‘Our key to a successful education programme is the teacher’

In 2017, North London Collegiate School (NLCS), one of the UK’s top-ranked schools for IB, opened its second international campus in Dubai. After nearly four years of  rapid growth in student numbers – it started with 250 in September 2017 and now has nearly a thousand – the school’s first graduating class of 2020 got into a range of excellent universities, including the University of Manchester, Georgia Tech, KAIST, Weill Cornell – Medicine and King’s College London.

Along with placements in top universities across the globe, students moving from NLCS Dubai back to the UK have also secured admissions  to top British schools such as Haberdashers Askes, Sevenoaks, Merchant Taylors and NLCS UK.

Bernard West is one of NLCS Dubai’s governors

Bernard West, one of NLCS Dubai’s governors, discussed a broad range of topics with Arabian Business: the school’s educational ethos; student retention in the premium-fee space; the importance of individual student attention and extracurricular activities; the coronavirus pandemic’s impact; and how the Sobha Group’s managerial expertise is helping NLCS Dubai achieve its goals.

What is the NLCS educational philosophy, and how is it delivered?

An NLCS education aims to inspire pupils with a love of academic subjects in a school that has a strong culture of scholarship, with high expectations of and genuine care for every individual. Each school aims to create a warm and vibrant atmosphere, so that the pupils can achieve their best and flourish through subject teaching that inspires and stretches, and through a rich programme outside the classroom; pupils are encouraged to try themselves out in a variety of ways, and in doing so develop a belief in themselves and the ambition to achieve their aspirations.

The key to the delivery of a successful ambitious education programme at an NLCS school is teacher recruitment. For each school, the highest priority is to maintain a team of professional teachers to whom each pupil is important, and who can introduce their subjects with enthusiasm and drive and inspire pupils with a love of their subject and a spirit of scholarship.

From a strategic point of view, how does NLCS Dubai work to retain students in a competitive premium-fee education space, in which most schools can boast of students getting into the world’s top universities and high overall grades in standardised tests?

The key to successful student retention, examination success and top university placement is staff recruitment. As well as being subject specialists, North London Collegiate schools look for teachers who have a strong sympathy with and can deliver the pastoral elements that support the pupils in all their achievements – be they academic or outside the classroom. New staff must, therefore, be able to ensure that every member of the school feels valued, supported and encouraged.

Each international NLCS campus operates as a branch of the mother school. NLCS UK is responsible for curriculum design, academic staff selection and training, and overall quality control of the curriculum delivery that takes places through regular Governing Body Meetings and twice-yearly school inspections and monitoring visits.

The NLCS UK ‘mother school’ is responsible for curriculum design, academic staff selection and training, and overall quality control of the curriculum delivery at NLCS Dubai (pictured)

The school also has a strong governing body comprised of members nominated by NLCS UK and Sobha. Parents are critical members of the governing body – they help shape the school’s future direction and ensure a strong connection and sense of community between the school’s leadership and parents.

The opening of eight schools since 2017 in the premium British/IB curriculum space meant that the market has become very competitive. We have noticed two emerging patterns. The first trend is a demand for more affordable education and the second, more subtle trend is a demand for a high-quality aspirational education. There has been some apprehension in the community about whether the quality of education in the UAE is on par with the top schools in the UK and the rest of the world. At NLCS Dubai, we ensure that the quality of educational provision is on a par with the mother campus in the UK. This is demonstrated by the fact that several of our students who have relocated back to the UK have been accepted into some of the top independent schools in the UK, including Haberdashers Askes, Sevenoaks and Merchant Taylors. That, alongside our encouraging IB Diploma results and university placements with our first graduating cohort in 2020, ensures that we retain our competitive edge in the premium school market. 

How much individual attention is each NLCS student given over the course of an academic year, and how important was this factor towards the school’s success?

Every NLCS school firmly believes that happy students are successful students.

The NLCS ethos places a strong emphasis on pastoral care from the moment a child joins the school. At NLCS Dubai, everyone matters. Individuals are well-known and not just accepted but celebrated for who they are and encouraged to make the most of their unique gifts. No-one is ‘labelled’ and the academic and pastoral teams work tirelessly to ensure no child slips through the net.

Students in the junior school are supported by their class teacher, who has a specific responsibility for the pastoral care of each student in their class. The school medical team and counsellors provide a further source of care.

In the senior school, each student maintains a close relationship with their form tutor, who has direct responsibility for the pastoral care of their tutees. The form groups are part of a vertical House system, in which tutor groups are made up of students from different year groups, allowing younger students to be mentored and guided by older students and older students to take responsibility, and act as role models for their younger peers. As part of a House team, students will learn to work with one another, supporting and leading different age groups, as well as engaging with the fun and challenge of the school-wide House competition.

