Cranleigh Abu Dhabi has been named New British International School of the Year 2017. The announcement was made at the prestigious British International School Awards on Monday this week. The Awards ceremony was held in London, UK, and was organised by British International Schools magazine, with the support of ISC Research.
The Awards, held this year for the first time, are designed to celebrate innovation in strategic, financial and educational projects and aim to recognise excellence in British schools overseas. There were eleven different award categories, each one calling for outstanding examples of best practice and innovation during the 2015-2016 academic year.
The New British International School of the Year award category recognises a new school (under three years old) that has made an immediate impact on the pupils and community it serves. Cranleigh was up against Epsom College Malaysia, Le Régent Crans-Montana College in Switzerland, and Nord Anglia International School, Dubai.
Headmaster Brendan Law travelled to London for the awards ceremony which was also attended by Michael Wilson, Headmaster of Cranleigh UK’s Prep School and Martin Reader, Headmaster of Cranleigh UK’s Senior School.
“This award is testament to the passion, determination and vision shown by Cranleigh UK as well as the Tourism Development and Investment Company and Royal Group” said Mr Law. “In particular, it acknowledges the remarkable job that has been done by the whole Cranleigh Abu Dhabi team over the past seven terms since we opened our doors in 2014.
“We are highly motivated to continue to work with the Abu Dhabi Education Council, as well as other leading educational and governmental authorities in the UAE, and believe we can make significant, positive contributions to the advancement of teaching and learning in the region.”
Michael Wilson worked on the project since inception, helping to create the superb facilities and shaping the academic and co-curricular timetable to reflect the ethos of Cranleigh UK. Cranleigh Abu Dhabi echoes a broad academic curriculum, with emphasis on the individual, while a wealth of opportunities allows students to explore their full range of talents in fine arts, performing arts, music, sport and cultural activities.
Mr Wilson said: “It is overwhelming to see how the special Cranleigh ethos has been embraced and translated into such a wonderful school in Abu Dhabi. It is a unique school and a perfect embodiment of our special family and community philosophy. The idea was the brainchild of a group of Old Cranleighans living in Abu Dhabi, they contacted their former teacher and together we developed it with two other OCs. Even the founding Headmaster, Brendan Law, is a former Cranleigh UK governor.
“We are all so proud of what has been achieved with our partners the Royal Group and TDIC and delighted to have had our work recognised with this Award. Last year the UK sent pupils on a Music exchange tour to Abu Dhabi and we are all excited about what the future holds and looking forward to more cultural exchanges between our Schools.”
Commenting on the success of the event, Andrew Maiden, organiser of the event and editor of British International Schools magazine said: “The inaugural British International School Awards saw entries from 44 countries. The 34 shortlisted schools travelled more than 378,000 miles to get to the event (that’s 5.5 times the circumference of the globe). In fact, several very highly regarded schools failed to make the shortlists, so those attending the event have every reason to be proud of their achievement. Overall, we had twice as many entries as we were anticipating.”
– Cranleigh Abu Dhabi Media
