Summary of the Year

While we did not see a return to ‘normal’ school arrangements this academic year, we have welcomed the return to 100% attendance for pupils. As you will no doubt recall, the only interruption was, resulting in a brief return to remote learning, when the number of COVID-19 cases spiked at the start of 2022 following the impact of the Omicron variant.

‘Count your blessings, not your problems’

- Roy T. Bennett

The 2021/22 academic year did, however, see the return of many of our enrichment activities and pupils being able to socialise at breaktime, albeit in ‘bubbles’ and with staggered breaktime arrangements for year groups. Perhaps the most significant movement back towards normality was that, at last, our older pupils were given the opportunity to sit externally set and marked examinations to determine their BTEC, i/GCSE, AS Level and A Level grades. For these positive developments we must be grateful.

Continuing on the positive front, there was also a landmark in Sherborne Senior School’s history this academic year with the much-awaited move to the new site adjacent to the Mall of Qatar.

Although due to the pandemic, and the resulting MOEHE and MOPH precautionary measures, we have yet to fully utilise some of the new facilities, all have enjoyed and benefitted from the numerous and attractive

Following the move, planning began from the very start of the 2021/22 academic year to expand our curriculum, with new courses across all year groups, from August 2022. Additional staff have been appointed for the next academic year and, among other developments, 2022/23 will see the addition of Design and Technology (initially in Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4), Global Citizenship (in Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4) and Travel & Tourism (in Key Stage 5) to our already extensive academic programme. Options, and subject combinations, at i/GCSE and AS/A Level will be greatly enhanced next academic year.

‘When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.’

- John Lennon

Our priority this year has been to continue to keep our children safe and happy. We have remained fully committed to doing all we can to support the social and pastoral needs of the pupils. This was praised in both of the external inspections that we have had these past 12 months (details of the inspections to follow).

– Sir Winston Churchill

It would be remiss of me not to thank the entire school community for their continued resolve. Let’s hope, and pray, that we start the next academic year with the arrangements and opportunities we all enjoyed prepandemic.

Sherborne Senior School had its best examination results to date in 2021. One of the most pleasing trends has been the continued rise in pupils achieving top grades. Below is a summary of the examination highlights from the May/June 2021 examination session.

I/GCSE RESULTS

• 49% of all i/GCSE grades were a grade 7, 8 or 9 (equivalent to the old A/A* grades). This compared with just 29% of grades being the top 9 to 7 grades in England. • 91% of all grades were a grade 4 or higher (equivalent to a C grade or higher). In comparison, in

England 77% of all grades were a grade 4 or higher in 2021. • There was a 100% pass rate (for the third year in a row). • 93% of pupils achieved 5 or more passes at grade 4 or higher (up from 91% in 2020) and 85% of pupils achieved 5 or more passes (including English and Mathematics) at grade 4 or higher. • 15% of pupils did amazingly well achieving a grade 7, 8 or 9 in all their subjects. This was a jump from 8% in 2020. • For 47% of the pupils at least half of their grades were a grade 7, 8 or 9 (up from one-third of the pupils in 2020).

i/GCSE results May/June 2021 – UK compared with Sherborne Senior School

29% 49% 77% 91%

UK Sherborne Senior School

• 34% of all grades were a grade A – up from 30% in 2020 and 22% in 2019. • 58% of all grades were either a grade A or B – up from 50% in 2020 and 40% in 2019. • 80% of all grades were in the A* to C range – up from 74% in 2020 and 54% in 2019. • The pass rate at AS Level was 98% – up from 96% in 2020. • 7% of pupils did exceptionally well achieving an A grade in all of their subjects. • Over a half of the pupils (56%) achieved at least one grade A in their AS Levels. • Two thirds (67%) of the AS Level pupils achieved a grade C or above in all of their examinations.

A LEVEL RESULTS

• 35% of all grades were an A* or an A. • 55% of all grades were in the A* to B range. • 84% of all grades were in the A* to C range (up from 83% in 2020). • The pass rate at A Level was 98%. • 20% of pupils did exceptionally well achieving an A* or an A in all of their subjects. • Almost half of the pupils (49%) achieved at least one grade A or A* in their A Levels. • 66% of pupils achieved a grade C and above.

