This year marks the 25th anniversary of the scholarship program at The Sultan’s School.

Established in 1977, The Sultan’s School quickly built a reputation as the premier school in Oman, offering a program of academic and extracurricular activities on a par with the finest international schools yet with a uniquely Omani and Islamic character. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said was well pleased with the rapid progress of the School and decided in 1980 to endow a personal scholarship program so that a broader range of Omani youngsters, particularly from the interior of the Sultanate, could benefit from the School’s superior educational opportunities. On this, the 25th anniversary of the founding of the scholarship program, it is appropriate to present this report to His Majesty the Sultan on the overwhelming success of the program.

His Majesty’s scholarship students have been amongst the School’s best students in every way. Academically, many of them have been at the top of their classes in the various subjects. Athletically, they have been the strong backbone of most of our teams. Personally, they are some of the School’s finest representatives of Omani culture and traditions.

The first group of ten boys joined the School in the 1980-81 academic year. A total of 158 students have taken part in the program, with the first group graduating in 1987. At present, there are 47 participants.

Graduates of the program have gone on to distinguish themselves in fields as diverse as medicine, economics, law, architecture, engineering, education, business, the military and the police. As these young men endeavor to make their own significant contributions to Omani society, His Majesty can be assured that his confidence in them has been well placed.

Building upon the success of His Majesty’s scholarship program, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) established a program of its own at the School in 1989 to run concurrently with His Majesty’s program. PDO recipients are selected from the company’s concession areas and must meet the same admission requirements and maintain the same high academic standards as those under His Majesty’s sponsorship.

A further addition to the School’s scholarship program was the establishment in the 2003-2004 academic year of a program in memory of H.H. Seyyid Fahr bin Taimour Al-Said. This program was made possible through the generosity of Seyyid Fahr’s widow, Virginia, and daughter, Latifah. The program was initially committed to supporting able day students from the Muscat area.

The establishment of the PDO and Seyyid Fahr scholarships is further testimony to the significant success and importance of His Majesty’s scholarship program.

Scholarship candidates are chosen from students who have finished at the top of their Fifth Elementary classes in schools throughout Oman. The candidates are brought to the School in late spring to be tested. From the approximately 50 candidates tested each year, an average of eight boys are selected. The students chosen are, literally, the best of the best. Every effort is made to ensure broad geographical representation.

These are the faces of the future. It is through the wisdom and generosity of His Majesty that these young men are preparing to take their places at the forefront of Oman’s continuing growth and development.

As we look back at the first 25 years of our scholarship program, the scholarship students express their deepest appreciation for the faith that His Majesty the Sultan has placed in them. They pledge that, with God’s help, they will continue to be worthy of His Majesty’s trust and beneficence.