AL AIN // Pupils and staff at one of the newest schools in Al Ain are celebrating after earning the highest ranking in annual inspections – a first for the city.
Brighton College Al Ain, an English curriculum school that opened in 2013 and teaches 617 pupils, is one of only five in the emirate to be recognised with a ranking of “outstanding”.
The results of April’s inspection were recently published by the Abu Dhabi Education Council.
“We’re very proud of it,” said Annie Leggett, the school’s admissions and administration manager. “The parents were as thrilled as we were all about the report. I think they feel very good that their children are at the school.”
Adec also posted inspection reports for 24 other schools that were audited in the third term of the last academic year.
Of these, two were “very good” – Gems World Academy Abu Dhabi and the German International School.
Seven schools were ranked “good”, 10 “acceptable”, four “weak”, and one “very weak”. Online links to two other schools were broken.
ABC Private School, a new English curriculum school that opened last year and has 1,458 pupils, was the only one to be graded as very weak, the lowest ranking, in the inspection.
Inspectors said it was very weak in each of the performance standards against which all schools are judged: pupils’ achievement; pupils’ personal and social development, pupils’ innovation skills; teaching and assessment; curriculum; the protection, care, guidance and support of pupils and leadership and management. Calls made to the school yesterday were not answered.
ABC Private School was one of 11 schools that opened last year and were inspected for the first time in April and May.
In Dubai, private schools are not inspected during their first two years of operation.
Afaf Rady Ghanem, academic adviser for Elite Private School, which used to be a villa school but was inspected as a new school because it moved to upgraded school premises and replaced its staff, said working out the kinks during an inspection had been a challenge.
Its weak rating came as a surprise but inspectors’ suggestions for improvements were welcomed, said Mrs Rady Ghanem, who joined the school five months ago as part of a team to raise its standards.
“If anyone gives us pointers on how to improve or gives us any way to be better, we welcome them,” she said. “We need to work on this. We’re focused, we won’t stop. We are looking for ‘outstanding’. You will see, inshallah. We have a vision to be an ‘outstanding’ school.”
Adec said it inspected 112 of the 186 schools in operation during the 2015-2016 academic year.
This year, reports for 43 schools inspected between September and December and 42 schools audited between January and March were released.
Adec is expected to issue a statement summarising the findings of the school inspections shortly.
rpennington@thenational.ae
RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
The%20BaaS%20ecosystem
%3Cp%3EThe%20BaaS%20value%20chain%20consists%20of%20four%20key%20players%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsumers%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20End-users%20of%20the%20financial%20product%20delivered%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDistributors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Also%20known%20as%20embedders%2C%20these%20are%20the%20firms%20that%20embed%20baking%20services%20directly%20into%20their%20existing%20customer%20journeys%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEnablers%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Usually%20Big%20Tech%20or%20FinTech%20companies%20that%20help%20embed%20financial%20services%20into%20third-party%20platforms%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProviders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Financial%20institutions%20holding%20a%20banking%20licence%20and%20offering%20regulated%20products%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months