Top Schools Awards 2021. Results Live. Charlotte Abbott, Director of English at DESC, Awarded The SchoolsCompared.com Top Schools Award for Best Secondary School Teacher in the UAE 2021-22.
The SchoolsCompared.com Top Schools Award for Best Secondary School Teacher in the UAE 2021-22 is awarded to:
Charlotte Abbott. English Teacher & Director of English at Dubai English Speaking College.
Evaluating all the teacher awards is so very difficult.
We had so many nominations from parents, in particular, that they ran into the many, many hundreds.
Ultimately the response was so overwhelming that we needed to concentrate on those teachers for which the outpouring of appreciation was strongest, those we know of through our visits and those that have shone in our discussions with schools.
They are, of course, so different, with so many individual gifts and qualities. Often too, it is not even that the schools themselves value their teachers as highly as we think that they should. They make or break a school.
These are often the unsung heroes that link up every part of a school, those teachers that are always there to help and join up the pieces. The single thing all our finalist teachers have in common is commitment to children, making a difference and having that magical something that never can be reduced to numbers or pieces of paper.
We knew early on the importance of recognising teachers. We thought about having an Awards only for teachers – after all, without them, what would be left of a school? But having awards for teachers is not simple. Ultimately, we decided we had to find a way of recognising a profession that is so ridiculously undervalued in modern society – and what, really, can an education awards be without awards for teachers?
And so we needed to muddle through a very complex and long process to get to where we are today. Inevitably we will have missed some, many, outstanding teachers who have transformed the lives of all those around them on the way. These Awards are as much for you – and you will know who you are.
Our recommended winner grew from our looking at ways we could try and accurately and independently identify schools and teachers beyond simply a hundred phone calls, and calls for nominations. Our trial was to contact schools with the offer of profiling students in writing through our Write a Novel initiative. We contacted schools across curricula – and our list automatically reduced as we removed schools that did not respond. Extraordinary really – here was an opportunity for schools to celebrate their children – how could they not take part? Really?
It is worth listing those schools that did take part (self evidently it would not be appropriate to reveal those that did not), not least in that it has played a part in our view of schools throughout the Awards this year. The schools that deserve celebrating in this context are:
Dubai English Speaking College, GEMS Jumeriah College, Safa Community School, Nord Anglia International School Dubai, Kent College Dubai, Star International Al Twar, Horizon International School, Capital School, Brighton College Dubai, The English College, Repton Dubai, iCademy, GEMS First Point School, Repton Abu Dhabi, Dunecrest American School, Deira International School, Universal American School, Swiss International School Dubai, JESS, British School Al Khubairat, Sharjah English School, British International School Abu Dhabi, Cranleigh School Abu Dhabi, Amity International School Abu Dhabi, Hartland International School, Brighton College Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali School, Amity School Sharjah, Scholars International Academy, Nibras School and The Sheffield Private School.
Each of these schools demonstrated an extraordinary drive to celebrate the children at their schools – and without in the least understanding a key part of what we were testing.
So, we were eventually left with a core of very creditable schools in which children, with their teachers, produced pieces of (often absolutely exemplary) writing. During the process we came to know teachers, schools and students from a very different place, one behind the façade of marketing and command control structures of public facing presentation.
We learned of those teachers and schools, outside school hours, who genuinely had a passion to celebrate their students. We learned from students, speaking openly, about those teachers that really went the extra mile for them.
Photograph of Miss Jessica Cullen, Head Girl at Dubai English Speaking College, and one of Miss Charlotte Abbott’s students during the Write a Novel Challenge.
We ended with a stand-out winner, one that absolutely inspired us in her care for her students, someone who invested long nights (through to midnight in many cases) and long weekends to ensure that their students represented themselves powerfully and creditably: Miss Charlotte Abbott, Teacher of English, and Director of English, at Dubai English Speaking College.
And they so did…
Recipient of the SchoolsCompared.com Top Schools Award for Best Secondary School Teacher in the UAE 2021-22, Charlotte Abbot, Director of English at Dubai English Speaking College, pictured with Eimear McKenna Singh from the SchoolsCompared.com Top Schools Awards team and Andrew Gibbs, Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai English Speaking College.
Praise for Miss Abbott has been serious and wide-ranging:
“Charlotte taught both of my daughters, so I have a good perspective from both being her line manager and being a father of some of her students.
