SENIOR SCHOOL PROSPECTUS
LEARNING TOGETHER
WELCOME ACHIEVING THE BEST FOR YOUR CHILD
Michael Weston Headmaster Senior School
Sherborne Qatar Senior School is still a young school, but it has developed from a school with a rich heritage dating back nearly 500 years. Together with the Preparatory School, it is the first overseas school developed by Sherborne School, Dorset and was established at the invitation of the Supreme Education Council of Qatar as the only British Independent school in the ‘Outstanding Schools Programme’, an association of which we are proud to be members.
Pastoral care is important: each child must know that he or she are valued. Housemasters and House Tutors know not only their pupils, but also their families because we are all part of the same community, one that has at its heart the young people we teach and care for. Our Houses are at the centre of our pastoral system and support our academic organisation. Houses also provide the focus for inter-house competitions in a range of events.
In the Senior School, we follow an enhanced curriculum based on the National Curriculum for England and Wales in Years 7, 8 and 9. We prepare boys and girls for IGCSE and GCSE examinations in Year 11, using AQA, Edexcel and CIE specifications. In the Sixth Form (Years 12 and 13), we offer a broad range of subjects leading to A Levels.
Sherborne Qatar Senior School is recognised by the UK Department for Education as a British School Overseas (BSO), having met the inspection standards set by Ofsted. We are also members of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and the British Schools of the Middle East (BSME).
Our pupils benefit from specialist, well qualified, experienced teaching staff. It is our policy to employ teachers who have studied for their professional qualifications in the United Kingdom and who have gained relevant teaching experience there.
This brief prospectus can give only a snapshot of what Sherborne Qatar Senior School can offer its pupils and their families. There is so much more to learn about us, and the best way to do that is to visit us. You are assured of a warm welcome and we look forward to meeting you.
“Our pupils benefit from specialist, well qualified, experienced teaching staff”
ACADEMIC Our aim is to enable all pupils ultimately to have the opportunity to gain entry into the best universities in the world. To that end, our curriculum is academically broad and demanding, featuring additional elements that will enhance not only the curriculum vitae of each pupil, but will also help them to develop interests and skills that will benefit them as they enter the adult world beyond school. As a leading British school, we require all pupils to have a sound grasp of both written and spoken English. With the exception of Modern Foreign Languages, all teaching is carried out in English. All pupils are taught by specialist teachers, all of whom are well qualified and all of whom set appropriately challenging goals for their pupils. Expectations are high at each stage, and especially in Years
10 and 11, because we know that in their IGCSE examinations our pupils are competing in a global arena. Results for our first two cohorts have exceeded the UK national averages by some distance. Our broad curriculum for Years 10 and 11 currently includes: English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics as compulsory subjects; and as optional subjects: Arabic, Art and Design, Business Studies, Computer Science, Drama, French, Geography, History, Islamic Studies, Music, PE and Spanish. The curriculum in Years 7 to 9 covers most of these subjects too, so that pupils are well prepared for the demands of the IGCSE courses. In the Sixth Form, pupils study a minimum of three subjects. Our A Levels follow a two-year linear course, without external examinations at the end of the
Lower Sixth. We currently offer A Levels in: English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Arabic, French, Spanish, Art, Drama, Business Studies, Economics, Geography, History, Psychology, ICT, Islamiyat, and Physical Education. This broadly based set of examination subjects is enhanced by the opportunity our sixth formers have to undertake an Extended Project Qualification, adding weight to their profile and further enabling them, as Qatar Shirburnians, to be well prepared for entry into universities across the globe. Throughout the school a wideranging Personal, Social and Health Education programme is delivered as part of the pastoral provision. The Examination Boards to which we are affiliated are: AQA, CIE and Edexcel.
“We set high standards in expecting sensible behaviour and in trusting pupils to get things right.”
