The power of the founding team

I've recently fallen into a podcast habit, keeping up to date with nearly ten different shows every week. By complete accident, I discovered last week that one of my teachers from my own school days has launched a podcast, reflecting on a long career in education that culminated in him leading one of Scotland's most successful schools. Listening to a few episodes filled me with nostalgia - and more than a little pride.

I loved school, and I loved my school. It was an inspiring setting; a 17^th-century building a stone’s throw from Edinburgh Castle, with first-rate facilities, at least by the standards of the 1990s! Reflecting almost 30 years later on what made it such a special experience for me, I realise that the expertise, commitment, and care that the teachers invested in every student set a standard that continues to shape the person and school leader I am today (though I could never hope to be as witty as Mr W!)

That reflection couldn't have come at a better moment, because if there's one lesson I've learned in founding a new school, it's this: the strength of a school lies in its people - especially the people who are there at the very beginning.

A founding team does far more than fill classrooms and teach subjects; in our school, they will be both the custodians of a 450-year heritage, and co-authors of a chapter in a new QE volume here in Dubai. They will establish the culture and breathe life into our comprehensive academic plan, building the habits, relationships, and expectations that will define our school for years to come.

This is why we committed to a values-based recruitment process from the outset. Skills and experience matter enormously, but the beliefs that guide a teacher's daily interactions matter even more. We looked for educators whose personal values align deeply with our own: ambition for every child, genuine warmth, integrity, and an ongoing commitment to the craft of teaching and the science of learning.

Along that journey, I was fortunate to be joined by Neil Enright, Headmaster at QE Barnet. He is the guardian of everything QE, and his insight, experience, and understanding of what it takes to build a high-performing school ensured that every recruitment decision was thoughtful, strategic, and aligned with our shared educational mission to produce confident, able, and responsible young people.

The teachers joining us are experts in their fields, bringing a deep understanding of the UAE context and a mental model of what excellence looks like - and what it takes to build it from day one.

Back in February, we brought the entire founding team together for an Iftar. It was our first moment together as a full staff, gathering from across Dubai, and it confirmed what we hoped: this is a group who not only work well together but feel like a community already.

Across the board, their motivations have been remarkably consistent:

• The chance to build something exceptional from the ground up
• A shared belief in ambitious, evidence-led teaching and learning
• The opportunity to shape a culture that values wellbeing as much as achievement
• The excitement of joining a team with purpose

The power of a founding team cannot be overstated - and I couldn't be more confident in the one we are building. Every child who walks through our doors will be taught by professionals who are not only experts in their field but united in their purpose and values.

Meanwhile, our project team and contractors have battled through the rain this week to keep the project on schedule. It has been great to see the scaffolding come down to reveal a modernised exterior on the first phase of the refurbishment. All the classrooms in this phase have been completely remodelled and await the furniture fit-out next week. Not all the works are so visible, of course, but they are all important - the installation and commissioning of the new gas system in our state-of-the-art science laboratories this week is a case in point.

If you’d like to discover what makes this founding team so special, follow our profiles over the coming weeks, and consider joining us as we build something extraordinary together.

Over the coming weeks, I will introduce members of our founding team through this blog and our social media channels, so that our founding families - and prospective families - can get to know the people who will shape their children's school experience. Among them: