DUBAI COLLEGE

DASSA swimming finals

Yet again the Dubai College swim squad were successful in the DASSA swimming finals that took place at the Hamdan sports complex on Thursday 18th April. It was a fitting venue to host the finale to the swimming league season, with all schools from both divisions taking part. After a fantastic start to the meet where Cameron Matthews from 7VB came an amazing second in the Open 200m IM race where he defeated a number of sixth form opponents; the squad continued to add up the points to victory. The squadron relay was the final event of the afternoon and captain Sam Gardner acknowledged an impressive win with his usual triumphant punch in the air to claim the final double point relay.

RESULTS

1st place - Dubai College - 454
2nd place - Jumeriah College - 401
3rd place - JESS Ranches - 363
4th place – DESC - 355

Successes at City of Norwich Swimming Club Easter Long Course Meet

During the Easter break, 10 students from Dubai College who had achieved the necessary qualifying times attended the highest level of swim meets held in Norwich, in the UK. It was a 3 day Level 1 meet across all age groups of swimmers from all parts of Great Britain. The following DC swimmers took part: Cameron Matthews, Tara Desai, Chantal Meyer, Joe Page, Yasmeen Mohajer, Zahra Kapasi, Matthias Falzon-Young, Daniel Momeni, Martha Gregory and Maisy Duncan. Several individuals came in the top five of their age groups and made the finals, some receiving medals for their efforts.
Some swimmers did very well and managed to achieve qualifying times for the British Gas ASA National Championships. These were: Chantal Meyer in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, Cameron Matthews in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, 200m and 400m IM, 100m and 200m butterfly, and 200m and 400m front crawl. Both Chantal and Cameron finished off the meet in style by also winning the top swimmer positions for their age groups.
 

To view our news, events and trips this term please view our latest e-bulletin by following this link www.dubaicollege.org/media/newsletters/DubaiCollegeebulletin29.pdf

The annual GCSE Certificate Presentation Evening

The annual GCSE Certificate Presentation Evening took place on Wednesday 23rd January. It was a great opportunity to congratulate Y12 on their fantastic achievements last year. It was also stressed that the students must now use the skills developed during Y10 and Y11 – and develop them still further - to rise successfully to the increased challenge of ‘A’ Level study.

Students and proud parents were entertained by the superb musical talent of Lora D’Costa and Victoria Frost and the insightful speeches delivered by Azmina Gulamhusein, Joe Palubiski and Saima Seer.

Our thanks to Professor Gaad and John Merrigan- both Dubai College Board members – for presenting the certificates.

A Happy New Year in the DC Sixth Form

It is safe to say that the Dubai College Sixth Form has made a very positive start to 2013. Having deftly avoided the end of the world in late December, we have subsequently hosted a world record breaking explorer, recreated society from scratch with the help of a renowned lecturer in International Politics and the Cyber Dimension (and adviser to NATO), as well as achieving the highest numbers of offers from Oxford and Cambridge in the history of the school. And that was just in the first week of term!

Last Sunday Robert Swan OBE, the first man to have walked to both the North and the South Pole, came to share with us his vision for a sustainable 21st century in which countries all over the world accept their responsibility to find renewable energy sources in order to prevent the increasingly aggressive depletion of the world’s natural resources. Sir Robert, a former conqueror of the Antarctic, revealed that in 2041 the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty could potentially be modified or amended. For those of you who did not realise, the Antarctic continent is owned by no one and everyone. All the countries of the world have agreed that until 2041 the Antarctic will remain the world’s last wilderness, with no one country entitled to lay claim to or mine the continent’s as yet untapped resources. However, as our global energy consumption continues to grow and oil reserves continue to dwindle it seems inevitable that, unless we find a low-carbon alternative, we will need to develop new methods to enable us to access the frozen continent’s vast energy reserves. When this happens the Antarctic has the potential to become a battleground for mineral and energy miners, destroying what is currently a haunting desert of ice. Not only was Sir Robert’s talk inspiring and informative, it was also very amusing, delivered as it was with a pioneer’s pragmatic wit. Perhaps what is most exciting is that Sir Robert has actively encouraged volunteers from the Dubai College Sixth Form to join him on his next international Antarctic expedition. Details can be found at www.2041.com, so watch this space.

On Monday, the Sixth Form management team decided that they would listen to the constructively critical feedback from Enrichment Day One and combine their creative and cognitive powers to produce a second Enrichment Day which was educational, enriching but most importantly enjoyable. Without giving the game away entirely to the upcoming Year 11s, suffice it to say that the Year 12s took part in an imaginary disaster scenario that required them to rebuild the world from scratch according to their intended area of specialism at university. During the course of six hours, each student worked in a group as well as independently, contributed ideas to a closed committee and then presented them publicly, and listened to an undergraduate level lecture before taking part in an outstanding and very entertaining debate against an opposing team. All the while we were supported and encouraged by the aforementioned Lecturer in International Politics and the Cyber Dimension, Dr Madeline Carr, an academic at the UK’s number one department for International Politics at the University of Aberystwyth. Those students certain that Enrichment Day did not really have any practical relevance to them came away from the day honestly able to say they ticked every soft skills box that they will be required to evidence on their UCAS form this coming September. Not bad for a day’s work.

Finally it was on Wednesday that we discovered the final numbers of successful Oxbridge applicants this year. In total 22 students took the brave and demanding decision to apply for what are statistically two of the most difficult universities to successfully apply for in the world. Of those 22, 20 were called to interview and in the end eight students were made a conditional offer (twice as many as 2011 and the largest number in the school’s history). Those students are Pauline Bagatelas for Natural Sciences at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, Reuben Abraham for Engineering at Jesus College, Cambridge, Ewan French for Engineering at Lincoln College, Oxford, Aariya Mishra for English at Downing College, Cambridge, Anuj Aggarwal for Mathematics at Hertford College, Oxford, Simran Dhillon for Mechanical Engineering also at Hertford College, Oxford, Lavanya Malhotra for Medicine at Trinity College, Cambridge and Owen Over for Physics at University College, Oxford.