Charlotte is an absolutely outstanding teacher.
She strives to ensure that each student in her class makes good progress, supporting each and every child, allowing them to attain the very best exam results that they are capable of.
She plans dynamic, thought-provoking, innovative activities in her classes that inspire and motivate her students to work hard for her.
Charlotte gets to know her students and builds professional relationships with them – she is quick to contact parents if anyone underperforms or needs some extra assistance.
She is very generous with her time, running after school revision sessions for those in need of more help or assisting with extra-curricular activities such as School Debating.
She wishes the absolute best for all of her students, who enjoy her lessons immensely.
Charlotte is a warm, caring person who leads a large department, often being the shoulder to cry on or the crutch to support her staff.
Her exam results have been consistently outstanding, and she is an excellent role model for the rest of her department.”
Matthew Cotgrove, Senior Deputy Headteacher, Dubai English Speaking School.
“And another one. No amends. This is a faultless, pitch perfect, extremely accomplished piece of writing in the face of an extremely complicated novel that other schools have struggled with.
These DESC children are quite extraordinary.
Who is Charlotte Abbott?
I am absolutely blown away.”
Johnathan Westley. Managing Editor. SchoolsCompared.com. Internal email.
“Thank you for giving the students such an amazing opportunity with this competition.
I am so proud of our children.
I’m really going to miss it!”
Charlotte Abbott. On the Write a Novel Challenge. WhichSchoolAdvisor and SchoolsCompared.com.
“We see so many students at DESC with handwriting issues and, whilst it may cause some angst for the individual themselves, they do usually go on to fulfil their potential – just differently.
Don’t be worried about your son needing to use a laptop in school as it’s becoming such a normal way of working in the world we live in today. For some students, the issue with Fine Motor Skills stems far back to early childhood, even birth, so it isn’t necessarily something that can be ‘fixed.’ This doesn’t mean to say that your son won’t fulfil his potential – he just needs to use the tools available to him to achieve.”
Charlotte Abbott. On Helping Children with Dysgraphia. SchoolsCompared.com.
Miss Abbott took me from someone who was very timid in class and completely insecure about my ability in English, and myself, to an A* student with a passion for literature and creative writing – and someone thoughtful and sensitive to others.
Through her teaching and care I have become confident in myself and appreciative of the many different ways all of us are talented. Everyone is gifted in different ways.
She is an absolute genius – and one of the kindest people I have ever met. I will never be able to say thank you enough for what she has done for me.”
Year 13 student. Dubai English Speaking College.
“Classes with Miss Abbott are the best at DESC. She makes learning so interesting and the debates we have are passionate and fascinating. She encourages us all to listen to each other – and we learn so much. She is amazing and the single reason why school has become something I cannot get enough of. She is awesome.”
Year 12 student. Dubai English Speaking College.
“The legend of Miss Abbott’s English classes travelled down from one child to the other. Her interest in both my children has been leaps and bounds above that of other teachers – and she personally helped overcome problems with dyslexia that saw my son pretty much written off by his Primary School. Personal, caring, kind and inspirational, she is one in a million. She cares about education and believes in her children and the capacity of English to change the world. She makes me want to go back to school. I cannot think of any teacher more deserving of being given this award.
Parent. Year 11. Dubai English Speaking College.
“I could not be more pleased that Charlotte Abbott has been put forward for the Award of Best Secondary Teacher. What she achieved with and for her children in the Write a Novel competition was outstanding.
During Covid Spring 2020 Which Media set the students of the UAE a challenge, to come together and write a novel. Each student would write a single chapter then hand over the baton to the next school. Little did we know what an impact this would have on the students, who were isolated from their friends and studying at home, and how engaged the teachers would be, none more so than Charlotte.
To say she went above and beyond is an understatement. With any challenge involving 79 students, over 20 weeks (including the summer holidays), in unprecedented circumstances, we had hiccups, but Charlotte came to our rescue several times, by encouraging more DESC students to step up and write some frankly incredible chapters, at very short notice.
Without exception the DESC submissions were superb, a testimony to Charlotte’s teaching style, and unequivocal belief in her students.”
Rachel Greenwood. Owner. Eighteen7Events.
“Mrs Abbott makes English lessons accessible to all of us. She is motivating, inspiring and committed and never lets us settle for anything but our best.”
