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LOOK: The UAE’s first Festival of Schools event in pictures…
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LOOK: The UAE’s first Festival of Schools event in pictures…

by Tabitha BardaNovember 9, 2021

The first Festival of Schools (FOS) event on Friday 5 November 2021 was a sell-out success, filled with fun, music and a healthy dose of competition.

Held in the beautiful grounds of Safa British School, located in the heart of Dubai, almost 600 members of the local community came together for a morning of wholesome family activities and entertainment, all devised under the Festival’s eco theme: ‘Our Planet, Our Future’.

Treats on every corner

From the moment guests arrived to see an ice-cream truck parked outside the school gates, they knew they were in for a treat.

Handed a Festival Passport on arrival, the lucky parents and children who’d managed to bag a ticket were challenged to fill the booklet’s six empty squares with stamps by completing the activities on offer. Hanging in the balance was almost every child (and adult’s) ultimate reward: a free ice cream from the truck outside!

Dotted in and around the school’s picturesque hills-and-valleys landscaping were the different activity points. Suitable for kids and grown-ups of every age, these included making a cookie-garden pudding pot in the food technology lab; petting adorable baby tortoises, fluffy bunnies and ducklings in the mini farm; experimenting with gravity in the science laboratories (even the dads got involved in that one); getting quizzy in the library; getting messy with arts and crafts; and, the big finale: The ‘Trashion Show’, where children designed and modelled sustainable fashion outfits made from recycled materials on the outdoor catwalk.

A much-missed buzz

All of this excitement was set against a backdrop of brilliant music (performed by Original Mix DJs) and laughter as children jumped on bouncy castles, watched the clown show, had their faces painted and played with balloon animals.

GEMS_INARTICLE  

After so long spent apart during the pandemic, it was a genuine soul balm to see so many members of the community coming together, in a buzzy but calm and socially distanced event in the (finally!) fresh air.

Quite apart from the entertainment on offer, many of the children we spoke to said that the highlight of their day was something altogether unexpected: the Safa British School students themselves.

A team of pupils were in attendance to help guests with the experiments and activities, and it was an amazing opportunity for the schoolchildren to shine, proving to be the embodiment of the school’s values and a great showcase for the confidence, friendliness and sense of community that comes with being a member of Safa British School.

Join us at the next Festival of Schools!

There are still three more Festival of Schools events to go this November, and the next one is this Saturday 13 November at GEMS FirstPoint School! Find out more about GEMS FirstPoint School in The Villa, Dubailand.

Tickets are free, but spaces are limited, so be sure to click on the link below and get your names down now.

GET YOUR TICKETS – The Festival of Schools, GEMS FirstPoint School, Saturday 13th November, 9am – 12pm.

LOOK: The Festival of Schools at Safa British School in pictures…

Safa British School was the venue for Which Media’s first ever Festival of Schools event series, held on November 5 2021 from 9am to 12pm. This was the first of four events taking place across weekends in November

All the fun at The Festival of Schools at Safa British School

Guests were challenged to fill in their Festival of Schools passport with stamps collected at every activity station, in order to win a free frozen treat from the ice cream truck!

The SchoolsCompared team were there to greet visitors on arrival

There was a live DJ setting the scene at the school, playing fun tunes as children and their parents made their way around the school’s many activities

Festival of Schools at Safa British SchoolFestival of Schools at Safa British School

One of the highlights was the animal farm, which is present all year round at the nature-orientated Safa British School

Here, kids could stroke scaly snakes, cuddle fluffy bunnies and feed baby goats

The farm is at the school all year round to help teach the students about nature and animal welfare

Festival of Schools at Safa British School

There were even baby tortoises at the petting zoo for tiny tots to meet

Some petting zoo visitors were braver than others!

Rock climbing was another activity on offer for children to help burn off some energy

There was also some clowning around with balloon animals…

Face painters were on hand to create beautiful designs for little ones

Imagination, colour and creativity were at the heart of the Festival

The smile says it all!

A magician entranced the children with his tricks

Festival of Schools at Safa British School

Kids got to let loose and jump around on the bouncy castles

There were some fun arts and crafts

Painting pebbles combined creativity with the Festival’s eco-friendly, nature- based theme perfectly

The whole community gathered together for an array of challenges and activities – here everyone was hard at work crafting their cookie mud pies – yum!

The final activity was the “Trashion show”, where entrants crafted outfit designs out of recycled materials

When they’d finished their designs, the children modelled them on the outdoor catwalk

Safa British School students were on hand to help with the games and activities

Lucky Festival-goers then left with a Safa British School goodie bag. What a wonderful day!

About The Author
Tabitha Barda
Tabitha Barda is the Senior Editor of SchoolsCompared.com. Oxbridge educated and an award winning journalist in the UAE for more than a decade, Tabitha is one of the region's shining lights in all that is education in the emirates. A mum herself, she is passionate about helping parents - and finding the stories in education that deserve telling. She is responsible for the busy 24x7 News Desk, our Advisory Boards and Specialist Panels - and Parents United's WHICHPlaydates - a regular meeting place for UAE parents to discuss the issues that matter to them, make friends and network with others. You can often find Tabitha too on Parents United - our Facebook community board, discussing the latest schools and education issues with our parent community in the UAE - and beyond.

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