Two of Dubai's oldest schools, which were attended by royalty, will reopen in autumn 2024.
Rashid School for Boys and Latifa School for Girls were closed in 2020 for upgrades.
The Rashid and Latifa Schools Establishment, which is responsible for both schools, said construction will start in autumn, with the first pupils expected to be welcomed 12 months later.
Rashid and Latifa are two of Dubai's oldest schools, both located in Nad Al Sheba.
Latifa School, which opened in 1982, offers the British curriculum and the Arabic and Islamic curriculum approved by the UAE Ministry of Education.
Rashid School, established in 1986, was a secondary school until 2003, when it opened an elementary section.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, is a former pupil of Rashid School, while Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, graduated from Latifa School.
Dr Ahmad Al Falasi, Minister of Education and chairman of Rashid and Latifa Schools Establishment’s board of trustees, said the school will be “a global centre of excellence for sustainability in education”.
“To this end, the school will be an international leader in terms of design, materials, equipment, information technology infrastructure, and use of outdoor spaces for learning and inspiration,” he said.
“Construction of Rashid and Latifa School is expected to break ground in autumn this year, with the first phase of the school welcoming its new cohort of students from Foundation Stage 1 to Year 4 in September 2024.”
As part of a new strategy announced on Sunday, Rashid and Latifa will be integrated under a single umbrella, a joint-leadership structure, and a unified name, Rashid and Latifa School.
RLS will continue to offer single-gender education from Foundation Stage 1 to Year 13, with the girls situated on the current Latifa site and the boys on the current Rashid site.
Rashid and Latifa Schools Establishment was formed in April last year, under a law issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, with the aim of boosting the quality of education offered to Emiratis and residents, and helping to prepare pupils for university abroad.
The establishment will also create its own schools in the emirate and abroad — either on its own or through a partnership with the private sector.
Mr Al Falasi said Sheikh Mohammed issued a directive to the board of trustees from the outset “that Rashid School for Boys and Latifa School for Girls should offer a transformative educational experience, one that transcends the traditional and serves as an incubator for the future leaders of the nation”.
“Our plans and the resources accompanying them are focused on this one goal, and we are confident that we will achieve His Highness’s vision for the schools, through comprehensive development and setting plans that enable students to manage their education by exposure to real challenges, mastering skills and project-based learning, and providing an educational environment that focuses on the student and looks forward to the future,” Dr Al Falasi said.
RLS has also appointed British national Emma Nolan as principal.
Ms Nolan has worked in education for 20 years, with extensive experience setting up pioneering bilingual and multilingual schools in the UK, China and the UAE.
She has previously served as the founding principal of a Nord Anglia bilingual school in China and, most recently, as principal of Al Danah Charter School with Aldar Education in Abu Dhabi.
“Our journey is only beginning as we aim to grow caring, ambitious, healthy and enterprising young people, ready to learn throughout their lives and equipped to play their part as leading ethical members of society,” Ms Nolan said.
“It will be a school not just renowned for its incredible academic profile but also for the exceptional contribution our students make to Dubai, to the UAE and the rest of the world.”
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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