BTEC RESULTS

In May/June 2021 the BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Business results were equally impressive. As in all previous years, all the pupils achieved at least a pass (BTECs are graded as either a Fail, Pass, Merit, Distinction or Distinction*). There was one Distinction, four Merits and three Passes in 2021.

Despite the ongoing challenges caused by the pandemic, pupils completing their AS/A Level studies in 2021 continued to secure places in top universities in the UK and worldwide.

Business-related subjects, law, history, politics, medicine, biochemistry, dentistry, engineering, and computing remained the most popular courses in 2021.

BUSINESS, FINANCE, ECONOMICS

21%

ENGINEERING

6%

MILITARY

6%

OTHER

21%

MEDICINE AND BIOMEDICINE

17%

COMPUTER SCIENCE

10%

SPORTS SCIENCE

4%

LAW, HISTORY, POLITICS

15%

Course: University: Aeronautical Engineering Loughborough University, UK Business Qatar University, Qatar Business Management University of Manchester, UK Computer Science Dalhousie University, Canada Dentistry Aydin University, Turkey Engineering University of Manchester, UK English Literature and Linguistics Cardiff University, UK History King’s College London, UK Human Resource Management Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Canada International Politics Cardiff University, UK International Relations University of York, UK Law and Economics SOAS University of London, UK Medicine New Giza University, Egypt Medicine Qatar University, Qatar

Medicine Medicine Cairo University, Egypt University of Nottingham, UK

Politics Politics Georgetown University, Qatar University of York, UK

Psychology Radboud University, Holland

Having had to be repeatedly postponed due to the pandemic, Sherborne Senior School was inspected twice during the 2021/22 academic year. The first inspection, in November, was the Qatar National Schools Accreditation (QNSA) for private schools. The second inspection took place in April and was undertaken by Penta International.

The State of Qatar launched the QNSA in 2011 as an initiative to ensure that all programs offered by private schools are up to international standards in terms of performance and quality. The accreditation system provides quality assessments on schools based on their academic, educational, and administrative performances.

There are three possible outcomes to the QNSA accreditation visits:

• Denial of accreditation - for schools achieving an average less than 2.00 on all standards; • 3-year QNSA accreditation - for schools achieving an average within the range 2.00 – 2.49 on all standards; and, • 5-year QNSA accreditation - for schools achieving an average within the range 2.50+ on all standards.

The school was praised on:

• the diversity of teaching strategies and activities. • the behaviour of pupils - and the high level of respect between teachers and pupils, and between pupils. • the quality of pupil feedback. • our curriculum - including the options in Key Stage 3, 4 & 5. • the support we provide pupils - including university guidance. • our facilities and resources. • the thoroughness of our policies and procedures. • being an effective communicator. • having effective management across the school. • the overall positive and friendly atmosphere.

The Department for Education has put in place a voluntary scheme for the inspection of British schools overseas, whereby schools are inspected against a common set of standards that British schools overseas can choose to adopt.

Penta International is approved by the British Government for the purpose of inspecting schools overseas. As one of the leading inspection providers, Penta International reports to the English Department for Education (DFE) on the extent to which schools meet the standards for British Schools Overseas (BSO). The purpose of BSO inspections is to provide information to parents, teachers, senior managers, and the school’s management on the overall effectiveness of the school, the standard of education it provides and its compatibility with independent schools in the UK. An essential part of the inspection is considering the extent to which the British character of the school is evident in its ethos, curriculum, teaching, care for pupils and pupils’ achievements.

Sherborne Senior School was judged as providing a high quality of education, with significant outstanding features, for all its pupils and we fully met the BSO standards. Many strengths were identified including: • the positive and friendly atmosphere within the school community. A high level of respect between teachers and pupils, and between pupils, was commented on. • our high quality curriculum, which is distinctively British, that has been effectively adapted to the local context. • effective leadership and management across the school. • high quality premises and accommodation. • outstanding welfare, health, and safety of the pupils. • outstanding pupil spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development. • outstanding information provision.