It’s difficult to know where to go from here but I suggest onwards and upwards. 

Alumni Careers Convention

On Wednesday 16th January we held our annual Alumni Careers Convention for Year 11. After an initial briefing from the Headmaster, over 100 students descended on B block to hear about career opportunities ranging from Aviation to Public Relations. Some of the career titles were fascinating - Off-Shore Seismic Exploration and Forensic Science to take just two examples. The students could choose to attend any three sessions.

The feedback from all was very positive with the students finding the sessions informative and helpful.

As always, our sincere thanks to our Alumni and other members of the broader DC community for donating their valuable time to this important event.
 

Raschèr Saxophone Quartet Masterclass

Since its formation in 1969, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet has appeared regularly at the major concert halls in Europe, Asia and the U.S. The Vienna “Zeitung” hailed the quartet as the “Uncrowned Kings of the Saxophone” and a critic from “Die Welt” claimed, “If there were an Olympic discipline for virtuoso wind playing, the Raschèr Quartet would definitely receive a gold medal.”

The 14th January saw the quartet give their first masterclass in Dubai as part of the educational outreach programme of The Score. Dubai College tenor saxophonist Daniel Wakefield performed the second movement of Villa-Lobos’ Fantasia as part of this event, gaining insightful advice from quartet. His sensitive playing impressed the performers, with their guidance on stylistic and technical elements of his work being of inspiration and value.
Bethany Wright, Bianca Pereira and Cate Waft also performed the final movement from Milhaud’s Suite op. 157b, Introduction et Final. Again, the quartet were enthused by the talent demonstrated by the girls, helping them to focus on the some of the more complex musical challenges which the piece presents.

We offer our sincere thanks to both the members of the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet and to the staff at The Score for providing us with such an important afternoon of music-making.

More information on The Score or the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet can be found at:

www.rsq-sax.com & www.thescore.ae

Enrichment Day January 14th  "Self" Gallery

New Members of the Board

The Board of Governors welcomed two new members during the course of Winter Term.

Professor Eman Gaad: Professor Gaad is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the British University in Dubai and is an honorary Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK. She led the university’s special and inclusive Masters programme for many years and currently leads the Doctorate programme. She is also on the advisory board for international peer reviewed journals and an associate editor for others. Professor Gaad was seconded for two years as the first Director of Disability Services in Dubai Government’s Community Development Authority. She was winner of HH Princess Haya Award for best distinguished individual research in 2012, and in the same year was awarded the Global Leadership in Education Award.

Peter de Benedictis: Peter has been a UAE resident for almost 30 years. He attended Dubai College as a student from 1987 to 1991 and completed 4 A levels. Since graduating with a BA in Economics in 1995, he has worked for three Fortune 500 companies in the Middle East, rising from an entry level anyalyst position at FedEx through to Chief Marketing Officer of Philips Middle East to his current position as Market Development Director for General Electric (GE).

Peter has played an instrumental part in the development of the DC Alumni Association. He has also supported the College in our ‘Journeys’ Programme and Alumni Careers events.

Neasa Lawless: Mrs Lawless after 11 years of unstinting service to the Board has stepped down. Her hard work and insight into educational issues will be sadly missed.
 

Superb display of Rugby at Dubai 7s

Both A and B Squads played some superb rugby at the Dubai Rugby 7s. The A Squad once again progressed through to the Final where, in front of 40,000 plus spectators, they provided a fantastic display of high quality rugby to retain the U18 Boys Cup. During the whole competition they scored 213 points and conceded just 5. Congratulations and well done to everyone involved.

Veronika Ilinskaya visits Dubai College

Russian pianist, Veronika Ilinskaya studied music at the Moscow Conservatoire and Mannes College, New York, and is currently completing her PhD at the University of Southampton. On the concert platform she has performed around the world, was top winner at the Oxford and Watford Music Festivals, as well as being the recipient of the Corporation of London, Tovey Memorial and Baltic Piano Scholarships. Most recently she has recorded a CD with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra featuring the Scriabin Piano Concerto.

Troy Sharples, Bianca Pereira and Yasine El-Ashmawi were all honoured to perform for Veronika in a masterclass setting, gaining insightful advice on the stylistic and technical aspects of their playing. An audience of 60 of our advanced pianists, GCSE and A-Level students were also in attendance to listen to Veronika’s thoughts on performance. To complete the session she performed the first movement from Schubert’s Piano Sonata in C minor.

During her visit to the UAE Veronika will perform for the Dubai Concert Committee at DUCTAC Theatre, and we extend our sincere gratitude to DCC for helping us organise her visit to Dubai College.

More information on Veronika can be found at: veronikailinskaya.com
 

Punk Rock Tickets - now on sale

Tickets for Punk Rock are now on sale.
AED 35
The Box Office will be open outside the 6th Form Centre, every lunchtime between 12:40 and 1:20pm.

Please note: Punk Rock is not a pantomime!
The narrative content is emotive with mature themes relevant to the age of the Sixth Form cast. The performance contains some mild swearing and is age restricted to Y10 and above. Y9 may attend with parental supervision.
 

Debate Dubai

This weekend saw 28 debaters from across all years attend the annual Debate Dubai tournament at Jumeirah College.
All our teams debated highly challenging motions intelligently and with sensitivity and, as always, proved themselves to be excellent ambassadors for the College.
Our two 14 and under teams, made up of many first-time Year 7 debaters, excelled in the face of stiff competition from teams who were, on the whole, in Year 9 and it was an outstanding achievement that the DC A team in this age group only lost one debate all day.
A special mention must also go to Samer Ashur, Aarya Mishra and Owen Over who made it through to the finals of the Open Division where they astounded the audience with their erudition. They left runners up and Owen was commended as the Third Best Speaker of the day.
Well done to all who took part.