Year 11 student. Dubai English Speaking College.
“Charlotte is a dedicated teacher who has been pivotal to the success of many students in English during her six years at DESC.
Talented and determined, she has an inspiring presence in the classroom and no student is left behind.
Her vast knowledge and experience in the field of linguistics, coupled with an extraordinary passion for literature, makes Charlotte an expert in her subject.
She works tirelessly in the pursuit of success for her students – a feat that is recognised regularly by our staff, parent and student body.
Charlotte treats students at DESC with kindness and compassion. Her students believe in themselves and their abilities, no matter what their starting point may be.
Her students achieve outstanding results year on year and leave her classroom as intellectually curious, deep thinking and confident communicators. “
Colleague. Dubai English Speaking College.
“Mrs Abbott is an excellent teacher in all respects.
She genuinely cares about each and every student in her care and goes above and beyond to ensure that every student makes great progress.
The fact that, consistently, her classes outperform their predicted grades by more than one whole grade on average, is testament to the effort and dedication that she shows.
We are very proud to have Mrs Abbott on our team, and she fully deserves this award and the recognition that goes with it.”
Member of DESC Senior Leadership Team.
“Mrs Abbott is one of those teachers that you see in films, or read about in fiction books.
She is able to inspire and motivate the students in her classes – and it has been astonishing listening to my daughter as she has raved about her teaching since she joined her Language class in Year 12.
Her comments at Parents’ Evenings, or in written reports, were always so encouraging and positive.
I know that she has been able to get under my daughters’ skin to awaken a passion for English that even I didn’t know was there.”
Parent of Year 13 English Language student, Dubai English Speaking College.
“Charlotte is an outstanding teacher of English who continuously goes above and beyond for students, ensuring that the needs of all students are always met and that they feel supported, valued and empowered to succeed.
During our Remote Learning provision over the last two academic years, Charlotte provided immense support to students in the form of high quality resources; audio and video commentary for all lessons; audio and video marking and feedback in the form of Screen casts; live lessons for all students through Microsoft Teams — and endless support by email for any students who were struggling or absent for extended periods.
The provision that Charlotte continued to provide for her students was nothing short of phenomenal.
Charlotte’s students adore her for her patience, her kind heart – and her ability to make anyone feel that they are special, unique and valued.
Not only is Charlotte an outstanding teacher, she is also an incredible leader and Head of Department for English at DESC.
She successfully led the entire English Department of twenty staff members through Remote Learning and has worked tirelessly to support and guide the department as learning has gradually returned to normal.
Charlotte’s passion for English shines thorough in her vision for the department and she ensures that all department members share in this vision.
Charlotte is someone one can always turn to for support and, consequently, she is not only highly respected by her department, but by the entire staff body at DESC.
She consistently contributes on a whole school level, taking the lead in improving the teaching of literacy across Departments and contributing to the students’ extra-curricular experiences by running the Student Magazine.”
Colleague. Dubai English Speaking College.
“Charlotte is not only unwavering in her dedication to the students that she teaches, but she also works tirelessly to support her colleagues in ensuring that their students also receive this exemplary level of education.
She has always planned a huge number of resources for the department, and she offers as much time and patience as needed to, ensuring that teachers and students gain the benefit of her expertise.
Through her kindness and compassion, Charlotte makes each and every student feel valued.
The young people that she teaches look up to her in a way that surpasses the role of teacher.
She is an exemplary role model to her colleagues in the school.
Charlotte is devoted to her department, her students and her vocation as a teacher; no one deserves this award more. “
Colleague. Dubai English Speaking College.
“Charlotte Abbott, as both an English Teacher and as a Head of Department, demonstrates compassion, commitment, and fortitude on a daily basis.
Charlotte finds teaching exhilarating.
In every lesson that she plans, she ensures that the students are always thinking critically about the content of the lesson and how it applies to the wider context of their lives, establishing an environment for them to become lifelong learners.
She produces lessons, model answers and exemplars that are saturated in individuality, distinctiveness, and flair, ensuring that DESC students are constantly challenged to exceed their expected grades, as well as feeling enthralled by the content of her lessons.
