Tribune News NetworkDohaAbeer Al Khalifa, president of Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education, has announced a plan to expand QF schools, which will include additional classes at Qatar Academy Al Khor and Qatar Academy Al Wakra to accommodate more registration requests that are witnessing an increase, especially in Awsaj and Renad Academy.Al Khalifa said that QF schools, which have 7,500 students of different nationalities – with all places taken before this year’s summer holidays started – continue to provide a comprehensive academic experience based on lifelong learning as they seek to nurture globally-minded students and attract educators whose skills support QF’s commitment to delivering quality education. She mentioned that today, PUE has 1,500 employees – 30 percent male and 70 percent female – of 78 nationalities, working to provide an integrated educational experience.She also announced several new developments within pre-university education at QF, including the establishment if the Special Schools and Special Educational Needs Services (SEN) section under QF’s Educational Development Institute (EDI), designed to expanding services for students with academic challenges. Meanwhile, foundational classes have been launched at QF’s Awsaj Academy to prepare younger students for kindergarten, and students from certain classes will continue their lessons in the EDI building so that they can access more resources.Here, Al Khalifa speaks about what Pre-University Education at QF offers – and how it is continuing to evolve: With the beginning of the current academic year, QF schools are witnessing a large turnout. How do you assess the turnout for this year?QF schools aim to provide a comprehensive experience based on lifelong learning as it seeks to build a global student.The advantages, values, and skills that every student who belongs to our schools acquires are the main motive behind the continuous and intense demand for Education City, so that before this year’s summer holidays started, we did not have any vacant seats for the current academic year. Today, we have 7,500 students of different nationalities. Do you intend to expand, specifically in schools like Awsaj and Renad Academy that are specialized schools seeing high demand in admission?We have plans to expand. Qatar Academy Al Khor will include specialized learning classes from Awsaj Academy for children with autism for the 2023-2024 school year, while Qatar Academy Al Wakra will include similar classes from Renad Academy.We will open two classes for the primary stage and one for the middle stage at both Qatar Academy Al Khor and Qatar Academy Al Wakra, and each stage will have 25 students.We have also launched foundation classes at Awsaj Academy, which are intended for students aged 3-4 who have communication challenges, as we help them to improve their communication skills and become eligible to be accepted as kindergarten students the following year. QF schools have launched a central admissions office. How has this office helped parents to better explore the whole QF education ecosystem?One of the main objectives of the central admissions office is about strengthening the voice of QF schools as they speak to the community, with clarity, about their offerings, while encouraging parents to explore their child’s future with QF.We have started to follow a practical plan as our team works to deal with applications directly and respond quickly to them. In case there are no vacant seats at the school specified by the parent, our team guides the parents and provides adequate information about all our schools that may suit their goals and their child’s educational needs. QF schools are part of an entire educational and development system. How does this concept reflect on the student’s educational experience within QF?A QF student is a comprehensive student, and his or her academic environment is not limited to the school he or she joins. Our students have access to Education City, with all its facilities, universities, and research centres.We make sure that parents are aware of the opportunities that their children get to enhance not only their academic skills, but also their leadership, social, and cognitive skills, through their access to all the centres and schools in QF, as well as initiatives such as the Model United Nations (THIMUN) Qatar, the Gifted Hub, and the Education Development Institute (EDI).Our students can also work directly with universities, and students at Qatar Academy Science and Technology have an opportunity to implement their projects with university professors. We also have the Rasekh project that allows collaboration with various centres to develop teacher plans through resources at Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute.