Outside academia, what role do extracurricular activities play in developing NLCS students into well-rounded individuals?

Each student is encouraged to develop new skills, interests and passions and there is no limit to how many they can participate in. Our ambition is to offer a rich and vibrant extra-curricular provision across music, drama, sports, the creative arts, service and beyond. Local and international trips, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award and learning outside of the classroom all enable students to challenge themselves, broaden their perspectives and serve to foster a greater understanding of the local culture of the UAE. Highlights of our calendar year include large-scale theatrical productions, concerts, art shows and festivals, and sports competitions, including fixtures against other schools.

In the junior school, more than 100 clubs run each week. We currently have clubs such as language conversation in languages including Mandarin, French, Spanish and German; Coding; subject-based clubs such as the Junior Science club, Mad Scientists; chess; robotics; and recreational and squad sports such as tennis, athletics, football, basketball, netball and swimming.

In the senior school, there are over 70 extracurricular activities on offer for all year groups at lunch time and after school. Seventy percent of the clubs are non-chargeable and run by our own teachers and the rest are run by specialist providers, and include opportunities such as horse-riding, taekwondo, sailing, skiing and golf. There is something for everyone, from Spanish Cooking Club to coding to drama and music groups such as the String and Wind groups, along with a Junior and Senior Orchestra.

NLCS Singapore

Senior students are given the platform to take a lead role in creating and organising clubs and societies. The Academic Societies programme currently has over 15 societies led by the older students. They are encouraged to take ownership of their society and invite guest speakers into the school for lectures and workshops, in addition to running their own events in special subject weeks.

Another key feature of school life is the Nicholson Lectures, where teachers and students give academic lectures on a topic they are passionate about that is completely unrelated to the curriculum. This reflects the school’s ethos of teaching far beyond any given syllabus or curriculum and of never teaching ‘to the test’ and promotes an atmosphere of scholarship and subject passion. So far, we have seen lectures on topics such as ‘How do we learn to speak?’ and ‘A history of the operatic voice’.

The arts are a key feature of life at NLCS Dubai and in addition to Orchestra, Choir and Drama clubs, students can enrol in private music and drama (Trinity) lessons, which sees them participate in highly anticipated concerts and productions throughout the year.

What benefits does the IB curriculum offer students over more traditional systems such as A-Levels?

The IB curriculum allows for a content-rich, subject-specific curriculum to be designed within the exciting IB framework, which encourages conceptual thinking through themes and the application of skills to unfamiliar situations. These are the exact skills top universities look for, and why they enjoy accepting IB students. At NLCS Dubai we believe in subject expertise and knowledge as well as the application of skills and include a structured approach to subject teaching alongside the international and globally contextualised framework of the IB.

NLCS Dubai provides the structure required for students within different subjects as they progress through the school. For example, in maths, it is important students are introduced to challenging concepts and topics such as algebra in a phased manner. Students are introduced to challenging concepts as early as possible to allow individual students to be stretched and challenged. This is supported through a vibrant programme of academic enrichment beyond the classroom, which allows students to engage in their passions outside of the classroom. This is supported through our programme of Academic Societies, which focus on enriching and igniting a passion for their subjects and a love of scholarship.

The IB framework includes aspects that prepare students far more effectively than other curriculums. Students are taught how to cite and reference from grade 6 and the PYP, MYP and Diploma all have assessed aspects of extended writing and academic research. The exhibition in grade 5, the Personal Project in grade 10 and the Extended Essay in grade 12 all promote research and scholarship. These are all assessed elements within the framework and are an extension beyond the subject teaching that takes place.

Statistics show that IB graduates are more likely to achieve a 1st and complete their university course.

How did you tackle the unanticipated challenges brought upon by the coronavirus, both as an education provider and a business?

We are grateful to the UAE government, Ministry of Education and KHDA for their able leadership and guidance during this time of crisis.After the lockdown was imposed, it was imperative for the school to maintain the quality of academic provision. The academic staff quickly adapted to distance learning online with a significant portion of the curriculum delivered via live lessons supported by asynchronous material that continued to stretch and challenge the children.

The school worked closely with students and parents during this period and used regular feedback to fine-tune the programme, which allowed students to continue to make progress and enjoy their education.

As a business, the first imperative was to ensure the community was kept intact and together. Whilst we did not reduce the fees for all the families, we have held consultations with those who have been adversely impacted by the situation and have provided support where possible. 

As a Sobha Group-led venture, you’ve had impressive growth in student numbers over the three years you’ve been operating. What are some factors that have driven this?

Sobha is instrumental in providing overall strategic management expertise in various key markets across the globe and in key functions such as financing, architectural design, contracting and construction, project management, marketing and operations.

In addition to the above, key knowledge of the local market plays a vital role in a ensuring the school can localise its curriculum effectively without straying from the NLCS ethos.