Two Abu Dhabi Based Schools receive prestigious British Schools Overseas accreditations

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, Dubai – International Schools Partnership (ISP) has announced that both of their schools in Abu Dhabi, Aspen Heights British School and Reach British School, were recently inspected against the British Schools Overseas framework. Both schools have fully met all the standards and are now accredited BSO schools.

“We are proud to say that both Aspen Heights British School and Reach British School, have received their BSO Accreditation. This year has been a challenging one for all of us, and these inspection outcomes are validation of the unwavering commitment, dedication and hard work put in by both school teams. We all congratulate them on this recognition,” said Bharat Mansukhani, Regional Managing Director – ISP Middle East.

Aspen Heights British School 

Aspen Heights British School opened in 2017, as the first purpose-built ISP school in the region.  The Aspen community has grown year on year, becoming the school of choice for families who value a warm and welcoming community, coupled with innovative teaching and an ambitious learning environment. Currently catering to students from Nursery (FS1) to Year 9, Aspen will commence their first GCSE cohort next academic year. Previously rated “Good” by ADEK in their first Irtiqaa inspection in 2019, the 2021 BSO inspection team commended the school for their 'open-minded and ambitious approach to continuous improvement'. The Principal, Mrs Emma Shanahan and her senior team have been commended for their passion, commitment and outstanding leadership in this recent inspection.

The school was rated excellent and outstanding in most areas in the BSO report. The outstanding curriculum was deemed to be courageous, supporting a high level of interest and challenge for the pupils, by inspectors. They also noted that the high-quality premises supported excellent learning, and the exemplary behaviour of students, was supported by outstanding relationships between staff, pupils and parents. It was found that Aspen Heights commits to personalising learning for all pupils, and the inspection team highlighted the outstanding provision for inclusion of pupils of all abilities and aptitudes.

Aspen Heights British School’s BSO report states:

“Aspen Heights British School is an ambitious school with many outstanding features. There is excellent capacity for further development. Teachers make excellent use of the wide range of resources and creative outdoor spaces to deliver interesting lessons across all subject areas. The manner in which the school links with the local and regional community is outstanding. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary, and they enjoy school. As a result, they make good or excellent progress, becoming confident and articulate learners.”

Emma Shanahan, Principal of Aspen Heights British School shared what this accreditation has meant for the entire school community, “There are so many wonderful aspects in this report to celebrate, which is incredibly heartening after such a challenging year. We have achieved this accolade as a learning community; our cohesive and hardworking school team, our engaged and supportive families, and our happy and inquisitive pupils. We are proud and reflective, but are looking forward to another exciting year, aspiring to excellence every day.”

Reach British School

Reach British School opened in 2014 and joined ISP in 2016. Located in the Baniyas area of Abu Dhabi, the school currently caters to students from Nursery (FS1) to Year 13.

Some of the school’s strengths that were identified through the inspection included the outstanding facilities, the excellent operational management of the school, the good, excellent and outstanding teaching practices, the excellent links with the local community and the high level of parent engagement, as well as the “wholehearted support” demonstrated for the school by the parents. Inspectors noted that students at Reach British School are in a safe and positive learning environment, which allows them to develop positive views about the school and an excellent attitude towards learning.

The BSO Lead Inspector also said, “Reach British School is a very much improved school that offers a good standard of education with many outstanding features.”

Dene Bright, Principal of Reach British School congratulated the entire community on the accreditation, saying, “This is an outstanding achievement for everyone associated with our school. I wish to pass on my sincere thanks to all staff and community members for their contributions in ensuring this was possible. This is fantastic news for all of us. We are proud that Reach British School now joins only a handful of British schools in Abu Dhabi to be accredited as a BSO school.”

The BSO is a voluntary inspection framework for British schools overseas that inspects schools against a common set of standards that British schools across the world can choose to adopt.  By achieving UK inspection-based approval, Aspen Heights British School and Reach British School have demonstrated that they provide a British education that has similar characteristics to an education in an independent school in the UK. The inspections for Aspen Heights British School and Reach British School were carried out by Penta International, who specialise in inspecting schools overseas. For more information about them or to read the full BSO reports of these schools visit http://www.pentainternational.co.uk/bso-reports/

For more information about these two schools please visit: Aspen Heights British School: www.ahbs.ae  or Reach British School: reachbritishschool.com 

© Press Release 2021