Dubai - Arabstoday
Constuction of new campus in Meydan is expected to cost £27bn
As Kent College Canterbury starts the Easter holiday Dr David Lamper, the Head Master, travelled to Dubai for the formal signing ceremony that starts an exciting new step in the history of this prestigious school.
In the grand ballroom of Dubai's world renowned Meydan race course Dr Lamper signs a partnership agreement between Kent College Canterbury, Meydan and Mir Hashem Khoory LLC (MHK) to open a campus at Meydan, Dubai. The fully fledged campus will be managed by Kent College Canterbury and will sprawl over 400,000 sq ft. It will make use of the world class Meydan racetrack for equestrian pursuits, while also providing state of the art facilities for more traditional sports. The school will offer an excellent British education to over 2000 students from the UAE, GCC and all over the world.
The project, costing an estimated £27 million, is expected to commence construction at the end of 2013 and be completed by June 2015. The school is expected to enrol students in February 2015 for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Kent College Canterbury was selected as an exceptional co-educational institution offering day and boarding facilities to children aged between three and eighteen. The school is well known for its academic and co-curricular activities, and has a reputation for excellence. The Meydan school will be run in a similar style.
Kent College offers, in addition to traditional A-levels, a full range of International Baccalaureate (IB) subjects for study over the two years of the Diploma and enjoyed exceptional success with the first cohort of IB graduates, who averaged over 37 points placing the school in the top 10 nationally. All its Diploma candidates gained places at their first choice universities including Oxbridge and top London Universities.
In his speech during the signing ceremony the Head Master said, "Dubai is a destination that has become known internationally for its progressive approach to economic expansion, liberalism and modernity, with huge investments in infrastructure and development for the future. What some outside don't fully realise, is that Dubai, and in fact the UAE, is just as committed to developing human resources as it is to developing physical infrastructure.
"Under the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and also the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Dubai has been investing in quality education systems. It is an honour for us at Kent College Canterbury to be invited to Dubai to offer the best in British education, relying on Meydan's superb facilities.
"It is our reputation, and commitment to excellence that we're bringing to Dubai, in collaboration with partners including MHK and Meydan who share our ethos of excellence, and understand the importance of devoting full resources to shaping young minds. The school's facilities in Meydan will be designated as an official Kent College campus and not a franchise, and it will be managed and operated by Kent College directly."