Open Day

Dubai College held a highly successful Open Day on Thursday afternoon (November 22nd) when prospective students and parents were given an opportunity to see what DC has to offer. We welcomed over 1,000 visitors and I must thank the 600 plus students who stayed in school on Thursday afternoon to help with this event. Every building in the school was opened up from Art through to Technology and the range of activities on display was simply stunning. At the end of the day our guests filled the auditorium to capacity to hear the Headmaster’s Address. The day was such a success due to the simple fact that all members of the DC community played their parts fully in demonstrating the hard work, creativity, pride and standards associated with the College and my sincere thanks to everyone involved.

Seattle Baroque Workshop

Dubai College was delighted to attend the recent workshop given by Seattle Baroque on 21st November. Students from our A-Level Music classes were joined by fellow musicians for a concert and masterclass which was held at The Fridge as part of The Score’s outreach programme.
Seattle Baroque Orchestra was founded in 1994 by Ingrid Matthews and Byron Schenkman, and quickly established itself as one of the most vibrant of the American early music ensembles. The Seattle Baroque Orchestra aims to awaken contemporary audiences to the vitality of 17th and 18th-century music. Through their live performances, recordings and educational programmes, they hope to raise awareness and appreciation of this music, which not only illuminates past eras but also provides a unique lens through which to view our own.
Florence Prosser had the unique opportunity to perform as part of the masterclass, where she sung Handel’s Angels Ever Bright & Fair. Soprano Clara Rottsolk, was on hand with advice on the musical and stylistic details of Florence’s performance.
The morning proved to be a fascinating insight to the conventions of Baroque performance and the exuberance of this period in musical history.
 

Year 12 Higher Education Evening

Y12 students and parents attended a highly informative Higher Education Information evening on Monday November 19th. The event, hosted by Mr Lambert (Head of Sixth Form) and Mr Tate (Head of Y12), stressed the key importance of achieving goals in Y12 to strengthen university applications. Although the main focus of the evening was on the UK Higher Education sector, guidance was also given on the North American and European admissions process including a fascinating insight into the various costs involved. The Oxbridge application process was also covered.

The evening was very well attended and we now look forward to Y12 using the advice to ensure they obtain the university and course of their choice in 2014.

Islamic Studies Conference

Last week (from Wednesday November 21st) the College hosted an important four day BSME Islamic Studies Conference which attracted teachers from British schools across the region. Speakers associated with the Razi Group and the University of Toronto’s Department of Education led the event and all agreed it was very successful in achieving its aim of continuing to raise the standard of the teaching and learning of Islamic Studies in expatriate schools.

Dubai College ‘Communicator’ for Parents and Students

We have recently launched a new tool called the ‘Communicator’ which will become the main source of relaying College related news, calendar dates, parent information etc.

‘The Communicator’ is readily available on your desktop, tablet or mobile device (Ipad, Iphone, Blackberry, Laptop) on a daily basis. The application pops up once daily when the computer is switched on and then can be minimised to view at a later time that day if necessary. The ‘downloaded application’ sits on your mobile device and can be opened at any time to view during the day. There should no longer be a need for parents to actively check our website for information. It should assist with the flow of advance notifications across the school and community as well as help with our efforts to consistently celebrate success.

The ‘Communicator’ can be personalised so that you only receive news that is directly relevant to you. This can be done be selecting the ‘Year Group’ or other area of interest (eg. Boys/Girls Sport) when registering your details.

We will use the ‘Communicator’ in the event of an emergency such as an unexpected closure of the school etc.

Students have been encouraged to download the application on to their mobile device, so that they are reminded of the various meetings scheduled during a busy school day.

If you have not already done so, we strongly encourage you to download ‘Communicator’ and instructions on how to do this can be found by following the links below.

I do hope that this tool will be useful to you.

Direct to Desktop Communicator: www.six-delta.com/school

Mobile device Communicator: http://schoolcommunicator.mobi
 

National Day Holiday

As you may have read in the local press the Dubai Government has declared a 4 day long weekend to celebrate the 41st UAE National Day, therefore, the school will be closed on Sunday 2nd December and Monday 3rd December 2012. May we congratulate the UAE on the occasion of its National Day.

Islamic New Year

The Federal Government has announced that Thursday November 15th will be a public holiday to celebrate the Islamic New Year. The school therefore will be closed on this day and will re-open on Sunday November 18th.
 

Dubai College Sports Academy

During the Half Term Break, 170 young sports people attended the inaugural Dubai College Sports Academy. The attendees received intensive professional coaching from a vastly experienced coaching team, which was headed by Peter Richards, Ex England rugby player and Sonia Mkoloma, current English netball international.

The Academy’s success has now ensured that the Sports camp will become an annual feature of the College’s sporting calendar.

RULE BRITANNIA
A Celebration of British Classics

Tickets for the upcoming Rule Britannia concert are now on sale from the Music Department. Rule Britannia will feature a host of British favourites, presented in a proms-style atmosphere. The Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Senior Choir, Trumpet Fanfare Group and a range of soloists will take you on a journey around the United Kingdom, after which we invite you to join us for some traditional British fare, provided by the Friends of Dubai College. Tickets are priced at 20 AED and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Dress for the audience is Black Tie/British Patriotic! We look forward to seeing you there.

Cricket Results
Over the half term break the U16 & 1st XI teams hosted two touring teams from the UK. The U16 team put in a sterling performance against Buckinghamshire, battling right until the final over of the match. Buckinghamshire came away with a 3 wicket win but the DC boys were very pleased to push a full County side so close.
The 1st XI then took on the Barmy Army – a combination of county players from around the UK. DC were far too strong in this instance coming away with a 10 wicket win. The captain Reuben Abraham (Y13) finishing on 60 not out and his opening partner, Brendan D’Souza (Y11), finishing on 20 not out.
 

Sporting success against Felton Fleet
The Under 13 netball team produced an excellent display to overcome Felton Fleet School, UK by 18-4 during the half term break. Additionally, the Under 12 Boys football team beat Felton Fleet School by 3-0.

