Top Schools For Art, Music and the Performing Arts in the UAE. Part 1. The SchoolsCompared.com Guide for Parents..

Best School for the Performing Arts and Broader Arts Programmes Nomination 2021:

The British School of Al Khubairat

Web site: here.

Our review: here.

Contact information: here

Email: [email protected] | Mrs. Karen Collings

Phone: +971 (0)2 204 0200

 

Our rating:

Background

Recently celebrating its 50-year anniversary BSAK is one of the oldest, not-for-profit, non-selective, co-educational day school schools in the UAE.

Aiming to provide an inspiring academic education for each individual student, they have a careful and stringent recruitment policy to ensure that they have a faculty that demonstrates a genuine passion and imagination for learning, a large team of teachers with the qualifications and experience to offer inspiration, to crate an engaging atmosphere and to challenge each student.

“The Performing Arts are a vital part of education and never more so through this time of global challenge. STEM has a very clear agenda in the region and across the Globe but I genuinely believe that the Performing Arts provide the creativity that is and will be required to solve problems of the future. At The British School Al Khubairat, Performing Arts is central to our ethos of providing a broad and balanced education to our students in order to provide them with life long skills and an ability to not only cope with, but lead the developments of the future. It cannot be understated how Art in its broadest sense influences opinion, creates discussion, plays upon emotions and allows people from different cultures and backgrounds to communicate. A song, film, plays or painting can rouse emotions in those who encounter it, inspiring them to rally for change. Art stimulates our emotions and surely this in itself is a fundamental purpose of education.”

Headmaster Mark Leppard MBE

“BSAK drama is about the craft, the passion and the exploration. It’s the place people go to be entertained, to bring a smile or to challenge the status quo. It’s true value is the transferable skill,s which underpin every job, person and harmony in communities. The Theatre is located in the heart of the school and for many it is the heartbeat of their school life.”

Kathryn Mayall – Head of Drama

Fee Range

Nursery AED 43,152 – Year 13 AED 70,632.00

Prospectus

The Arts: here

Music: here

Key features

External Examination Partners:

RADA

AQA

BSAK is a centre for ABRSM and Trinity College exams. Averaging around 250 exams taken every year with results significantly above the international average.

What the Students say about Music

“The opportunities I have been offered by the BSAK Music Department have allowed me to unlock potential as a musician and as a person I never knew I had. The variety of approaches in ensembles, concerts and lessons has given me as rounded a learning experience as I could have asked for, and as a result I have boosted my leadership and collaborative skills as well as my musicianship. While I would like to credit teachers by name, there is not one member of staff who hasn’t had a significant impact on my learning journey – a fantastic group of mentors. All this is typified in the yearly YMOG competition, an opportunity, which I will always highlight as a turning point in my musical career, and for which I have BSAK Music to thank. Overall, the BSAK Music Department spares no expense in helping its students, and it is something for which I am so glad to be a part of.”

William, Year 12

“It has helped my learning to compose and to become confident in my playing. Has helped me strive to be a better musician.”

Munachi, Year 6

What The Parents Say About Music

“The BSAK Music Department, highly valued by the entire BSAK community, has been our family’s mainstay.

It is a haven of creativity and collaboration; a non-threatening environment which nurtures all its students, from the littlest to the largest, as demonstrated by the termly programme of concerts and recitals.

Every student’s contribution is valued, and every student is encouraged.

Over our ten years at BSAK, our three children have taken music tuition in flute, guitar, bassoon, piano and cello. Before that, they were encouraged to join ensembles for younger players – recorders, ukuleles, keyboards and guitars.

The music department works closely with the primary year groups and I have amazing memories of all-singing, all-dancing assemblies – the standard was always extremely high and the children totally engaged. Since then, our children have worked through their grades in their respective instruments and have derived immense pleasure from their lessons and their performance and collaborative opportunities. These have included duets, trios, small ensembles, orchestras, and competition groups such as Funky Brass and

Advanced Guitars, which have done well at the prestigious Young Musicians of the Gulf competition over a number of years. One of our children also had the opportunity to play with the Abu Dhabi Wind Band as well as the UAE’s National Symphony Orchestra – the youngest player so far to be invited to do so. He has since successfully auditioned for the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland and played three seasons with them.

We can’t express how grateful we are to the music staff of BSAK for making these opportunities possible. They are truly dedicated to the students of BSAK, and have been one of the most important influences on our family during our children’s formative years.”

Vicky & John, Parents

“A friendly, supportive, nurturing and most welcoming department. Overflowing with energy that has enriched my children with skills for life. A great place to grow and expand their love for and of music, under the care of positive and highly skilled teachers.

There is a robust offering of in-house Instrumental tuition, which includes voice. This is very charming as the children see their Music teacher around the school premises.

Both my boys have been encouraged to express themselves musically and to the best of their abilities through concerts, which are a huge part of the BSAK culture.”

Pagaebi, Parent

What the Students say about Performing Arts

“Choosing to do A Level Drama at BSAK has been one of the most rewarding experiences I could have asked for. I got so much out of the course, from devising our own piece of drama to earning my bronze RADA award – all of this was possible thanks to my talented classmates and wonderful, kind and professional teachers!”

Leia Hope Year 13

“The drama department includes everyone and aims to put creativity in all aspects of the School. The beautiful costumes and flashing lights enhance all performances but it’s the dedication and enthusiasm of everyone involved that makes the drama department so special.”

Rosie Eldridge Year 13

What the parents say about Performing Arts

“BSAK and specifically the Drama Department is phenomenal!

My daughter’s growth in confidence and eloquence over the last four years has been wonderful to see.

She has thoroughly enjoyed being part of the annual stage production where each year somehow manages to surpass the last ! Together with this she has been given amazing opportunities to develop other aspects of her Drama through the RADA programme that the department has organised. The diversity covered by the Drama Department also increases her ability to analyse and evaluate benefitting many other studies outside of Drama.