PASTORAL We have adopted the traditional model of House-based pastoral and social groups. We have six Houses each led by a Housemaster, who has a team of House Tutors. In this way, every pupil has a personal tutor whose role it is to work closely with tutees in all matters academic and pastoral, meeting regularly to review and monitor Pastoral careHouse is at the heart all first want our pupils to be caring and progress. Tutors areofthe considerate of others and to respect that we do in the school because point of contact for parents, andwe Tutors regard it as integral to a successful are regularly in touch with parents, fellow pupils and staff alike. A whole school. Ourwe aim is that, bythe thepart that school PSHE programme includes because appreciate time they leave, all pupils should parents want to play in their children’sa variety of developmental issues beeducation. well adjusted, rounded and and Assemblies during the week confident individuals. The school both underpin the school’s ethos is Each openHouse and welcoming to pupils has a mixture of all Year and celebrate pupil success. The and parents and all pupils are inter-house school also has three nurses who Groups and is the focus for valued and known as individuals. administer to the pupils day to events and for social events, too. There Form Teachers have the prime ailments and maintain an overview are opportunities for team work and for responsibility for the welfare of leadership within the House structure,of the pupils’ health and physical pupils in their forms. Theyrepresent will for example pupils can theirdevelopment. help pupils to develop their social Year Group in the House Forums or skills, independence All pupils and most staff belong to theirconfidence, House on the School Council; and and the ability to work and play they can be elected as a House Rep one of five houses, which have a harmoniously or as a Headtogether. of House.We There are alsoprominent position in the life of the
PASTORAL
School Prefects and Heads of School.
We set high standards in expecting sensible behaviour and in trusting pupils to get things right. We have a rewards system that acknowledges and celebrates success on many fronts. Regular House, Year Group and wholeschool Assemblies reflect pupils’ many achievements.
school. They allow for the vertical integration of pupils, particularly through the various Inter House events which regularly take place. Allegiance is strong and the Inter House Cup is keenly contested. We have a positive rewards system through which pupils earn Merits. These contribute to the Inter House Cup and towards personal certificates at different levels. Pupils can also become Star of the Week or Term. The sanctions policy considers that ‘Behaviour mistakes are learning opportunities’.
ENRICHMENT At Sherborne Qatar, education is for life and so we have a wide range of enrichment activities that help pupils to build on their talents and to discover new interests and strengths. There are opportunities for individual music tuition and for participation in ensembles and choirs. We always participate in the BSME Music Festival, held annually in one of the Gulf region countries. Groups also attend Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra concerts held in Katara, the Cultural Village. Sport beckons for those who want to play in a team or as an individual. Regular fixtures and tournaments are held between schools in Doha. We currently participate in the BSME Games at both U13 and U15 level. In the local QUESS competitions we have featured as winners and runners-up in several sports for both boys and girls. Tournaments are organised in basketball,
cricket, football, netball, rugby, and volleyball. There are also opportunities for swimming, golf, sailing, squash, tennis and rowing, all of which are part of an increasing array of opportunities. Drama is strong and we have an annual production that combines acting and musical talents. We participate in the BSME Drama Festival and there are regular trips to professional productions in the Cultural Village. There are opportunities for pupils to display their Art both in school and elsewhere. Some of our pupils have been successful in local competitions and have had their work displayed in Mathaf, the Museum of Modern Art. We have teams which have been successful in Qatar Debate competitions, and we are members of the Model United Nations organisation. Pupils in
Year 9 have the opportunity to complete the Bronze Award and those in Years 10 and 11 can complete the Silver Award of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme (known overseas as the International Award). In the Sixth Form pupils can complete their Gold Award, which offers an opportunity to work alongside pupils from Sherborne Dorset and to complete gruelling expeditions in some of the UK’s finest National Parks. We have groups of pupils interested in fundraising and in volunteer work. We are proud of our relationship with Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) and Education Above All (EAA), both of which are leading charitable organisations in Qatar. Our pupils have contributed significantly to the special causes supported by ROTA and EAA.
For an application form go to: www.sherborneqatar.org Or contact the registrar on: registrar@sherborneqatar.org School office opening hours are: Sunday – Thursday 7:00am – 3:00pm Senior: +974 4459 6400 (Office hours) Prep: +974 4459 6566 (Office hours) Fax: +974 4459 6412 PO Box: 1108, Doha, Qatar