Rugby success against Haileybury School, UK
The Under 18 rugby teams recorded excellent victories against Haileybury School, UK during the half term break. The B team won 32-7 whilst the A team were victorious by 38-5.

Eid Al Adha
As you may have read in the local media the Minister of Education has announced a 4 day holiday commencing on Thursday, 25th October to mark Eid Al Adha. Therefore the school will be closed on Thursday 25th October and will re-open after half term on Sunday 4th November.

A-Level Music Students at the Met!

Students from Dubai College’s A-Level Music classes attended the opening night of the Metropolitan Opera Live Broadcasts, at the IMAX cinema in Meydan. The season of HD broadcasts live from the Lincoln Centre in New York, began with Donizetti’s comedic masterpiece, L’elisir d’amore, which tells the tale of a romantic peasant who tries to win the heart of a noblewoman by purchasing an elixir of love. A number of misunderstandings and a cancelled wedding lead the couple to eventually discover their true love for each other. The opera is perhaps most famous for the spellbinding aria, Una furtive lagrima, which has been performed by some of the world’s most accomplished tenors, including the late great Pavarotti.

We look forward to the next MET broadcast which will take place early in November.
 

Museum Visit for Cricketers

Members of the schools Intermediate & Senior Cricket squads took up an invitation to visit a unique and world class private collection of cricket memorabilia. The collection is owned by Mr Shyam Bhatia, the collection is so vast it is stored in a purpose built museum. The squads received a warm welcome from Mr Bhatia who spoke to the students about the collection, the ‘pillars of cricket’ within the museum which represent the history of all test playing nations. Students took time to watch clips of matches from Mr Bhatia’s collection of some 500 performances stretching back to the 1950’s. The visit ended with a Q&A where Mr Bhatia spoke about the importance of being involved in sport along with his thoughts on the current state of the modern game.
Mr Bhatia has been a long-time supporter of the College and in particular the Cricket programme. Later on in this academic year the College will be organising its inaugural Cricket Festival, supported by the Cricket for Care foundation Mr Bhatia has run for many years. The College and the Cricket squads are extremely grateful to Mr Bhatia for opening the doors to his collection and warmly welcoming the Dubai College students.



Members of the Intermediate & Senior squads receiving a gift from Mr Bhatia

Enrichment Day
First Enrichment Day a Success

 

Schubert Ensemble
Dubai College Music Department were honoured to once again host the Schubert Ensemble, on Monday 8th October, who performed to an audience of over 230 students. This acclaimed chamber ensemble are visiting Dubai to perform in DUCTAC Theatre under the Dubai Concert Committee, and we are grateful that they could take time out of their busy schedule to visit us here. The performance, including works by Butler, Vaughn Williams and their namesake Schubert, was received with excitement and really was a special event for the young musicians of Dubai College. We extend our sincere gratitude to both the Schubert Ensemble and Dubai Concert Committee.

More information on the group is available at www.schubertensemble.com


Enrichment Day Tuesday 2nd October 2012

Responding to ‘The Student Voice’, we are amending our approach to Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) and holding our first ‘Enrichment Day’ this Tuesday. Rather than weekly traditional PSHE sessions we are providing three focused days over the course of the academic year (one per term) covering issues directly relevant to teenagers in Dubai.

Our first day has as its theme ‘Awareness’. Outside speakers will be talking about life in Dubai, various team building exercises will be run by North Star and Eco-Adventures and our own staff have been working hard on a range of interactive sessions. The interactive sessions cover a wide range of topics such as e.g. Stranger Danger (Y7) Cyber Safety (Y8) The Colour of Money (Y9) Smart Party (Y10) The Perils of Facebook (Y11). The Sixth Form have their own programme.

Tennis success for Year 8 student Alex Smith

Alex played in the Abu Dhabi under 14’s masters competition over the last two weekends. The top eight players in the UAE were invited to play.

He won his first match 6-3 6-1 and his second match 6-0 6-0. He faced the number 1 ranked player in the final and unfortunately went down 3-6 5-7 . The tennis was outstanding from both players. They are long time rivals, Alex having won the last two matches.

He is pictured here with his current coach Magalie De Lattre a former WTA player.

GCSE 2012 RESULTS
This information comes with the usual health warning regarding League Tables. The Daily Telegraph has recently (18th September) produced their GCSE table for UK Independent Schools. The table can be found here:

www.telegraph.co.uk/education/leaguetables/9551003/GCSE-results-2012-Independent-school-results-table.html

Dubai College would appear in 29th position overall (86.4% A*/A) If one only considers co-educational establishments we would be in 6th place. This is a fantastic achievement for the students and the DC community as a whole so congratulations to all.


Road Layout Changes

Because of road works at the junction of Hessa Street and Al Sufouh Road access to Dubai College from the Sheikh Zayed Road, driving past Choueifat School, has changed in that it is no longer possible to do a u-turn and enter the College in Gate 1. You will, however, be able to enter the car park at Gate 2 (outside the auditorium).

The routes to the College along Al Sufouh Road from the Burj Al Arab and Dubai Marina have not changed.


EXCEPTIONAL EXAMINATION RESULTS
Dubai College students have achieved the strongest set of A Level and GCSE results in the College’s 35 year history. This achievement is especially significant when placed in the context of the first UK decline in GCSE and A Level grades in over twenty years.

At A Level, the A*/A percentage of 68.6 is a significant improvement on previous years. The equivalent UK national figure is 26.6%.

School League tables have a whole raft of health warnings attached to them. However, to put the above results in context, The Daily Telegraph’s 2012 A Level results table (published on August 25th) for UK Independent schools (based on A*/A percentage) is quite informative. Dubai College would be in the top 50 of this list and ahead of a very significant number of well known, selective and high performing British schools.

