of the daily experience of those who work and learn in the school. Our facilities are improving each year and we are finding new ways to create an environment which reinforces the love of subjects and learning, celebrates achievements and progress and raises aspirations. There is a high-quality infrastructure in place and the use of digital technologies supports and enhances learning.
Priority: We are committed to enhacing our pastoral programme and building better links with industry.
What must a 21st century education look like? Wellbeing As a British school overseas delivering a combined UAE and UK curriculum which grows year by year, our students and staff are busier than ever. The world beyond our walls is also evolving quicker than we can respond. As such, our programme of support for staff, students and parents must continue to provide timeless wisdom alongside timely advice in the following ways:
Students want more ‘downtime’ embedded within their timetable to ease their pressure
Student leaders have the potential to be key advocates for wellbeing, diversity, equity and inclusion
Our Positive Education Programme now needs to be delivered little and often
Staff and students should be trained inmentalhealthfirstaidtoofferpeerΠpeer support
The pastoral programme should adopt the discussion-based philosophy of Harkness We need to develop a parent education programme with timely updates on teen life
Learner employability must be developed through a well-developed employer engagement programme
A rich and creative curriculum Dubai College aims to be at the forefront of successful and innovative curriculum design. We have a carefully considered curriculum, based on the vision, values and aims of the College, where all subjects and stages interlink meaningfully and coherently. Our curriculum is concerned with the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, the development of learning skills and the fostering of positive character traits. Going forward we want our curriculum to help our students to understand our global interdependence and to learn and practise skills that will prepare them for careers in a fast changing world. The curriculum is also there to provide memorable experiences and cultural opportunities and our students’ horizons are widened by a comprehensive programme of trips˙ activities˙ speakers˙ fieldwork and extracurricular activities.
Priority: We are committed to creating a contemporary interdisciplinarycurriculumwhichreflectsthechangingw
What must a 21st century education look like? Curriculum and Assessment The working world is on the cusp of a hybrid model where the most valuable employees are agile. No longer will our graduating students necessarily climb a linear career ladderasexpertsinonefield˝TheirTŒshapedcareerswill demand subject-matter expertise in at least one area as well as knowledge or skills in several others. We need to reflect this in our curriculum by˘
reviewing the number of formal GCSEs which students study;
adapting our assessment criteria to reflect the Dubai College Learner Profile;
producing our own more demanding curriculum that offers more choice;
ensuring that project-based learning forms a vertical strand throughout the school; and
mapping interdisciplinary across subjects at Key Stage 3;
themes
linking learning to contemporary scenarios and sustainable development goals;
providing students with an opportunity to pursue their passion and interests.
High-quality partnerships with parents and the community Dubai College is a system player and a change agent, contributing to and sustaining knowledge and understanding of education and school systems locally, nationally and internationally. We have a range of international partnerships for a variety of purposes, such as curriculum projects, approaches to learning and with charitable bodies in the UAE and beyond. We have developed successful partnerships with other local schools, helping to identify and disseminate best practice through excellence visits and shared professional development. Our facilities and resources are used widely by the general public and through strong links, the school’s excellent ethos permeates the local community. We also seek to build positive interactions with all parents and carers and recognise that community links are about mutual enrichment.
Priority: We are committed to building a careers mentorship programme which will be a model for Dubai.
Robust and rigorous self-evaluation, data analysis and collective review Dubai College practises quality assurance and has developed a culture of self-evaluation. Leaders and teachers are involved in learning walks, lesson observations, evidence reviews and book looks, as well as the regular and forensic analysis of performance data, leading to creative discussions about strategies for improvement. There is a culture of continuous reflection˙ implicit in the way that we talk about our work and students talk about their learning. Self-evaluation is grounded in sophisticated, accurate and open analysis and is used to compare performance against the most demanding of benchmarks. The school regularly seeks feedback and takes full account of the views of students, staff, governors, parents and the community as a whole. We also make good use of external critical friends over and above our local regulator and our own internal self-evaluation.
Priority: We are committed to retaining our outstanding status as a British School Overseas.
How big can Dubai College grow? During our discussions it was universally agreed that Dubai College should not grow the student roll on the current campus in the near term. The ‘feel’ of Dubai College is just as much a part of the school as the teachers, students and subjects. Overexpansion risks altering the very essence of what makes DC DC. However, we do have the potential to grow the school in other ways. Already we have built one school in Nepal in partnership with United World Schools, teaching the unreached in line with our philanthropic values. We can continue to extend our educational reach in this way. Our expertise in oracy and wellbeing now differentiates Dubai College from other schools in the region and we have the potential to establish a training hub to share our knowledge with other schools in the Middle East and the world.
The popularity of the school and the experience of the pandemic has taught us that there is demand for a Dubai College online. We have the potential to white label the online school service provided by Pearson to run Dubai College online. It was agreed that Dubai College should explore the possibility of opening an overseas campus in order to generate additional revenue. With Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, there is an opportunity for Dubai College to offer our expertise in British education in the Middle East in Saudi Arabia. We discounted the possibility of establishing a second campus in Dubai any time soon.
What is Project Campus 2030?
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Project Campus 2030 is the name of our ambitious masterplan to rebuild the DC campus to reflect our stratgeic vision and the aims of a 21st century education. We know that more students than ever are likely to attend higher education over the coming years and that competition for places in the world’s leading universities is only likely to grow as a result. As such we remain committed to offering an education to the highest academic standards which will maximise our students’ chances of personal success.
That said, we recognise that we have a duty to ensure that our students are also ready for the likelihood of T-shaped careers. By designing a campus which integrates design, creativity and projectŒbased learning into flexible classroom spaces built around the Harkness table, we believe that our hybrid campus will develop learner employability, adaptability and intelligence.
How can we finance the development of a campus to support these aims? Dubai College aspires to be leading British education overseas. Our old campus and traditional methods require constant innovation and improvement. To this end we intend to increase our revenue and surplus as we rise to the challenge of continuously rebuilding our campus for tomorrow. We will achieve this via a multi-pronged approach:
Fee increases in line with the quality of our service Fundraising via the Dubai College Foundation and individual and corporate giving from donors Commercialising the campus including TheSPACEandthefield Enrolling more students to a cap of 1,100
Reducing our top line costs Launching Dubai College Online in partnership with Pearson Licensing the name of Dubai College for an overseas campus Developing an employer engagement and mentorship programme
Acknowledgements
Special thanks go to Damian McBeath, David Woods, and Rachel Macfarlane for detailing The Nine Pillars of Great Schools, to Gareth Case for the creative design of this document, to Mustafa Syed for the excellent photography and videography, to The Difference team at PwC for the facilitation of the strategy day, to the board of governors, the senior leadership team and the student leadership team for their time and input and to all the staff, students and parents at Dubai College for their unceasing feedback and support of the school.
Dubai College Hessa Street Dubai www.dubaicollege.org +971 43 999111