info about Qatar Academy

QA just recently got re-certified for another five years the IB.  From what I hear their Upper School IB is stronger than the MYP and PYP IB, but that is mainly because of the very high number of Arabic speakers in the Lower School.  I don't work at QA, but I have worked at other IB schools internationally, and I'd have to say that QA at the Upper School level compares very favourably to the any I've worked at.  I don't have enough experience at the Lowe School level to have a meaningful opinion, but word is that the lack of second language support was an issue during re-certification.

It is my perception that at the Upper School QA is an "international school", but at that lower school it is much more of a national school  just because of demography.   

In my experience, it has been extremely hard to even get on the waiting list at QA much less get my kid in. 

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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

My daughter was one of the first European kids to go to QA. She was surrounded by Qataries, though now there are a lot more other nationalities there. I personally think it was a much better school than the "british" schools that she was in beforehand. First of all the classes were much smaller, the activities are extremely good. Some of the depertments are bigger than some of the British schools in total. The teachers are all first rated. Yes there is extreme wealth in the school, but there is difference all over no, and mostly my daughter was better accepted as a foreigner than some of the locals....Besides they have counsellors available at all times and whenever there was a problem it got taken care of. They had zero tolerance for non academic performance and I know of some kids that were expelled (locals).Academic standard are very high. The materials & books excellent. I have only good comments. I can highly recommend it. Yes it goes according to the islamic calender,  yes Arabic is the language on the playground. But my daughter learned her Arabic this way and having arabic lessons and she is fully bilingual. I can say this is only a plus and could be very useful in the future. Also when your child is in QA she will automatically be able to go to the senior school, as well it is in close contact with the local universities.

So my message is, the QA is in my experience the best. But it is up to you, if you want to stay "pure" British, not want your child to have the experience of a different culture, friends etc, this school is not for you. 

Aisha-Taweela

It was only an observation

as a not native speaker, but well educated, lol

sorry. most educated native english speakers like wot I am....

well ofcourse grammar would be important, I think most native English speakers are pretty good at grammar!

n what about grammar? in a Native english speaker

I would say an native english speaker is one whose first and foremost language is English!

Does this include Scottish and Welsh teachers? Australians? Kiwis? What about Americans and Canadians? South Africans? Indians? (Someone once told me that English is the official government language of India.) How "English" does a Native English speaker have to be?

Contact person:

Mrs. Samarhan Emadeldin

E-mail:[email protected]

The nursery department:

Hours of operation: from 6.30 to 2.5 O'clock

Extended hours till, if offered: till 6 O'clock in the evening and on Saturday for extra fees.

Ages accepted: from 2 month to 4 years.

Monthly Payment :1000 Q.R.

Holidays: Friday

Transport provided: School Bus is available from the next month.

The Kindergarten department: (will start by the next September 2008)

Hours of operation: from 6.30 to 2.5 O'clock

Extended hours till, if offered: after school activities and Saturday is an open day for extra-curriculum.

Ages accepted: from 2 years to 5 years.

Curriculum: British National Curriculum.

Teachers: Qualified Native staff.

Languages: English, French, and Arabic.

School Campus: Computer Lab, Science lab, Innovation Lab, Library, playing room, P.E. Room, Small Farm, Sand Area and a Play Ground.

Fees: Payment per term

Holidays: Friday.

Transport provided: School Bus is available by the next year.

The Primary department: (will start by September 2009)

School InformationAddress: Alhilal Area– Ashbelya Street – villa No. 8

Contacts

Tele: 4666313-4666717-6919728

We are seeking for qualified Native English speakers to work as English teachers.

No, Newton International School does not follow the I.B. programme. The I.B. is really for secondary school pupils, whereas younger children do something called the M.Y.P. and the P.Y.P.

At N.I.S., the students are supposed to follow the English National Curriculum. However, one has to bear in mind the fact that for many N.I.S. students, English is not their first language. Arabic and Islamic Studies are also on the school timetable.

Which schools follow the IB curriculum in Doha? Does Newton International School this curriculum?

For the 4-year-old class, Qatar Academy is not accepting applications anymore. Apparently, in most schools in Doha, the 3/4/5-year-old classes are slim pickings. I was fortunate to get dd (darling daughter) into Newton's 4-year-old class for September. It was quite an adventure. I will pull her out of Creative Child Preschool two weeks before their term ends and put her in the 3-year-old class at Newton. Getting her into this class pretty much guarantees that she'll be put into the 4-year-old in September.

Iman0493, which year are you thinking of? Even if QA was open, I doubt I'd send dd there b/c of the strong "ESL flavour" (i.e., majority of students are non-native speakers). dd's learning would be slower because too much of the class time would be spent dealing with ESL issues. On the other hand, Newton, apparently, has dual classes for each age group: one class for students who aren't fluent in English and one class for students who are. Compass International School (near Landmark), for example, doesn't have dual classes but puts all Ss together in one class. On another note, they have no admission or screening test in math and English (while QA does).

Thanks a lot for the info. Thanks for posting.

QA is a fairly strong school, getting better every year. They run the complete IB program, which is neither British nor American. It is rigorous and demanding, so this is not the school for you/your child if scholastics don't assume a priority in your household. They are cheaper than ASD but as another poster said, it's because they are heavily subsidized by HH, Sheikha Moza and the Qatar Foundation.

Pros:

Relatively cheap tuition by Doha standards for international schools; well-qualified international teaching staff; well-behaved students (for the most part); excellent modern facilities; great liaisons with the American universities located on Education City; strong IB curriculum; mandatory Arabic classes for all students (plus another foreign language in the senior school); community service incorporated into the curriculum.