We would be in the top 10% when compared against UK grammar schools (Daily Telegraph A Level results 2012 from state schools). Our A* and A*- B rate puts us ahead of the vast majority of these selective and very high performing institutions.

GCSE success was equally impressive. Overall, the top grades of A*/A were improved by 4 percentage points on 2011 to 86.2%. This compares to the UK national figure of 22.4%. According to HMC statistics, Independent schools achieved an A*/A rate of 63%. Twelve students, more than 10% of the cohort, achieved a ‘full house’ of 9 A* grades.

In addition to achieving these superb examination results this cohort of GCSE and A Level students contributed enormously to our charity, creative and sporting success last year – a fantastic group of young people.

Our heartiest congratulations to the students and sincere thanks to the teaching staff and long suffering parents for these pleasing results.
 

Change of road access to Dubai College

Please click here to view the new layout

Top of the world!
Very few achievements can be greater than standing on the top of the world but alumnus Leanne Shuttleworth has done just that! Leanne, who has spent the last year scaling the highest peaks on the planet managed her crowning glory when she reached the summit of Mt Everest, accompanied by her father Mark, at approximately 5.00am UAE time on Sunday 20th May. Leanne and her dad spent two minutes at the top before commencing their descent.
We send our heartiest congratulations from every member of the Dubai College community. To get the very latest update you can log onto http://www.leannashuttleworth.com/MyBlog/
 

UCL / DC Forum – 1st May

The Dubai College and University College London Forum took place on Tuesday May 1st in the College Auditorium. Judging by comments afterwards it was a significant success. The College welcomed the Vice-Provost (Research) of UCL, Professor David Price. The discussion panel was made up of distinguished UCL Alumni Dr Nasser Saidi (Chief Economist, DIFC) and Dany Farha (Gulf Entrepreneur) DC warmly welcomed back its own alumni Anthony Booth (Director, Clickco) and Rashid Doleh (President of Middle East Council of Shopping Centres). The sizeable audience consisted of a fantastic mix of students, parents and teachers as well as UCL and DC alumni. The two topics of ‘The Fat Cats’ Last Meow?’ and ‘ASBOS, iPhones and a game called COD. Is technology making us anti-social?’ were keenly debated by the panellists, as well as our two Y12 students Owen Over and Aarya Mishra and the audience in general.

This event built upon the success of last year’s Forum with Kings College London and plans are already being made for next year’s event. The evening has clearly demonstrated that there is certainly an interest in supporting ‘high end intellectual dialogue’ in Dubai!
 

University College London and Dubai College
A Forum on Contemporary Issues

Tuesday, 1st May 2012
7pm-8pm
Dubai College Auditorium

The Fat Cats’ Last Meow?
And
ASBOS, iPhones and a game called COD fan the flames of modern day hooliganism
Click here to download more information

Tragic loss of former student

The College was informed this week about the recent tragic death of former student Liam Ball. Liam’s funeral took place in Sunderland last week. Amongst those who attended were DC alumni Chris Johnson, Ross Wilding, Ambarish Ray, Dave Kerr, Darren de Wilde, Omar Shareef and Shahryar Sheibani.

Every member of the College community past and present, joins in sending sincere condolences to Liam’s wife, family and close relatives.

Hairspray

This year’s school production of Hairspray ran for four nights last week enabling nearly 2,000 people to see the performance. It was a stunning show and all involved should be extremely proud. It was the last major production for Mr and Mrs Jones and Mr Penson - an outstanding tribute therefore to their combined sixty eight years of service to DC.
 

 

Last weekend’s sport round up

Last weekend’s sporting endeavors ensured an action packed few days with over 200 pupils participating in a multitude of sports and tournaments.

Our athletics teams were very successful with both the boys and girls winning their respective athletics championships.

Our U13 Boys football team participated in the BSME tournament and reached the quarter finals, whilst the U16 boys finished 3rd in the Gulf Unity Cup.

The U13 Girls won 3 games and drew 2 on the first day of the BSME games but narrowly lost in the Quarter finals. The U15 and 18 girls both played in the Gulf Unity and produced some excellent football. The U15 team finished in the quarter final and the U18 team won their tournament.




Congratulations to the girls’ athletics squad who were crowned champions in the Dubai District Championships this week  

Y12 & Y13 Art trip to DIFC

This has been a busy term for our Art students! The Year 11 trip to the galleries in DIFC was such a hit that we decided to take Year 12 and 13 artists there too. A great time was had by all and pupils were engrossed in drawing the spectacular art, but they also made characterful drawings over lunch on their restaurant napkins and enjoyed the impressive architecture. We can thoroughly recommend a visit to the Cuadro, Sawa, Ayyam and XVA galleries in DIFC to those who are interested.
 

Darren Shan Visit

On Wednesday 7th March, Years 7, 8 and 9 students, and visitors from 11 other schools in the city, were both thrilled and chilled to the bone by the modern master of horror Darren Shan.
As part of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, Darren visited the DC Auditorium and treated us to readings from his most popular books as well as a taste of his new Zom-B series. He spoke about life as a writer, answered numerous questions from the audience and stayed behind for three hours to sign hundreds of books clutched by avid fans.
Find him on Twitter to see the comments he made about his visit and, if you’re really eagle-eyed, you might be able to spot a piece of graffiti he left on his tour of the school!




ICT Visit
During the week beginning 4th March 2012, nine ICT A Level students (and Mrs Greenlees) visited 3 companies in Dubai to look at
w they use ICT in their daily operations. They started with a tour around Jumeirah Training Academy for Hospitality Management and gained an insightful look at how the Jumeirah Hotels computer system has evolved. This was followed by a presentation from Cyquent Technology Consultants in Tecom and finally ended with a tour of Dubai Duty Free. After a fascinating presentation, Mr Cidambi and his team at DDF showed the students around their Head Office and managed to gain access to their automated warehouse system. The ICT department is very grateful to all companies and hope that they enjoyed the experience as much as we did!