Charlotte has recently created an entire Literacy curriculum that has given all students the opportunity to excel within a challenging area of the English syllabus. She has immersed students into this challenging content that has systematically developed the pupils’ learning journey and their subject knowledge – as well as creating and presenting these lessons with enthusiasm and fervour. She has inspired and encouraged all students, and teachers, to strive to achieve work of an excellent standard.
Due to her kind, compassionate and caring approach, she is a role model to other teachers, both in the department and across the entire staff body.
Her ability to respond to challenges, her resilience, and the way that she inspires and motivates other teachers in the department is exemplary.
In my opinion, she is a role model to students and staff across the College.
Her commitment to teaching, her kind, compassionate and caring approach, and her appetite for excellence, are deeply honourable qualities.”
Colleague. Dubai English Speaking College.
It is rare for us to experience the way a teacher relates to her pupils so directly on SchoolsCompared. Mrs Abbott, of all those many teachers who contributed their time and passion to the Write a Novel Challenge during over almost a year, demonstrated a quite extraordinary care for her students, and invested time in ensuring that their work sparkled off each page submitted to us.
In our conversations with her students, the outpouring of care, respect and love was that which comes only from those rare teachers who we all can remember transforming our lives at school. Mrs Abbott worked around the clock to ensure her students were able to deliver their very best, above and beyond any form of even half-reasonable expectation.
We were in absolute awe of her students, and her care for them. The word ‘wow’ does not come close.
The experiment, part of a series of initiatives put in place to develop an independent view of teachers and their relationships with students for the Awards, provided significant insight into the different levels of commitment shown by schools, teachers, and students. More on the experiment can be found here:
Our aim this year was to gather statistically interesting data and insight from English teachers across a spectrum of UAE schools, part of which was to determine the degree of investment of schools in asking to take part at all. The experiment saw 66 submissions in total from 24 schools with children from Year 9 upwards. 178 schools were contacted in total to take part in a subject that we felt should have been centre stage for all of them. Whilst not definitive, the initial decision to take part gave us a telling insight into those schools which wanted to engage in opportunities that had a clear benefit for their students. No school was or has been made aware that the experiment was being used as part of our judging process for the Awards.
Mrs Abbott showed commitment, often through the night, with her students and stepped in to help students when other schools were unable to meet their commitments. The submissions of her students were of a standard very significantly above that of any other school taking part, with clear evidence of her engaging with students over the period of the challenge in order that they could submit work that reflected on them highly. The commitment here by someone outside work hours, with no idea at all of the stakes (except for seeing her students do their very best) was utterly inspirational.
In discussions with students and teachers at the school gathering evidence for the Awards, we have learned that Mrs Abbot is humble, extremely compassionate, politically, and socially engaged, extremely hard working, gives of her time to multiple departments outside her own and is one of the teachers in the school that can be relied on by others to step in to help. She actively takes an interest in the world – and how to make it better.
The general consensus in speaking with many teachers across UAE schools is that English is not a subject area that gains the attention it should. It is almost as if English is a “bread and butter” subject, something that just “happens.” You will find so many schools fighting over Sport, Music, the Performing Arts – but English…
Just perhaps this Award then will shine a light on teachers of English across all UAE schools for the absolutely vital role they play in educating children. And none does it better than Mrs Charlotte Abbott.
Mrs Abbott secures for her students some of the highest performing results of any department in the school and, as importantly, has a reputation of delivering a subject where no child is, ever, left behind. Students are in awe of her teaching and classes.
Worth noting too that being a recipient of this Award is the very last thing Mrs Abbott will be expecting – and perhaps, just as importantly, nor will her school.
Our most sincere congratulations Mrs Charlotte Abbott, recipient of the SchoolsCompared.com 2021-22 Top Schools Award for Best secondary Teacher in the UAE.
It could absolutely not be more deserved.
Our final words go, fittingly, to a former student:
“Mrs Abbott has always been one of my favourite teachers.
Not only because of her awesome subject knowledge, but because she is a caring, thoughtful and interesting teacher and person.
Because of her commitment to our class, and the help and support that was provided, I was able to outperform my predicted grade and go on to study at university in the UK.”
Former student, Dubai English Speaking College, now studying Psychology at University in the UK.
© SchoolsCompared.com. 2021. All rights reserved.
Read our SchoolsCompared.com independent review of Dubai English Speaking College here.
Visit the Dubai English Speaking College web site here.
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