Private school into the fold

Leading urban developers, Diyar Al Muharraq, announced the signing of a land sale agreement recently with Medad Real Estate Company, part of the Kooheji group of companies in Bahrain, for the purpose of developing Al Safwa Private School within its premises.

With a total land area of 30,000 sq/m and a 3,000 sq/m built up area over three floors, the school has the capacity to enrol 3,000 students.

The development of curriculum and standards has already begun. Construction of the already-designed school will start in August and the school is due to start its operation in September 2016.

The agreement was signed at Diyar Al Muharraq headquarters by Dr Maher Al Shaer, chief executive officer of Diyar Al Muharraq and Abdul Ghaffar Al Kooheji, board chairman of Medad Real Estate Company.

Present at the signing ceremony were officials from both companies as well as Swedish Embassy ambassador Mikael Leijonberg, and officials from KEDTECH, an international school operator and curriculum developer from Sweden, the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Aref Sadeq Consultancy.

The school will be constructed by Kooheji Contractors opposite the Diyar Homes neighbourhood, close to the main entrance of Diyar Al Muharraq. It will be the first school in the new Al Safwa Group of Schools and it will be operated by Al Safwa in cooperation with KEDTECH, and will be a K12 school catering to Bahraini as well as expat students.

The school will provide a curriculum that combines the ‘highest international standards and languages’, as provided in the Cambridge International Examinations, with Arabic language and literature and a social anchorage in Bahraini culture and values. This combination of global and local education, will establish the school as the first truly ‘GLOCAL’ school in Bahrain, its creators claim.

Dr Maher said: “Al Safwa School is considered to be a new vital educational resource for not only the residents of Diyar Al Muharraq, but also for pupils from all over the kingdom.”

Odd Eiken, chief executive officer of KEDTECH which operate 50 schools with more than 15,000 students and is active in Sweden, England, US, India, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, said he was ‘very excited’. “We look forward to putting in our best resources to create a state-of-the-art school for Bahrain and to become a role model for the region.”

Diyar Al Muharraq is a unique master-planned city for the people of Bahrain offering a mix of residential and commercial properties.