Information

With over forty years of history, DESS is proud to be one of the oldest British schools in Qatar.

Our story began in 1971 when an English Speaking Primary School catering for British children was first built. The junior school was opened in February 1979 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, the present Emir’s father. DESS has enjoyed visits from other members of the British Royal Family, including Diana, Princess of Wales.

The discovery and subsequent exploitation of a large gas field on its north coast has led to significant economic progress in Qatar in recent years. This in turn has led to a rapid expansion of Doha English Speaking School, both in terms of pupil numbers and overall facilities.

We have strong ties with our local community and have a special relationship with the British Embassy who we are sponsored by. Many of our UK qualified teachers have been teaching at DESS for many years and we have strong ties with our Alumni community who hold dear their memories of attending DESS keeping in close contact with us, something which is 
remarkable for a primary school.

DESS is in the process of expanding its facilities to provide a ‘state of the art’ new building where children will be educated to Year 7 from 2018 and then Year 8 from 2019. It is hoped that this facility will be opened in September 2018, subject to regulatory approvals.

DESS is proud to be sponsored by two prestigious oil companies in the region, ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum, Qatar

Doha English Speaking School delivers a British Curriculum (The English National Curriculum) through British qualified teachers. The curriculum is stimulating, broad and balanced and provides every children with academic, moral, physical, creative, personal and social development.

Children throughout DESS are taught by specialist teachers for Computing, Arabic, French, Music, PE and Swimming. The Curriculum is split into three different stages, according to a child’s age, Foundation Stage (children aged 3-5), Key Stage 1 (children aged 5-7) and Key Stage 2 (children aged 7-11).

School Facilities

DESS has state of the art facilities on a campus which is surrounded by green trees and land where students can learn and play.

The school’s classrooms have full network access each with an interactive television allowing children to present their work from and for teacher use during lessons.

An exceptional library dominates part of the school with over seventeen thousand books and our beautiful grounds and fantastic facilities make it a pleasure for children to take part in sport at DESS. We also offer two fully equipped gymnasia, a covered swimming pool, a grass pitch 
and hard courts.

Also on offer for children to enjoy is a theatre (as part of the multi-purpose hall), dedicated music and computing suites, a cookery room and an art/design technology room.

One of our most recent additions to the outside areas of our campus is our garden which is constructed from recycled material, uses sustainable energy and has a weather station collecting live data and a water fountain– an area where children can relax or learn about the environment and sustainability.

Foundation Stage 1 & 2

Each child is taken through the six areas of learning which form the Curriculum Framework by being encouraged to learn through fun activities such as play and exploration. Physical development, personal, social and emotional development, literacy, maths, understanding  
the world and expressive arts and design are all taught at this stage of the child’s development.

Years 1-6

Children develop an all-round education based on the Curriculum and are taught core subjects (Maths, English and Reading) as well as specialist subjects in Computing, Science, PE, and Languages. The curriculum has been adapted to deliver Arabic to every child at this level. 
School trips and extra-curricular activities as well as roles in the School Council, Technical Lead roles and the DESS Environmental Group all add to a child’s development at this stage of their lives. The subjects taught at this level include Art, Design and Technology, Maths, 
English, Reading, Arabic, French, Computing, Science, Music, PE, History, Geography, 
Drama, Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE).

Extra -Curricular Activities

Children can choose from a wide range including chess; drama; philosophy; art; sailing; yoga; school council; environmental; swimming; basketball; athletics; choir; dance; taekwondo; gymnastics; tennis; science; and individual instrumental lessons.

Library Monitor/School Council/Technical Genius and Environmental Group

Children at Doha English Speaking School have many opportunities to contribute to the everyday life of the school in these extra roles and groups available to them.  Library Monitors 
help to develop a sense of pupil ownership of this facility and it’s resources whilst the school 
council meets with the Headteacher to discuss ideas for helping to develop a child’s experience 
of DESS.  A Technical Genius is nominated in each class and provide help to other children in 
Computing whilst our Environmental Group meet every two weeks to tend to the Community Garden and educate the wider school community on environmental matters.

For admission enquiries, Please email [email protected].