UAE developer eyes global plan for top UK school

A UAE property developer has chosen leading UK private school Brighton College as its educational partner to establish a dozen schools across the world.

Abu Dhabi-based Bloom Properties will link up with the top school to establish a series of Brighton Colleges across the globe, it has been announced.

The first two schools will be in Abu Dhabi with plans to also establish branches in Mauritius, Oman, Jordan, Romania, Vietnam and India.

It is the first multi-school deal of its kind anywhere involving a leading British private school.

Each of the schools will be part of a much larger mixed-use project, cumulatively costing £7 billion. The first school will be established in the new Bloom Gardens development in the heart of Abu Dhabi.

Richard Cairns, the headmaster of Brighton College, said on the school's website: "We were determined to get involved in a country with sound fundamentals, providing us with a strong platform for international expansion.

"We have never been interested in just one school because we felt that a single satellite school would generate insufficient income for Brighton College to justify the additional focus and time that such a venture requires.

"That is why I am so delighted with this multi-site, multi-national deal."

Hani Rayden, the head of Bloom education, the property company's new education arm, added: "We were looking for a school that was highly successful academically and with a genuine commitment to developing the whole child.

"We were also very impressed with the school's international outlook, exemplified by its decision in 2006 to make Mandarin Chinese a core part of the curriculum. We are linking up with one of the great secondary schools in the world and one that we feel shares our ambitions."

The exact terms of the financial deal are confidential but Cairns said: "Potentially, this is the most significant development at

Brighton College since our foundation in 1845. It will provide new funds for Brighton College UK for buildings, bursaries and endowments without us having to raise fees."

Brighton College will appoint the senior staff of the school and provide the blueprint for the academic and pastoral set-up.

Last year, A-level students at Brighton College achieved the best results of any co-educational school in the UK.

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