Tom Rob Smith visit

GCSE and A Level History students were fortunate to be the audience for Tom Rob Smith’s recent visit to Dubai College. He inspired all with his recount of how he became an author and screen-play writer which included an interesting bout in Pnomh Penh penning Cambodia’s first ever TV soap! However of particular interest was his explanation of how he integrated his historical research on Soviet Russia with his storylines in his bestselling novels, Child 44, Secret Speech and Agent 6. Reading extracts from his stories alongside factual recounts and you-tube clips, Tom showed how he created his fictional characters and settings with the authenticity of the period in question.
 

Professor Grayling visit

On Thursday 8th March, Professor A.C. Grayling visited the College. Professor Grayling is Master of New College of the Humanities, London and previously was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is also a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford, Fellow of the Roay Society of the Arts and Royal Society of Literature. He has written over twenty books including The Good Book and Liberty in the Age of Terror, contributes regular columns to The Guardian and Times and can be heard on numerous radio and TV programmes in the UK.

He was therefore very well qualified to speak to some of our Y12 and Y13 students on the topic of ‘The Importance of the Humanities’. His hour long lecture was thought provoking, learned and well balanced. Professor Grayling devoted a considerable amount of his busy schedule to his visit to DC and we are very appreciative of this. We look forward to strengthening our ties with New College of the Humanities in the near future.


DC Cricket
On Sunday 4th March 10 members of the schools U13 side went up to the Sevens to take part in a unique match and have an opportunity to meet and watch some of the top cricketing talent from England. The Lords Taverners, a team made up of cricketing greats who aim to give disadvantaged children a sporting chance, were playing an Emirates XI. Before that match started DC were to play Repton School in a swashbuckling, 8 overs a side exhibition game. Dubai College won the match by 64 runs to 34, with captain Sid Jhurani leading by example with a Man-of-the-Match performance. Wicketkeeper Devansh Popley – one of the youngest players on the field – also made a key contribution in difficult conditions.
This has been a great year for the U13 team who are currently unbeaten. There is some real talent coming through the junior ranks ensuring a strong Cricketing future looks assured for the College.

Behind our team is Jon Lewis (Surrey & England) in the red top, Gareth Batty (Surrey & England) is on the left shoulder of Josh Deveraux and Mike Gatting is the gent with the baseball hat and goatee at the left of the photo.


World Food Day
World Food Day this year took place on the 29th February, and for the second year running, the event was combined with International Day so that students had the opportunity to wear national dress, as well as bring in food from their countries. World Food Day, as well as being a charitable endeavour, is a celebration of different cultures, as well as a chance for students to try other cuisines and, above all, to enjoy themselves. With most of the school dressed in national outfits, food stalls set up and cultural music playing in the background, the canteen area of the school was transformed for lunchtime. The contribution of the students and, in particular, the efforts of those who brought in food or helped out at stands was integral to the success of the event. Although money is still being counted, so far, around 11,500 dirhams has been raised, with more still to come. This money will soon be distributed amongst the charities of MSF, Dubai Centre for Special Needs, and the RAEY School in Ethiopia. The Charity Committee would like to thank those students of the school who participated in the event, and hope that it was as enjoyable for those participating as it was for those who organised it.


Verbier Ski Trip
48 students and 4 teachers, great snow, a fair amount of sunshine and evenings filled with activities sums up the DC ski trip which travelled to Switzerland over the half term break. Everyone improved in their skiing or snowboarding and had a great time in Verbier where we stayed at the Les Elfes campus. Congratulations to the fastest student through the slalom race course, Max Lovett, 8DR.




History Trip to Berlin
From the 15th to the 19th of February the History Department took a party of Sixth Formers on a fascinating and illuminating trip to Berlin.   

The aim of the trip was to help bring History alive as they visited many of the sites of central importance to the A-level history topics of Germany and the Cold War.  As well as experiencing snow and sub-zero Siberian winds, the school party visited iconic sites such as the Berlin Wall, Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie and the Stasi detention centre.  They also had time to marvel at the Pergamon museum and the Brandenburg Gate. All students had a great time and, we hope, will have developed a much deeper understanding of their A-level courses.

Rugby Tour to South East Asia
The tour to South East Asia got off to a good start with both teams enjoying a successful weekend at the Bintang 10s rugby tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
The Under 16s reached the semi finals and narrowly lost in a pulsating game to the tournament hosts, Bintang RFC.
The Under 18s were victorious throughout and won the Cup final convincingly against the national sports school, SSTSI.
Both squads now travel to Singapore for 15 a side fixtures against two of the prominent schools, UWCSEA & Tanglin Trust School.

Under 16 results:
DC 5 - 0 STAR
DC 0 - 0 Bintang
DC 5 - 0 SAKTI
DC 21 - 5 CR
DC 0 - 5 Bintang
DC 0 - 10 SDAR

Under 18 results:
DC 15 - 0 SBPJI
DC 5 - 0 Bintang
DC 24 - 0 SMS
DC 7 - 0 KGV
DC 22 - 0 KGV
DC 17 - 5 JC
DC 15 - 7 SSTSI



Swimmers retain their title 

Last Thursday afternoon saw the DC swim squad in fine form as they retained the Dubai Secondary Schools’ swim league title at the Hamdan Swimming Centre.  All three age groups contributed to a convincing victory in the ten school event held in a first class venue.



FDC Spring Fayre

The FDC ran their Spring Fayre on the 3rd February. The previous overcast weather was replaced with warm sunny conditions and there was great support from the students who ran a number of stalls. It was a great turnout and it was really good to see the students and their families enjoying themselves. Hopefully we will continue to grow next year and have even more student participation.


Dubai College Jazz Band presents The Great American Songbook
Please join us for the Jazz Band’s performance of The Great American Songbook! Enjoy the hits of George Gershwin, Cole Porter and a range of other celebrated composers, as we explore this magical time in American song-writing history. The evening will also feature a range of soloists and our Jazz Combo. The concert will take place in the Music Centre at 7.30pm on 14th February.
Tickets will be sold in two categories: Café seating, priced at 20 AED (tables of 4), or Balcony seating, priced at 15 AED.

