There was a press release today (or yesterday?) announcing a partnership between Bloom property developers in Abu Dhabi, and Brighton College (BC?) in the UK. However, the release mostly had information about the UK Brighton College. Bloom say they will partner with Brighton College UK to develop a network of Brighton Colleges around the world, with the Abu Dhabi college being the first of them. According to Bloom, BC is one of the best colleges in the UK with top A level results and good ratings by British newspapers so it was a good advertisement for BC UK, but not so useful if you want to know about BC AUH. An Ofsted (UK schools inspection body and regulator - a bit like the KHDA in Dubai) report from November 2008 about Brighton College UK had lots of "excellents" in it, and in summary said "The overall quality rating is outstanding."
The Brighton AUH press release says to refer to the Bloom website for more (bloomcommunities.com) but all that's there is a page about Bloom Education. They say they are "committed to offering its students the opportunity to attain their maximum potential in a positive, enjoyable, stimulating, and safe environment ... " etc etc. Bloom tel is +971-2-6760760.
There is a press conference to officially announce the Bloom-Brighton College deal on Monday 23 March 2009 at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
And if anyone has any information about the following (I guess all this is still to be decided), add a reply
.- Location - there are apparently two BC schools to be developed in Abu Dhabi, one in Bloom Gardens, the other where?
- Planned opening date
- What level and age of students will be admitted (Brighton UK is 3-18 year olds with boarding from age 14)?
- School Fees (the UK Brighton College charges about 20,000-75,000 annual tuition fees and up to 120,000 dhs for boarding students, I think Repton Dubai charges about the same)?
- Curriculum (presumably GCSE and A-levels, although Repton School in Dubai is considering or offering IB)?
- Teacher salaries and conditions (and where to apply)
Brighton isn't the the only UK school to start up a shop in the UAE. Apart from Repton, other UK schools with a partnership, or planning a partnership in the region include...
Dulwich College Dubai
Oundle School Dubai
Wellington College maybe for Bahrain or Qatar but not the UAE
Sherborne School is opening a branch in Doha, Qatar in September 2009.