As a whole it encompasses the whole school community and all its values. This has provided her with what I consider to be essential life skills as she proceeds to the next stage of her education and her future.”

Vicki Kupier

“The performing arts department at BSAK is outstanding. During the five years that we have been parents at BSAK the productions (both small and large scale) have exceeded our expectations and have left u,s and the wider school community awestruck and inspired. The department is not afraid to undertake demanding productions from a wide variety of genres that challenge both the students involved and their audiences – the results are always spectacular!

From the content of drama lessons, to the lunchtime performances and the bigger whole school productions we have been amazed at the breadth of work undertaken and the dedication and encouragement from the teachers.

The teachers value commitment, perseverance and resilience just as much as they value natural talent and skill. As such, students are encouraged to push themselves out of their comfort zones and get involved in areas they might previously have overlooked.

In a recent production the teachers went out of their way to ensure the auditions were accessible to all students. As parents of a child with additional needs we were so grateful to them for allowing our daughter to give her best and to feel listened to and valued. As such, she was able to overcome her anxiety and was offered her ‘dream’ role. This was a pivotal moment for her and one that will shape the rest of her life. BSAK performing arts creates a sense of family – it is an area of the school that includes everyone and demands the best in return.”

 Briony Emery

What the Students say about Art

“Graphic Design allowed me to express my creative side in a way that other subjects did not. The Art department has been supportive of everything I wanted to do, guiding me and offering uniquely tailored advice, but also allowing me to find my own creative feet independently. They have pushed me out of my comfort zone in an artistic way, and also in ways that have helped me grow as a person. BSAK is also one of the few schools in the region that offers Graphic Design as an A Level and GCSE – allowing people like me who enjoy being creative in line with a few ‘rules and regulations’ such as briefs, thrive. All of this has allowed me to develop as an artist, both skills wise and creatively – my ideas have only become more mature yet imaginative, indicating my growth as an artist at BSAK.”

Aamina Mohamad

 

“Through experience, most schools focus majorly on the “academic” subjects and creative arts subjects are usually left behind. Not at BSAK as they have illustrated what proper support is for students and creative art subjects. As a younger Graphic Designer I have progressed significantly since the start of my journey in BSAK. At first I was not expecting much but Mr. Emery’s department and BSAK have done a phenomenal job making sure I settle in and making sure that Graphic Design was the highlight lesson of the day. The rapid progression I have attained can be linked to how the Art department works in BSAK. Mr. Smith and Mr. Emery have done an incredible job mixing up the lessons and combining different aspects of Art into Graphic Design. I feel this is especially important to progression as a young artist as it allows for different techniques to be explored and mastered. Thank you BSAK and thank you Mr. Emery for the great experience I have received and continue to receive being a Designer at BSAK.”

Moath Ibrahim

What the Parents say about Art

“Teachers in the Art Department at BSAK have had a profound impact on both my daughters who took Graphic Communication for GCSE and A level. Staff have pushed my children out of their comfort zones, encouraging them to try new things and to make mistakes because often that’s where new ideas come from! Both my girls have commented on the enthusiasm shown by their Art teachers, which inspires them to want to do better and do more. Their advice has helped push their boundaries further and further to show my children what they are truly capable of. My eldest has commented on how she has been able to use her Graphic skills in other walks of school life and how she will be using her skills in the future to spread knowledge on movements she is passionate about. My youngest is now going on to study for a BTec in Art and Design in Bristol. All this is thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Art department at BSAK.”

Mrs Nabiha Mohamed

“It is heartening to see the School continue to commit to a truly essential and most valuable set of subjects; across the art, photography and design curriculum. Scientific knowledge, and the rigours of mathematical disciplines are but select branches of the tree of knowledge. My daughter Sophie has had the privilege of taking Photography at BSAK through GCSE to A Level, and has therefore enjoyed the luxury, and reaped the benefits of an excellent teaching team and a challenging learning environment here. Analysis, synthesis, creativity, interpretation and expression: all align, in pursuit of the elusive optimal photographic or design outcome. Well-made, multilayered, rooted in culture and context and always challenging to the viewer; her and classmates’ artworks have undergone rigorous scrutiny but have also been supported by continuous encouragement. Seeing the world from the artists’ perspective, not as ‘normal’ people see the world, these young learners have been fortunate. Where better to demonstrate understanding of innovation, inspiration and impact than in such classrooms and though evolving portfolios of coursework? Whether broad and idealistic, or for other tasks exquisitely detailed and meticulously practical, the outcomes are so diverse. And the students are rightly proud of the processes and their products. I am delighted that my daughter has had the opportunity to take such a valuable learning journey, and particularly grateful that she was so well guided along the way.”

Mr. Kevin Garvey

Student Slipstream Graduating Institutions

Leeds University

Brighton College Of Art

Arts University Bournemouth

Central St Martins

Bath University

Edinburgh University

Manchester Metropolitan

Parsons School Of Art – New York

Montreal – Canada

New York University – Abu Dhabi

Bristol University

Falmouth School Of Art And Design

University College London

Royal College Of Music (NICKI MOOSAVI CELLO)

Royal Academy Of Music, (Nick Kohn Viola)

Sydney Conservatorium Of Music (Lily Innis Cello)

Academy Of Contemporary Music, Guildford (Ben Whyte)

Kings College London Music Course (Alaw Henderson)

Edinburgh University Fine Art Course, (Inayah Hussain)

Brighton University Art Course (Alex Barr)

Drama Studio London

London Central School Of Speech And Drama

Trinity Laban

Gaeity School Of Acting, Ireland

Lincoln University

Leeds University

Liverpool John Moore

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