Dear Parents
I’m delighted to report that the interest in joining our family, here at the school, from members of the Qatar Airways group continues unabated and the numbers attending tours has been outstanding. Many thanks must go to the admissions team for their efforts. The process keeps moving forward and assessments are now being carried out with our planning for the 2019/20 academic year continuing at a rapid pace.
The recruitment process referred to in previous newsletters is now at full swing with interviews being held in London, where Mr Laidlaw and the Orbital Team have met many high quality candidates. The planning for procuring the resources and books needed to meet the demands of our ever expanding school is also at a key stage. It won't surprise you to know that the sourcing of books and materials for an English Curriculum requires a lot of research, well in advance, to plan and allow time for shipments to reach Qatar in time for the start of the next academic year. Our teachers and the administration are working hard to ensure that everything arrives in school on time.
We are also close to opening our wonderful facilities for use by the children, parents and other Qatar Airways employees in the evenings and at weekends. We have to make sure that access is safe and secure for everyone, please be patient whilst we put in place a small team to manage activities in this ‘Out of Hours’ period. We are allowing access for some small groups, as a soft launch, at the moment just to establish the organisation required. A key aim is to have the school at the heart of the Qatar Airways community and there is no better way than to have everyone come and enjoy the facilities.
From the Scottish contingent at school I would also like to wish you all a Happy Burns Night which falls on the 25th of January each year. I’m only sorry we couldn’t arrange to have Haggis on the menu for everyone to enjoy what Robert Burns referred to as the ‘Great Chieftain o’ the pudding-race’ in his poem ‘Address to a Haggis’.
Have a restful weekend.
Regards,
Jeffrey Gutteridge