Drawing upon some of the many positive comments, below are some extracts from the BSO report:

• “Pupils enjoy an outstanding learning environment.” • “Pupils develop their self-knowledge and self-confidence, preparing to face the challenges of the contemporary world.” • “...a well-planned and flexible curriculum that is designed to meet the varying needs of the pupils.” • “...a curriculum that aims to inspire all groups of pupils to develop a lifelong love for learning and to embrace challenges so that they reach their full potential.” • “Sherborne Senior School celebrates diversity and aims to create global citizens who are dynamic, creative, independent learners.” • “...excellent progress in KS4 and 5.” • “The school successfully enables pupils to develop their personal skills and qualities.” • “...a very multicultural environment which values diversity and promotes the respect for the traditions of the local pupils as well as of the international ones.” • Pupils have “...positive attitudes towards learning as well as towards each other.” • “The pupils show respect for one another, for their teachers and for their environment, clearly meeting the schools’ high expectations on behaviour.” • “The school fosters and enhances a feeling of togetherness and friendship.” • “...teachers create a positive and friendly learning environment, in which all pupils are able to clearly articulate their thoughts and feelings.”

This academic year we welcomed the following teachers to Sherborne Senior School:

Mrs Afaf Turkmen

Arabic & Islamic Studies Teacher Mr Brad Reynolds Head of Sociology & Psychology Mr Caoimhin McCartney Mathematics & Science Teacher Mr Chris Martin English Teacher Mrs Collette Ingram Business & Economics Teacher Miss Edel Martin Modern Foreign Languages Teacher Mr Fasal Choudhri Business & Economics Teacher (returning)

Mr Peter Pallett Sociology & Psychology Teacher

Mr Robert Morley History & Politics Teacher

Changing schools can be a challenge and moving to another country, especially if you have a family, can be unsettling. Starting in a new school, in a different country with your family, during a pandemic is therefore not easy at all. Without exception, all the new teaching staff have settled in well at Sherborne Senior School and we are all so pleased that they took the plunge and joined our school community.

As is the nature of schools, and all organisations, we sadly say farewell to some colleagues at the end of this academic year. Many of the teachers below have dedicated many years to the school, the longest serving being Mr Ball, Mr Hake and Mr Robey.

Mr Dan Keefe Mr David Ball Mr Dillon Wolfe Mrs Julie Hart Miss Aliyah Mohamed Mr Ed Hake Miss Tahnia Hafeez Mrs Becki Wolfe Mr Graham Robey

Mr Jason Lloyd Deputy Head Pastoral English Teacher & Head of House Learning Support Teacher Learning Support Teacher English Teacher (moving to Sherborne Qatar School for Girls’) Head of Drama & Head of House Biology/Science Teacher Head of Performing Arts Physics/Science Teacher, Enrichment Coordinator & Child Protection Officer Boys’ Chemistry/Science Teacher

It is sad that the above dedicated and valued colleagues are leaving Sherborne, but we wish you happiness, health, and prosperity as you embark on the next chapter in your lives. We ask that you keep in touch and please do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything.

I must pay tribute to one particular colleague Mr Dan Keefe, Deputy Head Pastoral. The Deputy Head Pastoral is a key member of the Senior Leadership Team with the main responsibility for pastoral care, pupil well-being and offering pupils a wealth of opportunities beyond the academic curriculum.

Mr Keefe’s efforts and vision have helped cement our reputation in the region as being a caring institution that puts as much emphasis on academic excellence as it does on the well-being and pastoral care of its pupils. The House system has been enhanced under his direction, pupil voice has been developed considerably and student leadership opportunities are now a strength of the school.

Mr Keefe has also been primarily responsible for implementing the COVID-19 precautionary measures and managing these safety measures. It’s largely down to Mr Keefe’s diligence that the school has functioned so well, and with so few disruptions, during the pandemic.

Despite the continued constraints imposed by the pandemic it has still been a year of many achievements and one to look back on with fond memories.

The intention of the Qatar Shirburnian is to capture the highlights of an academic year for posterity.

I hope you enjoy reading ‘The Qatar Shirburnian 2021/22’.

Take care and keep safe,

Stephen Spicer Headmaster