The British Council has gathered 37 of the most influential leaders in the education market from across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Kuwait in the UK for the second year, to explore the future of education leadership across MENA. The UK Study Tour 2024, which took place 21-27 January, enabled policymakers, school leaders, and academics to build towards a vision for effective instructional leadership and share best practices.
Attendees from Egypt included Ms. Iman Sabry and Ms. Sherine Hamdy from the Ministry of Education, as well as representatives from 10 British Council Partner Schools.
The theme of this year’s tour was “enriching your curriculum”, examining how to create truly balanced education models for students. As part of the schedule, representatives were invited to hear about different enriching and balanced curriculums used in specific UK schools. As groups, participants discussed how best to create an international and contextualized curriculum, based on the themes of Digital Learning, Leadership, Well-being, and Safeguarding.
On the first day of the conference, the attendees were welcomed at the British Council Headquarters in Stratford, London by Director of International Operations of the British Council Charlie Walker who noted, ‘In education, our aim is that young people across the region should have access to first-class educational services, setting them up for a rewarding life ahead.
The period we are living through is full of challenges, and we owe it to all young people to give them as much support and encouragement as we can. Across the Middle East and North Africa, the British Council is trusted by more than 500 schools – and by thousands of students and their parents.
What we aim to create is a long-term partnership with our schools– a partnership that covers administrative and operational support, professional support in exam delivery, and support for teachers and leaders with continuing professional development and networking opportunities.’
‘Gatherings like this are critical for maintaining our own learning and high standards of education. The past week has been a huge opportunity for my own professional development. This tour has brought schools around the Middle East and North Africa together to cultivate a vision for effective instructional leadership.
Throughout the week, we have been able to explore important themes through keynote presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and above all sharing international best practices and networking. Together we can build on the outstanding work in the last year and most importantly strengthen the community of British Council Partner Schools,’ said Dr. Hamed Afifi, Managing Director of the British International College of Cairo.
Among the highlights of the trip was a visit to the University of Westminster, as well as meetings with representatives from Kingsford Community College and All Saints College, as well as attendance at Bett 2024, the world’s largest Ed Tech conference.
Globally, British Council Partner Schools works with more than 2,100 schools, supports over 60,000 teachers, and touches the lives of about one million students. With attendees from across 32 schools across the UAE, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan this trip helps to support the mission of the British Council in building connections, understanding, and trust through education.
