 I
have written to you on previous occasions about the concept
of change within the context of a school and the fact that
it is a constant feature of any progressive institution. Change
can have many forms such as personnel, curriculum or scale
of growth. At the moment the aspect most apparent is the physical
appearance of the campus. The
Sultan’s School is blessed with a site which provides
more than ample space for all our activities. With this comes
an enormous task of looking after a campus which is 250,000
square metres in size. Since the start of this term, our staff
have been working wonders in slowly and steadily landscaping
much of the land between the various campus buildings. Visitors
to the site will soon approach a brand new Administration
building due to open shortly, via a tree-lined road fringed
with new walkways and hedgerows. To one side of this driveway,
beneath the shade of the trees, is a recently created outdoor
seating area catering for around 150 students. A journey to
the rear of the site will take visitors past grassy verges
fringed with flower beds and newly laid grass play areas serving
the Kindergarten children on one side of the road and the
Secondary students on the other. |
Near the start of the access road is a nursery orchard area
which in the future will provide fruits of various kinds and
which can be both an educational resource and a practical
asset. A huge new car park has also been established which
has doubled the available spaces for parents on the occasion
of special events.
Those
carrying out this landscaping work are to be congratulated
on the positive impact they are having on our environment.
We intend getting some of the older students involved in this
process in the hope they will become more aware of the need
to care for their surroundings. Once all the work is finished
I will be stressing to students of all ages to respect the
beautiful surroundings in which they are fortunate to study
and avoid detracting from them by failing to use the litter
bins provided around the school. If we learn to take care
of the environment within our school grounds, hopefully these
attitudes will extend beyond to their own home area and to
Oman in general. The biggest natural asset in Oman which will
live on long after the oil runs out is its beautiful scenery.
Hopefully by practical example we can create citizens of the
future who will protect this legacy for generations to come.
John Birchall
Principal |
Grade 11 students are now deep into their IB programme. They
will not be allowed to become submerged, however, due to the
attentions of Head of Year Ms Carol Williams. Ms Carol has
been conducting in-depth interviews with each student to identify
any issues that have arisen in their learning or even wider
school activities. The student’s academic progress is
discussed and strategies formulated to boost their achievement.
Some students require counseling with regard to their choice
of subjects taken at Higher and Standard level. |
Because a student will be denied the Diploma Award should
any level 2 grade be gained in a HL subject, it is imperative
that problems are identified as soon as possible and students
counseled on either a change to SL or made aware of the increase
in committed (and monitored) endeavour needed to improve achievement.
In the interviews conducted, Ms Carol has been encouraging
pupils to understand their own learning strengths and weaknesses.
She has been stressing the need for students to identify and
discuss their concerns, balance their workloads, and has offered
them advice on how to do this. Students are encouraged to
take responsibility for their own learning and are empowered
to reach their academic potential.
Students
are developing an important skill required for university
study, that of long term planning for workload management.
Many subjects have internally assessed requirements which
are externally moderated. Students must meet all set deadlines.
The Science subjects have fortnightly laboratory write-ups,
there are English Oral presentations to give, draft Extended
Essays to write, and so on. This action ensures that our Grade
11 students learn in a nurturing and supportive environment
while the IB programme is successfully implemented at school.
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