MEET THE...
MEET THE PRINCIPAL Matthew Tompkins, Principal of GEMS FirstPoint School, discusses his educational philosophy and what he hopes the school will achieve moving forward.
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ell us a little about your background how you came to Dubai. All my school experience prior to moving to Dubai was in Kent, England. I worked at four schools in total, all of them providing excellent development opportunities for me as a leader. Over those 21 years, I was fortunate to work as part of great teams and to learn from excellent colleagues. In my last school in the UK, I worked as part of a tight, cohesive unit that took the school to Ofsted Outstanding in all areas. I left the school and the role of principal at the end of July 2018. Towards the end of the year,
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I was asked to consider the position of Principal/CEO of GEMS FirstPoint School (FPS) and I accepted with great excitement. How do you view the role of schools in teaching the next generation? My philosophy on education is simple, to support every young person to become the best they can be. I work to maximise the opportunities that the people I work with will be given, ensuring that they have the skills and confidence to be able to grasp opportunities and become the best possible version of themselves. This philosophy extends to all of the students and staff I work alongside,
and I am passionate about development and continually enhancing exceptional pedagogy. What do you find challenging about your profession and what do you enjoy about it? Our profession provides the inspiration and guidance for the people that will shape our world and the futures of generations to come. Our jobs are full of an infinite number of opportunities and challenges. One of the biggest challenges facing us at the moment is the decrease in the number of teachers who are joining and staying in our profession. We need to find ways to better support new teachers
ISSUE 3 | MARCH 2019
page 12-13 meet the.indd 12
24/03/2019 09:43