Tickets will be on sale from Sunday 5th February, from the Music Department.
 

Dubai College presents the Great American Songbook, Tuesday 14th February  at 7.30pm in the Music Centre.

Dubai College Under 12 Invitational Football Tournament 2012
This year’s competition took place on Saturday Feb 4th. 13 teams participated:
Dubai College (3 teams)
Doha College
EIS Jumeirah
EIS Meadows
JESS Ranches
Repton
Dubai British School
DES College
Deira International School
Raffles International School
Ras Al Khaimah English Speaking School

After a hard fought round robin stage where the teams were divided into 3 pools, the teams played out semi-finals and finals for the Cup, Plate and Bowl trophies. Doha College emerged victorious in the Cup beating Repton 4 – 3 in a penalty shootout after their final ended 2 – 2. EIS Jumeirah edged out Raffles 1 – 0 in the Plate competition final while DES College defeated Dubai College B 2 – 0 in the Bowl Final. Dubai College A were beaten semi-finalists in the main Cup competition. Luckily the weather remained perfect for the day and the quality of football on show once again showed how much the game of football is developing at this level.


Visit to Al Sherouq School
During the last week of January a party of 20 senior boys and 3 teachers paid a visit to the Al Sherouq Private School in Jumeirah.
The group received the warmest of welcomes from their Arab hosts including a Fellowship Meal.
Conversation flowed easily between individuals who would not usually encounter each other.
The DC party’s arrival back at school was delayed by the time it took to take the photographs on departure!
Dubai College and the Al Sherouq School have become increasingly linked in recent months.
Teachers from Al Sherouq have visited our English, Mathematics and Science Departments.
The next interchanges planned are a Senior Girls Fellowship Meal and visits for DC teachers to Al Sherouq.

PISA Testing
At the end of last month, over a hundred pupils who were born in 1996 assisted ACER (The Australian Centre for Educational Research) with their Field Trials for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2012).

The Year 10 and Year 11 students spent approximately three-quarters of an hour puzzling over possible test items in English, Mathematics and Science.

The benefit of participation to DC is that the school will receive direct and specific feedback, in about a month’s time, on the performance of our pupils on this occasion.
This contrasts with the actual PISA Testing process, commissioned by the UAE Ministry of Education and endorsed by the Government of Dubai and the KHDA, where the results are reported for the nation as a whole!


Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expeditions

January has been a very busy month for the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze level participants, with no less than three expeditions to the desert. The term commenced with our second training expedition to Wadi Fayah, followed by both qualifying expeditions to Wadi Ghel, near to Dhaid in the Emirate of Sharjah. Each of these adventurous journeys posed their own particular challenges from navigating the soft dunes close to Fossil Rock in the midday heat, to battling heavy wind, rain and even hail stones last weekend, to surviving the extreme coldness whilst camping during the most recent trip. Over one hundred students showed much determination, stamina and teamwork during these arduous treks and as a result have successfully completed this aspect of the award. In the next few months students will now be focused upon finishing the other components of the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, namely service, physical recreation, skill in addition to completing their team report. Thanks to all the teachers who accompanied each weekend and to North Star for leading the trips so professionally.


Maastricht University
Dubai College recently hosted representatives from Maastricht University who spoke to parents from DC and other schools in Dubai about higher education opportunities at this leading European university. Most were struck by the ‘value for money’ aspect when compared to costs in the UK and USA. Further details will be posted on our website in the near future.

U12 Unity Cup
Playing together as a team for the first time this year the u12 boys football squad played exceptionally well to emerge as the champion school in the U12 Unity Cup played at Rashid School over the weekend of January 27th/28th. The team won 4 of the 5 games that they played, against teams from Bahrain, Muscat and Abu Dhabi, scoring 28 goals and conceding only 1. This bodes well perhaps for their chances of success in the coming weekend’s Dubai College International Invitational Under 12 football Tournament.


BSME Football
The Dubai College U15 boy’s football team managed a pleasing 4th place finish in the British Schools of the Middle East tournament on Saturday the 28th January held in the wonderful surroundings of the American University of Sharjah. It was the DC bogey team that ended any aspirations of being crowned champions in the semi–final, as English College went on to win in the final after a hard fought victory against Wellington International School. DC defeated teams from Jordan, Kuwait and Dubai along the way and played some terrific passing football during a very enjoyable and well organised day. Prateek Nadkarni was the DC Player of the Tournament with several outstanding displays in defence.


Dubai Marathon 10k Race
On Friday 27th January Mr Barrington and his wife Anthea put on their running shoes to take part in the 10K race as part of the Dubai Marathon. They were running in memory of Ed Hall, a member of staff at Jebel Ali Primary School who very sadly passed away suddenly last year. They ran alongside many other members of staff from Jebel Ali School, the community and some students. The run was sponsored and Mr Barrington is very grateful to the many staff at Dubai College who so generously sponsored his participation in the run. Running fever has gone to Mr Barrington’s head as he has now committed to running the full marathon next year as a way of celebrating his impending 30th birthday at the end of 2012…watch this space for news of running related injuries!

U12 Netball Tournament
It was a fantastic tournament with 24 teams entered and over 220 girls taking part. As usual, we saw entries from the Dubai primary schools who continue to get better and better and contend for the top positions. After about 5 hours of playing netball, Dubai College came away with a sweet home victory. Congratulations to the Dubai College champions.



U15 BSME Games netball
Both Under 15 netball squads spent an exhausting day on Friday competing in the U15 BSME games here at Dubai College. Both A and B teams produced impressive displays in the group games facing international competition from around the Gulf and advanced to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, it was at this stage that they had to face each other in a very close game that saw the A team narrowly claim victory. However, the B team were not down hearted and picked themselves up to claim a solid victory over English College to take the third place slot. Taking breath, the A team then faced our local neighbours in Jess Arabian Ranches. After a nervous start in front of an enthusiastic crowd, the DC girls soon found their momentum and took the game “by the horns” culminating in a notable 12-4 victory. Every squad member made a valuable contribution to a fantastic day of netball and should be proud of the manner in which they represented the College.