Cons: Extra-curricular activities are still somewhat limited; the vast majority of students are Qatari/native Arabic speakers(so QA is basically an ESL population school -- if that's an issue for you), and a majority of those come from families of EXTREME wealth, so there's a lot of bling-bling among the student population (girls carrying Fendi/Gucci bookbags, students routinely forgetting their new laptop computer/mobile phone/iPod and never going to claim it from the lost and found...seriously!); though it has improved in recent years, a number of students in each grade level are still performing below standard for their age/grade; students are required to wear uniforms; school starts early (at 7:00 a.m.) and school year runs later into June(though not as late as the British schools tend to); limited learning support offered for students; the school is essentially a private Qatari national school and thus holiday events are centered around the Islamic/Arab culture (so no Christmas pageants or Diwali celebrations are going to happen there!).

In some of these posts, there seems to be the assumption that school fees are very high in Doha because the owners of the schools just want to make lots of money. Maybe this is not the case. I would suggest that the cost of recruiting (and retaining) teachers is considerable. On top of that, schools also have to find somewhere for their teachers to live. If that were not enough, some schools then have the problem that a fair percentage of the teachers they have recruited will then decide that they miss their friends and families and so they want to leave before the end of their contracts.

Thanks so much for the information.

Of the five IB schools in Doha - Qatar Academy has the best reputation. The IB program is not British, it is international - based out of Geneva, it is common in international schools around the world and is the fastest growing academic program in the United States as well. The American School offers Advanced Placement, another rigorous academic program well recognized in the US and several other countries as well. Not all students at either school follow these programs; there are other options. QA is half the cost of ASD as it is subsidized - I believe by Qatar Foundation. ASD is tuition based. Although many of the students' parents work at companies making billions of dollars in Qatar, those companies are not sponsors of the school per se. Tuition at ASD is actually considered very low by international school standards, but there is an additional fee levied to pay for the construction projects, so total cost - which independents pay - seems exorbitant.

That's a nice idea but do you think QA would allow a potential parent roam around and sit in classes? Also, sometimes when an adult is watching staff and teachers can suddenly be on their best behavior.

I suggest taking a day to simply roam the QA and look around and perhaps even sit in on one of the classes.

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I see now - for ASD you have to pay both the 500 QR and (according to website) 3650 QR, but Alexa says 5000 QR! Even better.

Is that for Harvard or ASD? Because Alexa had a kid there and I'm going to go with what she said.

Then you might want to put the correct sum in perspective :-)

"A one-time application fee/deposit of 500 QR"

Just to put it in perspective - 5000 QR application fee at ASD...237 QR application fee at Harvard. :)

Well, that is a good point but "the most expensive" doesn't always equal best. I mean 3650 QR for registration fee? I can almost bet my kid could get an equally good education at the public schools in our county at home for free but I realize, we're here not there...Just because they are a place of learning, I have no dillusions that they don't know how desperate parents are.

Excellent point. Some food for thought.

I still think there is a danger of looking at things the wrong way around. What I said about British education applies equally to US education. I would guess that the American School's fees are in line with those of American schools elsewhere in the world. After all, they're recruiting their teachers from the same pool and they are probably buying their books and teaching resources from the same suppliers in the US, so in these respects their costs will be the same as those of such other schools. Rather than complaining that their fees are so high, shouldn't we be thinking about why other schools have much lower fees?

I suggest posting this question over at expatwoman.com on the Qatar Chatboard. Saw a couple ladies saying that they had kids there.

So I guess no one on here has a kid at Qatar Academy?

I thought we were only referring to the American School whose total fees are well over QR 60,000 a year. Other, let's say "western", schools are all pretty reasonable at half that amount.

So let me get this right, everyone wants an "English" education delivered by first-class British (or at least western) teachers in a school which imports good quality books and other resources from the UK and which has a "British ethos". Why then are there so many complaints about the fees? You could easily be paying twice as much in the UK or Europe.

Well, my daughter's present school has mostly British and SA staff...and it still sucks. I think rather than nationality, one should try to get inside information to see if the substance behind every school's PR machine is accurate.

An English school is one were all teachers are English (ok we'll let in the Welsh, Scots and maybe even the Irish, SA et al) and have taught the National Curriculum in the UK.

That sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Homeschooling may be the last resort, or going back to the States with my daughter and leaving my son and husband here. Fun.

I would say they know exactly what they're doing there and most kids who do go there, their outrageous tuition and "fees" are paid by mom or dad's employer. It's insane.

I would put her in ASD in a minute if I could afford it. It's cost is practically extortion, but when it's your child's education what can you do?

I have crossed swords with my old sparring partner, Squarepeg, on this issue more than once. What on Earth is an "English" school? One in which all of the staff are English? A school that follows the English National Curriculum, even though most of the students are Qataris and the staff are from Australia or South Africa? Or is it a school where the main medium of instruction is English, albeit that Arabic is the language of the playground?

"IB" stands for "International Baccalaureate". The I.B. is not an English invention and only a few school follow it.

I don't really think it's the American school you have to worry about. Price is really the only complaint I hear about it.

I can't quite figure if QA is considered an "English" school or not. I think the IB program is based on the UK system, isn't it? It definitely doesn't come from America.

A friend of mine told me that the only schools in Doha worth sending your children to are the English schools as they spend 80% of the time teaching and 20% on discipline. All other schools spend 20% of the time teaching and you know the rest.

Maybe home schooling an option ?

I would be interested to hear about the primary school as well.