Dhahran British Grammar School

Dhahran British Grammar School is a member of the Association of British Schools in the Middle East, the Association of Near East/South Asia Schools, and the European Council of International Schools.

The aim of the school is to provide a high quality education in primary and secondary phases based upon the requirements of the UK National Curriculum. In addition to 14 class teachers at Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1 & 2 there are 17 full-time specialist teachers in Key Stages 3 & 4 delivering a broad range of subjects to GCSE level: English, science, mathematics, Arabic, art, design technology, French, business studies, geography, history, information communication technology, music, physical education, and PSHE. The school is a registered examination centre for both Cambridge and Edexcel. Seven classroom aides support classroom teachers and a technology assistant supports the ICT programme. There is one full-time nurse employed on the campus as well as a large support staff.

Inspection and Accreditation

During the 1997/1998 the school was inspected under the OFSTED framework. Qualified inspectors visited the school and the inspection was administered by CfBT, an external contracting agency who satisfied OFSTED’s criteria in carrying out UK inspections. This full OFSTED-style inspection followed the same procedures and requirements as those of a U.K. school undergoing an inspection. The results of the inspection were of a very high standard with 96% of lessons seen being at the expected levels and of these lessons 63% were seen to be from good to excellent. The school is currently embarking on an accreditation process with CIS.

The school undertakes all UK style statutory and non-statutory pupil and teacher assessment arrangements. School results are consistently at a very high level and would match high-performing schools in the UK. Along with these assessments selective standardised testing is undertaken annually. Written reports are sent to parents in Terms 1 and 3 and two parent/teacher conferences take place annually.

All classrooms are equipped with PC multimedia computers. In addition, there are three computer laboratories in constant use with a total of 120 computers in school to ensure that IT is an integral part of all aspects of the curriculum. The two specialist music rooms are designed to comfortably accommodate, at the appropriate time, class music lessons, recorder groups, and other music ensembles. We are also fortunate to have the use of an auditorium, which accommodates an audience of seven hundred. Children are encouraged to participate in a wide range of after school or lunch time activities. The activities change from term to term, vary according to the season, the ages, and the interests of the students and the teachers' expertise.

Professional development of staff is encouraged. Teachers have the opportunity to attend one of the annual conferences of a number of professional organizations during the school year and during the school holidays. Consultants from the UK visit the school annually to conduct in-service training, to provide updates on National Curriculum issues, and to offer recommendations to the school administration.

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