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NEW SIR IN THE HOT SEAT!

July 1- 7, 2015
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Gulf Weekly NEW SIR IN THE HOT SEAT!

Gulf Weekly Mai Al Khatib-Camille
By Mai Al Khatib-Camille

AWARD-WINNING educationalist Andrew Leslie is taking over the reins at the Multinational School-Bahrain as its Adliya campus continues to mature and expand its facilities to accommodate more year groups and offer an additional curriculum.

The academic establishment has grown from strength-to-strength since its launch in September 2013 when it introduced an Aussie-style of learning to the kingdom which encourages a flexible and creative approach.

It has blossomed from an institute with a mere 40 students to a campus catering to more than 500 pupils this coming September.

The school which first welcomed students between the ages of three and 11 to register from kindergarten to Year 6 will now be launching a Year 8 and running an International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) programme. The school plans to launch Year 9 in 2016.

To cater to this growth, the institute will also construct two new purpose-built buildings on its current premises and has recruited a number of seasoned professionals alongside its 42-year-old principal.

Before officially starting his new role in August, Mr Leslie flew in last week from Australia to meet with students, teachers and parents in order to outline his vision and strategy for taking the school forward.

Mr Leslie, who has more than 19 years’ experience in leading and improving schools, said: “The new academic year will see a new maturity around our programmes, our resourcing and the way we are approaching learning.

“We have started running the IGCSE programme in preparation for when we expand into the A-Levels British curriculum for our future Year 11 and 12.

“We recently recruited a number of really great teachers, mainly from the UK, who have loads of experience in delivering the IGCSE programme.

“As for the strategy, it has to be about ‘best practicing’ everything we do. We have to have good leadership and outstanding teachers in every single classroom.”

Mr Leslie continued: “We have to be driven by evidence of student learning that involves the analysis and discussion around data, and work with every single child to get the absolute optimum performance out of them.

“At the same time, the school has a philosophy of being inclusive so we do cater to a really broad range of children and what we aim to do is support every child to be their absolute best.

“I think having high expectations of every child is what makes a fantastic school … along with having great staff … and we do have great staff! It’s important to have a school where excellence is at the heart of every single thing that is done, where high expectations are key and there is some rigour in the academic programme.”

The school motto is ‘Distinction in Diversity’ and it follows an Australian Learning Standard Curriculum that differs from other international syllabuses’ by including knowledge and skills in the areas of physical, social and personal learning.

Its inclusive philosophy aims to help children become confident, happy and caring individuals who achieve personal success and develop a love of learning and of life, regardless of their abilities.

Mr Leslie added: “I think people need to know that the school has outstanding potential to support all children and all learners at all phases of their learning. It’s a rapidly growing school and we want it to be a school known for its innovation in learning.

“The school is fairly unique in that we don’t require entrance exams and we do enrol children with additional needs. We then have a team of professionals and dedicated staff members that access what those needs are and ensure the children are supported to achieve their potential.”

There is a Learning Support Department to assist students who have a weakness in one or more learning areas including comprehension, spelling or sentence construction or gaps in education caused by disruptive schooling. It also aids those with specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, attention difficulties including Attention Deficit Disorder, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Children who may require learning support are identified first by teacher observation and assessment. Then the teacher will discuss the analysis with the child’s parents to plan how best to meet the student’s needs through additional support or intervention programmes.

According to Laura Jefferson, the school’s marketing director, there are some exciting changes in that department next year where the school has recruited specialists from overseas. Christine Newton, for example, an expert in learning support and who has a doctorate in special needs education, was recruited to head up the team. They have also employed two new members of staff to support her.

Another change that parents can look forward in the new school year will be a new and improved streamlined form of communication with teachers regarding attendance, student behaviour and academic progress.

Also, there are plans in the future to open up additional schools in the region. The school’s board believes that under Leslie’s management, its vision for attaining excellent academic results in Bahrain can be achieved.

He replaces David Tansey who helped launch the school and has returned to the UK for family reasons.

Prior to joining, Mr Leslie was a Senior System Leader in Australia, guiding a school and region as well as supervising 33 schools where he led the implementation of system-wide improved pedagogy, which focused on the work of Professor John Hattie and the principles of visible learning that explores how evidence can be used to create innovation in the learning environment.

This outstanding research involved millions of students and represents the largest ever evidence-based research into what actually works best in schools to improve learning.

Mr Leslie, who holds a Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Sydney, has worked as a principal in independent, private, government and international schools and in each school he has led significant improvement in the school’s academic performance, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy.
 
The improvement has been independently recognised by external accrediting agencies such as the NSW Board of Studies and Teacher Educational Standards and the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority.

Mr Leslie was also recognised for his outstanding achievements through the award of Principal of the Year in 2013. He is also a member of the Australian College of Educators and the Australian Council for Educational Leaders.

He says he is committed to ensuring that teachers see learning through the eyes of their students and that students see themselves as their own teachers. He believes that having the highest expectations of each student is the key to high performing schools.

Mr Leslie’s wife Kate, an early years teacher, and daughters Pippa, 13, and Chelsea, nine, will be joining him in Bahrain in the New Year and the girls will then be enrolled in the school.

In the meantime, the school will remain open over the summer break with a dedicated team set to manage enrolments for the 2015 academic year.

For further details, contact 38009782 or visit www.mns-b.com







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