History of TES for 50th Anniversary Ball
The English School was founded in 1953, by a group of volunteer parents, including Mr and Mrs Bill Stewart, in expatriate housing in North Kuwait in response to a need for schooling for their families. A Management Team of five parents was formed and the first Chairman was Christopher Birdwood and it was agreed that the School would be non-profit making.
The fees charged were 150 rupees ( the rupee being the currency in Kuwait at that time) which helped to cover the running costs and expenditure on resources. It was known as the Shuwaikh School and it expanded from 9 pupils in the first year, situated in the lounge of Block 4, Shuwaikh Bachelors’ Camp, to about 45 pupils in three classes in 1954.
The first headmistress was one of the parents, Mrs Eric Jones. Initially, the School provided for children from 4 to 8 years, using the P.N.E.U. (Parents National Education Union) system.
In 1955, the first Sports Day was held and this became an annual event. Later, in 1959, the Annual Sports Day prizes were presented by the wife of the British Political Agent, Mr John Richmond. In 1957, the site of the Shuwaikh Bachelor Camp was officially given over to the school in three complete classroom blocks. It was later, in 1965, when Mrs Inez Murray was headmistress of the Shuwaikh School, that Ms Joyce Carter joined the School as the only qualified teacher among the staff who were mainly parents. In 1971, the School felt the need to expand to take children of 10 years due to the decline in the trend of sending children home to boarding school in the UK. In its early days, the School ethos was very much that of a family school, with parents running all aspects of school life. Both mothers and fathers helped to organise Sports Days and Christmas parties and to build, maintain and repair as required. This tradition was firmly established in 1973 with the official inauguration of the Parents’ Association in the form of a Book Evening, an event that helped to provide the initial Library stock and which was continued on a regular basis as the Library expanded. The Parents Association continues today, as it was then, as an invaluable and supportive element of the School.
Since the founding of Shuwaikh School, the first foreign school in Kuwait, coincided with the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the names of Royal residences, Buckingham, Sandringham, Balmoral and Windsor were chosen for the newly-formed School Houses.
The School was renamed The English School, Kuwait, in 1970, at the request of the newly formed Private Schools sector of the Ministry of Education, and it in turn made way for the Civil Service Commission and moved into purpose built premises in Al-Surra in March 1973, with the agreement of the School sponsor, Mr Mohammed Al-Bahar. The Headmistress then was Mrs Deidre Bird and the first day at the new School premises was marked by a visit from Mrs Margaret Thatcher who was then Secretary of State for Education in the UK. The British Ambassador, Sir John Wilton, together with his wife, accompanied Mrs Thatcher on her tour of inspection. Mrs Bird was Headmistress at the English School until 1985 and it was during this time that Mrs Rhoda Muhmood was a member of Staff until 1979 and Mr Jeff de Lange was a member of the Governing Committee from 1984 - 88. Among our current staff at the English School, Mrs Vanessa McCluney taught at the school from 1980 – 1984; Monica Al-Najjar taught at the School from 1981 until 1990, eventually becoming Head of the Infants Department at that time.
The school was closed from 1990 – 91 due to the Iraqi invasion and then following the Liberation, a group of interested parents, volunteered to try to get the school re-started so that children of those families who had returned soon afterwards could go to school. These dedicated parents were the nucleus of the first post-war Management Team, with Alan Passmore as Chairman; the School was re-opened with just under 30 pupils in 1991, with the help of Mrs Val Kirk as Acting Head and three teachers, including Ms Joyce Carter, who had just rejoined the School. In 1992, as pupil numbers increased, Mr Brian Errington joined the school from the UK as Headmaster and remained with the School when it moved to its present site in Salmiya in 1996. Mr Al-Bahar officially opened the School at Salmiya in the presence of the British Ambassador, Sir Graham Boyce in May 1996. In 1997, the School expanded to Year 7 for the first time and in 1998, to Year 8. Once again the School temporarily closed from 24th February until 25th April 2003 during Coalition Operations in Iraq. An Emergency School was operated briefly, during this time, for 100 or so children who were in Kuwait. In May 2003 the School opened its first Pre- Kindergarten class. Another special person I would like to mention is Mr Sikander Khan who has given long and dedicated service to the school and who is a member of our current Governing Committee. He was a pupil at the Shuwaikh School many years ago.
This academic year marks 50 years success in education for the English School, Kuwait and we are proud that a fitting tribute was paid in recognition of Mr Mohammed Al-Bahar who received the OBE, in October, from HE the British Ambassador, Mr Christopher Wilton, CMG. The School was very proud also to receive a Royal visit from HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York in December. On behalf of all the children who have been a part of the English School, present and past, I would like to pay tribute to all those parents who have given so much as members of the Parents Association and also to those who have served on the Governing Committee. Thank you also to the current GC under the Chairmanship of Colonel Clinton Hicks and to the current Parents Association, who have worked so hard with Deborah Howell to make this evening possible. Thank you to all our teachers, past and present. A special welcome to John Allcott, our new Headmaster, who will lead us into the next 50 years.
Congratulations to the English School on fifty years of achievement in the finest establishment for English education!
Acknowledgements: Mrs Deidre Bird MBE; Mr Bill Stewart CBE; Ms Joyce Carter and Mr and Mrs Jeff de Lange.
JRH