ABU DHABI // A couple who helped to set up the first British school in the capital were “amazed” by the changes they saw when they returned to mark the 40th anniversary of its foundation.
Alistair and Deborah Mackaskill were among 500 people who attended an anniversary ball for the British School – Al Khubairat last week at the Hilton Hotel. The event raised more than Dh50,000 (US$13,612) to support efforts by the Emirates Foundation to refurbish schools.
The school’s first lessons were held in 1965. They were organised in an office attached to the bungalow where the Mackaskills lived in a company compound. Their eldest son, Euan, was one of the original pupils. He was later joined by his brother Rory.
Power cuts were common, much to the despair of the teachers.
“There was a great deal of pressure on the teachers because of a lack of water and electricity,” said Mr Mackaskill, 74, a Scot who ran a shipping, insurance and travel company at the time. “I would often get a call from a distraught teacher saying, ‘I cannot cope with it any more. You will have to come and deal with the children’.”
In 1967, the school moved to buildings in the area where Spinneys is now located, and one year later Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the UAE, presided at its official opening. There were just 14 or 15 pupils and two teachers when the school was officially founded in 1968, compared with 1,670 pupils and 130 teachers today.
In 1980, the school moved to its present site near Airport Road.
The Mackaskills left the UAE in 1970 and moved to Bahrain. They now live in Scotland, although one of their four sons, Douglas, recently moved to Abu Dhabi.
When they returned this week, the couple were surprised to discover that the office where the school was first based was still there, albeit fenced off and dilapidated.
The school’s newest premises were in another league compared with the modest accommodation of its early years, said Mrs Mackaskill, 63.
She said: “It’s amazing; I cannot believe it. I wouldn’t mind going back to school if it was like this.”
Her husband added: “Many places in the UK or Europe would bite your hand off for a school like this.”
Paul Coackley, the school’s principal, said many people with connections dating back to the school’s early years still kept in touch.
“What is still true is the fantastic affection people have for the school, whether parent or pupil,” he said. “There is a large sense of goodwill. For a lot of people who have moved on, it remains an important part of their memories and life.”
As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, the school is organising an alumni society for former pupils.
Mr Coackley said the school was hoping to set up an archive as the anniversary had prompted many former pupils to get in touch.
“It has thrown up so many communications,” he said. “All sorts of history has emerged that we didn’t know anything about.”
Students representing 52 nationalities attend the school, which mostly follows England’s national curriculum. About 60 per cent of the pupils are British.
In the early days, most pupils finished at the school at the age of eight and completed their education at a boarding school in the UK, but over the years the school has expanded to accept pupils up to the age of 18.
Daniel Bardsley