DUBAI // A-Level student Mariah Fresi is excited to start “the next chapter” in her life, but most of all she is relieved that “the nerves are over after a very sleepless night”.
The Dubai British School (DBS) student received two A* and two A grades in her economics, business, sociology and history exams.
The 18-year-old Australian came to Dubai with her family two years ago when she started her studies. She will return to study law at the University of Sydney in February.
“I feel much more cultured having been in Dubai,” she said. “Of course Sydney is multicultural but it’s a totally different experience here to how it would be in the UK or Australia. The things we’re exposed to are so different to home, so it’s been a good experience and good to be somewhere different.”
Vlad Inataev, 18, did better than his predicted grades. He was expecting three A grades but received two As and one A*, in politics, business and media, and will now enter the UK’s university clearing system to apply for a course in business. The DBS student is hoping to get a place at City University or the London School of Economics.
“I always thought the UK or London would be the right destination for me to study, which is why we chose the British education system,” he said.
The teenager set up a strict timetable to make sure he could fit in his studies with his boxing and social time. In the month before the exams he spent 30 hours a week outside school preparing.
“My parents are proud. The hard work paid off,” said Vlad, adding that he was not at all worried by the idea of moving to another country. “I’m not concerned about leaving home. It’s something everyone has to do,” he said.
At DBS, 91 per cent of all students obtained A-B grades, 25 per cent of which were A* or A.
Saad Mahmud, from the Cambridge High School in the capital, achieved four A* grades and one A. The 18-year-old, whose parents are Pakistani and Dutch and have lived in the UAE for four years, said he was well prepared for his A Levels after having studied in Pakistan.
“It was my studies in Pakistan that made me more competitive. Asians are competitive and that’s what made me realise the importance of getting good grades,” he said.
He hopes to become a cardiothoracic surgeon and has been accepted at the University of Birmingham in the UK.
“I’m really excited because it’s one of the best universities in the UK for medicine. The hard work has really paid off,” he said. “I’ve been busy doing interviews and exams for medicine, flying to the UK and Amsterdam for dozens of interviews, so it’s been very hectic.”
He was also head of the school’s environment club, editor of the school newspaper and one of the board members of the Model UN. “You need something else other than studies or you go crazy,” said Saad. “It can’t be all academics. Even for the medical profession it’s working around the clock, so you need to balance things out or you go into overload.”
As well as Birmingham, he was also offered a place at University College London and the University of Edinburgh as well as institutions in the US, so was in the fortunate position of being able to choose where to study.
“I had the dilemma of choosing between the universities,” said Saad, who in the end opted for a five-year course in the UK over eight in the US.
“It feels exciting and depressing at the same time to move away from home. The past year has been so many trips without my family, such as leadership conferences in Turkey and Moscow, plus interviews at universities, so I’m getting used to it now. I think it will fine.
“Maybe the first two months will be hard but you make friends and they become your family.”
Mike Lambert, head of sixth form at Dubai College, said he was “immensely proud of our leavers this year with over 90 per cent of them heading off to their first-choice university”.
“Five of our UK applicants are heading off to Cambridge, four to Imperial College London, three to London School of Economics, two to University College London and one to Durham. Almost 28 per cent of our leavers this year are heading to universities in the USA, Canada and other non-UK destinations.
“Of those heading to the USA, we have students with places at Princeton, Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley.”
mswan@thenational.ae
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Final round
25 under - Antoine Rozner (FRA)
23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)
21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)
20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)
19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
