Principal

Al Shohub Private School first opened its doors in 1999 as a villa school in Abu Dhabi. Founded by Her Highness Sheikha Shaikha bint Saif Al Nahyan, she wanted to ensure the availability of an outstanding British education for all Emirati girls. More than twenty years later, her dream continues to be realised, albeit now in a purpose-built campus which opened in 2015.

The school’s vision is to provide an outstanding education founded on academic excellence, encouraging students to be innovative, motivated and keen to learn. Its mission is to provide a rich, well-rounded curriculum, which reflects the school’s commitment as educators to bring out the strengths in each of its students, allowing them to achieve their full potential and equipping them to meet future challenges. Al Shohub’s core values sit at the heart of all that the school does:

• Valuing academic excellence, ensuring a desire to continuously improve.
• Valuing the attributes of honesty, trust and tolerance, and instilling in the school community the importance of care and compassion.
• Valuing the traditions and culture of their Emirati heritage. 

Al Shohub Private School follows the British Curriculum. At Nursery they commence with the UK Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, leading to the English National Curriculum in the Primary School. In the Secondary and Senior School, the girls continue through Key Stage 3 leading on to IGCSEs and then to A-Levels. The school adopts the Ministry of Education curriculum for the teaching of Arabic language, Islamic education and Social Studies, ensuring coverage of all required learning outcomes for each age group. The journey of developing linguistic skills and Islamic values, and promoting the spirit of national identity begins with the youngest students in Nursery and continues until Year 13, creating a leading Emirati generation that serves its country, society and the world.

The school currently has around 585 students on roll, with a capacity for up to 1,200. The majority of students, about 96%, come from local Emirati families, and the remaining 4% from families from the wider GCC region. Al Shohub is coeducational from Foundation Stage to Year 5, and girls-only from Year 6 onwards. The majority of year groups are two-form entry, with a maximum class size of 30 and an average of about 24 students per class. Currently, the school goes up to Year 12 and the first cohort of Year 13 students will begin this August, preparing for their A-Level exams.

Al Shohub benefits from a committed team of teaching staff. All staff, including leadership, teaching, support and administrative staff at the school are female. Senior Leaders are supported by an experienced and enthusiastic team of Middle Leaders including Key Stage Leaders, Heads of Department and Subject Leaders. While having their own specific schools and subjects to lead, the Middle Leadership Team also work collaboratively on whole school issues, ensuring ideas are shared, and policies and procedures implemented consistently across the whole school. Each member of the Middle Leadership Team clearly understands the accountability they have towards ensuring all students make the best possible progress and achieve outstanding attainment year on year. The Leadership Team seek to recruit teachers who are not only experienced at delivering the English National Curriculum but recognise the importance of adapting it to meet the needs of a predominantly Emirati student population. Teachers are recruited directly from the UK and Ireland, as well as from international schools across the globe. Teachers are supported by a team of Teaching Assistants who support students predominantly in the Foundation Stage and Primary School. The Teaching Assistants receive regular training from teachers within the school, particularly with regards to supporting small group intervention in phonics, reading, writing and mathematics.

Al Shohub School benefits from a purpose-built campus with a range of very good facilities, with separate sections of the building for each of the age-groups from Foundation Stage to Senior School. Shared facilities include an auditorium, which hosts an array of events during the school year, from weekly assemblies, to graduations, from visiting theatre groups to National Day celebrations, and can cater for up to 380 audience members. A bright and spacious library provides a haven for book lovers, with areas dedicated to study or reading for pleasure. A designated wing houses the three Science laboratories, all purposefully designed for the study of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. A dedicated IT suite allows students to broaden their computing skills and knowledge, which they can apply across all areas of the curriculum, using desktops, laptops and iPads. A fully equipped kitchen, complete with ten hobs and ovens allows students of all ages to make, bake, sauté and steam their way to delicious dishes. The school has a ‘paddling pool’ and ‘beginners pool’ for its students who are developing confidence in the water and swimming their first strokes. The multi-purpose gymnasium is used extensively for P.E. lessons, extra-curricular activities and sports tournaments. In addition, local organisations are welcome to use the facility to host their own events outside of school hours. In the past this has included a collaboration between Ma’an and the Special Olympics, Little Boots Football Club and MPAC Sports.

Al Shohub places itself at the heart of the community. Not only is it a hub for learning, but it is a place where families can come together, and where celebrations take place. This does not just apply to the student and parent body, but for all members of the local community. Conveniently situated in Khalifa City A, Al Shohub encourages community groups, whether sporting, academic or social to take advantage of its facilities outside of school operating hours.

Every parent of Al Shohub automatically becomes a member of the Al Shohub Parent Association (ASPA), when their child joins the school. All parents, both mothers and fathers, are encouraged to engage in their child’s learning, and also in the life of the school as a whole. The parent community provides invaluable feedback, and this is used to support the continued development of the school.

The Board and owning family of Al Shohub Private School are seeking to appoint an outstanding, female Principal to lead the school from August 2021. The Principal will take overall responsibility for the leadership, organisation and management of Al Shohub Private School to ensure delivery of the school’s vision, to grow the student numbers and to provide an excellent learning environment which meets the needs of students, staff and the expectations of parents.

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact: Edward Clark on +44(0)1256 862840 or +44 (0)7718 588616, or email at edward@lsceducation.com. To apply for the post, please visit www.lsceducation.com and submit your up-to-date CV and a letter of application quoting code ASHP. The letter should incorporate how you meet the person specification, why you are applying for the position and what particular attributes and qualities you would bring to the role.

Key Dates

Closing date: 31 May 2021

Longlist interviews: 9, 10 June 2021 (by Zoom)

Shortlist/Final Interviews: 16, 17 June 2021

Al Shohub Private School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be required to undergo relevant background checks.