Year 7 History Trip to Bastakiya
As part of their study on change and continuity in Dubai over the last century, Year 7 History students enjoyed a visit to Dubai Museum, the creek and a tour around Bastakiya. They were able to learn much about past culture and customs and even took part in a gypsum art workshop. 

Unity Cup Football
This year’s boys Under 13 and Under 14 Unity Cup football competitions were held last weekend at the Rashid School for Boys. Both Dubai College squads emerged as Champions over the course of the weekend, both teams remaining unbeaten in their respective competitions.
The under 13 event comprised 7 teams: Dubai College, Dubai International Academy, the Sultan School Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah English Speaking School, the British School Bahrain, Jazeera Academy Qatar and ALL from Jordan. Dubai College won 5 of their 6 games and drew the sixth to win the tournament, scoring 18 goals and conceding 1.
The under 14 event comprised 8 teams: Dubai College, the British School Muscat, the Sultan School Muscat, Dubai American Academy, GEMS World Academy, IKNS Bahrain, Azza bin Qais School Oman and ALL from Jordan. Dubai College won 6 of their 7 games and drew the seventh, scoring 26 goals and conceding 4.

Year 9 Options Evening
Year 9 students, parents and teachers came together last week to discuss possible GCSE choices. Mr Agent and Miss Hill explained the structure and rationale behind the option process and this was followed by a series of subject specific presentations in subject bases. The evening ended with some free time to ask questions on a 1:1 basis. The more traditional Consultation Evening for Year 9 will take place on 27th February shortly before the deadline for option choices.


Successful Y11 Alumni Careers Convention

Over 100 Y11 students attended the Careers Convention last week. They had an opportunity to discover more about a range of possible careers from aviation to physiotherapy. There was a great atmosphere about the evening and our thanks to both the alumni and other members of the Dubai College community for donating their time to this event. The Y12 Alumni Careers Convention will take place in June.


Maastricht University Visit

There is a growing trend amongst students to investigate the European mainland as an option for their university studies. UK based students are attracted by cost factors, quality of education provided and the cosmopolitan lifestyle. We are delighted therefore that Maastricht University have accepted our invitation to visit the college on Wednesday, 25th January at 7pm. Maastricht University is one of the leading providers of degree courses through the medium of English in Europe. They will be talking to students and parents about the university, courses on offer, costings and the general benefits of a European education. If you are interested in attending please contact Debra Harding headassist@dubaicollege.org by Thursday 19th January.

Year 7 Entrance Assessment 2012

The largest ever number of students, by some way, sat our DC entry assessment on Saturday January 14th. We wish all the candidates the very best of luck. Parents will be informed on February 29th, of the outcome of our entry process.

Year 11 Alumni Careers Convention

Our sincere thanks to our alumni and other members of the local community for giving up their time to discuss with Year 11 students the various different career options and pathways available to them. The Year 11 Careers Convention will take place on Wednesday, 18th January At 7pm.

Hatta Run 2012

Once again DC students boarded the early morning bus for the annual schools cross country race held at the Hatta Fort hotel on Saturday 14th January. After a delayed start it was decided to run all the competitors together which proved to be quite a challenge for the organisers, but led to a very competitive run with course records being set. Dubai College students repeated their team success from last year and were well represented in the individual honours. Julia MacKay 7EA achieved second place in the junior girls, but the senior girls stole the show by taking the top six places.

1st - Maisy Duncan 10DF

2nd - Lidia Rzeplinska – 10 RA

3rd - Pritika Mehra – 11 PF
4th - Sofi Zickermann White – 10 DF
5th - Azmina Gulamhusein – 11 RG
6th - Dorottya Nagy – 11 NB




Dubai College are the U18 Dubai Rugby 7s champions!

The squad played consistently well throughout the three days against some strong opposition. The tally of points speak for themselves: on the way to the final the boys scored 159 points and conceded just 10. The Final itself was played on the main pitch in front of 25,000 spectators and a TV audience. Our old competitors, Al Khubairat British School, Abu Dhabi, were defeated by 26 points to nil. Congratulations to all – a fantastic achievement!

 

     

Dubai College School Closure Thursday 1st December 2011

As I am sure you are aware from the local media, all schools in the U.A.E. will be closed on Thursday, 1st December 2011. This public holiday marks the New Islamic Hijri Year 1433 and the 40th UAE National Day holiday.
If you are having one, may I wish you a pleasant long weekend.

Peter Hill
Headmaster
 

 

A Night at the Opera will be taking place on Tuesday 22nd November at 7.00pm in the Music Centre. Limited tickets are available in advance from the Music Department at a cost of 15 Dirhams. This Chamber Concert is intended primarily for parents and friends of the students involved, however, subject to availability, others may purchase tickets also.


The school is closed from Sunday November 6th to Thursday November 10th for the Half Term break as stated in the School Calendar. School recommences on Sunday November 13th.

 

 

A Weekend of Competition
Dubai College hosted over 50 students and staff from Doha College over the weekend of October 20-21st for the annual sporting competition between the two schools. This is the 28th year of the competition and it has grown into one of the largest competitions of its kind in the region. The two days of competition saw some great performances across the range of sports including basketball, football, rugby, softball, swimming, volleyball and water polo. Dubai College was again victorious but the main positive of the event was the quality of sporting endeavour and the level of enjoyment from all concerned.

Our thanks to the families who hosted the students from Doha.


Inviting all parents!
All are most welcome to join us for the
Motivate Publishing Arabian Heritage and Arabic Language Books Roadshow
in the Dubai College Auditorium Foyer on the following days/times

Tuesday 25th October – 1:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday 26th October – 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m