We have had a fantastic week here at Beech Hall School Riyadh, cramming in five days’ worth of exciting moments into four as a result of the long weekend! Here are just five of our top moments!
- Watching the amazing feedback rolling in after our National Day Celebrations! We were so delighted with the video that was created – not only did it capture the special essence of this proud day, but it really showcased our incredible school family. The Kingdom really is such a special place to be on weekends such as these, and my husband, Crumb and I were blown away by the local sights such as the lights in the DQ, the beautiful Wadi Hanifah, and the streets of Olaya! Please take a look here if you haven’t already seen it:
- I’ve loved working with staff this week. We’ve been hard at work developing an English action group, and bringing together best practices from around the world. We’ve also been thinking about how we can map our Reading and Writing curriculum to our Units of Learning as well as our Tapestry, so that really meaningful links can be made. We are so lucky to have staff who are so open to collaboration, and they’re working as one to really hone our unique offering here at BHSR. We also developed our approach to marking and feedback, making great use of the work that’s already been done in two of our UK schools: Crown House Preparatory School and Highfield. We are very grateful to our colleagues in the UK for sharing their work and their academic research.
- Attending Grade 3’s assembly on their Unit of Work all about the amazing brain was the best start to the day! We all learned so much about cognitive development and how the brain works hard to develop knowledge, skills and understanding. I will also never hear a famous rap in the same way – Grade 3 certainly made it their own in the most entertaining and memorable way possible!
- I was very impressed on my learning walk this week to see the highest of standards in the pupils’ learning. From beautiful Arabic songs in KG2, all the way up to the most complex of studies into cell structure in the Senior Girls’ labs, the children have really settled into their learning now, and the results speak for themselves. As for the sketching from Grade 6? I was utterly blown away. What talent we have here at Beech Hall School Riyadh!
- My final highlight this week saw me exploring Diriyah and the amazing developments that are under way in this stunning part of Riyadh, combining the country’s deeply proud heritage with cutting-edge innovation. There are so many exciting opportunities here for the field of education, really reflecting the way Saudi Arabia is prioritising this critical area of human development. I was utterly blown away, and cannot wait to see how the project develops in the future. What an exciting time to be here in Riyadh!
Clemmie Stewart,
Executive Principal
