The Last Word
 

It was great to see so many of our Alumni at the reunion barbecue on Sunday 6th January. We were also honoured with the presence of former Principal Alan Henderson and his wife Sue who were over on a flying visit to Oman. They were accompanied by Carol Montgomery (nee Lanfear) who taught Art at the school in the 1980’s and designed the present school logo. Carol was amazed at the development that had taken place since her last visit but was pleased to see that the school logo she designed is still being used.

We have had many visitors of late; a delegation from Woodridge School U.K. visited us in February and were hosted by our students and the school. They enjoyed a “Cultural Tour” of Oman prior to joining regular classes for the last few days of their visit. Dr. Noel Guckian, The British Ambassador, kindly opened up his residence to welcome them. Other highlights of their visit included a tour to The Sultan Qaboos Mosque, a coastal trip, a visit to Muttrah Souq and a guided tour of The Bait Al-Baranda Museum.

A delegation from The National Council on US-Arab Relations paid their fourth annual visit to the school, their party was led by Peter Ochs who is remembered for his travel guides to Oman and Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and Founder of NCUSAR. We were also delighted to be visited by Pat Alstone, treasurer of The Anglo Omani Society who was accompanied by Sarah Leonard and Charlotte Matthews both of whom had recently taught at Eton College in England. They spoke to our Gap Year students who are sponsored by The AOS, Alex Walsh from Eastbourne College UK and Gareth Rhys from Dulwich College UK about their experiences of both living and working in Oman. Both Gareth and Alex are to resume their studies at Cambridge University next year.
Pat Alstone, treasurer of The Anglo Omani Society with Sarah, Charlotte and our Gap students
We were also delighted to be entertained by comedian and concert pianist Kev Orkian who was out here to raise funds for the British Scholarships Organisation, he thrilled our primary students with his wit and his amazing musical talent.

In late February the staff were also treated to a wonderful day out and picnic at the country residence of The Chairman of The Sultan’s School, H.E. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Riyami. Sixty of us enjoyed his very generous hospitality and the opportunity to get to know each other better.

On the business side, the Admissions Office has received record numbers of applications for places in the school this year, many of these came after our recently held Visitor’s Day. Unfortunately, we can only accommodate a small percentage of applicants as just about every class in the Primary and Lower Secondary is full. The IGCSE and IBD programmes of study are still open to talented individuals; our next placement tests are on Thursday April 3rd 2008 and Thursday May 8th 2008. 

Clive G. Pierrepont
Director of Development and Admissions