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School fees rise as secondary school plans stumble
THE two leading British-curriculum private schools in the kingdom’s ambitious expansion plans have been temporarily thwarted and appear to be back on the drawing board as increased school fees and new builds become hot topics of debate.
Both St Christopher’s School and the British School of Bahrain (BSB) annually receive glowing inspection reports and record impressive academic results. They both started the academic year last September with new men at the helm and each had a mission to progress with plans for new senior school premises.
St Chris’ long-held dreams to build close to its infants and primary school site in Saar came unstuck at a recent Northern Municipal Council meeting, as reported by GulfWeekly’s sister newspaper, the Gulf Daily News, and its portal GDNonline, and unless crucial talks underway this week prove successful, alternative options may have to be considered.
St Christopher’s School’s principal Dr Simon Watson told parents: “The school governors will be discussing the best approach to take in view of the Northern Municipal Council’s decision but will work with all parties concerned so that we get the best possible outcome for the school and residents of Saar.
“The governors are committed to the new build for the senior school and are exploring all possibilities at present.”
One of BSB’s unique selling points since it moved from its ‘Dickensian’ home in Adliya to Hamala in 2008 was having a ‘one site for all ages’ campus. But the school now has 2,650 pupils on its roll and space issues, plus coping with traffic congestion around the site, have become major challenges.
Owners Inspired, a global education sector group with several international schools in its portfolio, announced moves to build a separate senior school and plans were proceeding at a pace until recently.
“The building plans are going ahead, however Inspired is looking at alternative locations nearer to the school that would actually be a better alternative for us,” BSB’s executive head Jeff Smith told GulfWeekly. “The anticipated date for opening is now August 2021.”
Both learning establishments have long been rivals aiming to entice expats and local parents to place their children and pay annual schools fees which are set to rise across all age groups – 10 per cent at BSB and five per cent at St Chris.
St Christopher’s proudly boasts being a ‘not-for-profit’ school and has more than 2,300 pupils. It recently stated that it had run a ‘small deficit’ in the past few years which was not a ‘sustainable arrangement’, although it had been ‘manageable’ within its existing reserves, believed to be a sizeable nest egg built up over the years.
Its increase in school fees, approved by the Ministry of Education, will help ‘demonstrate a sound financial position’, board of governors chairman Tim Murray, the CEO of one of the school’s founders, Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA), told parents in a letter, when it comes to approaching banks for funding to fulfil its dreams of building a new secondary school to replace its space-limited and aging facility in the Isa Town Education Zone.
GulfWeekly has invited the board more than once to comment on the current senior school build project situation but so far it has declined.
The board is also keen to expand its existing Saar campus but has requested further quotes and designs since the first quote ‘tripled in cost from the initial concept’, parents have heard.
“There are pros and cons about such an expansion but the overall benefit is seen to outweigh the negatives,” added Dr Simon. “However, the cost of the project would need to be right before the board (members) give their go ahead.”
A meeting with parents was staged recently at Saar to outline further details about changes planned in the junior and infants and to answer questions. A similar parent meeting is planned in Isa Town on Sunday, June 16.
School fee increases have resulted in heated debate at BSB in recent days with parents raising a petition campaigning against 10 per cent hikes, with a protest group claiming to have received backing from more than 1,000 parents.
Executive head Jeff said: “The Senior Leadership Team at the school, including myself, do not get involved with fee increase proposals. Therefore, it is not appropriate for me or the academics leadership team to become involved.”
The owners responded swiftly to this newspaper’s inquiry: “The British School of Bahrain has been given approval by the Ministry of Education to raise tuition fees by a total of 10 per cent for the academic year 2019/2020. BSB has not increased its tuition fees for the past five years and its current fees are well below its main competitors.
“The rise has been approved in order that BSB can continue to invest in its staff, technology and facilities. Approving this 10 per cent fee increase will allow the school to attract high quality educators and continue building improvement works maintaining its position as one of the highest performing schools in the region.
“Inspired Education Group has invested several million dinars in BSB to date. It has also invested a vast amount of resources in the school by having many of its top educators spend significant periods of time at the school sharing global best practices.
“Inspired and BSB would like to thank the many parents and families that have come forward to show their support for the school during this time, as we continue to uphold BSB as a leading school of choice in Bahrain and positioned among the best schools in the region.”
A protest group calling itself the BSB Concerned Parents Committee has not been placated and said its petition will be handed over to the ministry. Its members thought ‘anonymity’ was crucial and they ‘didn’t have an option’ to place their children elsewhere as it would disrupt their education and, in any case, space was currently limited, with some age groups having waiting lists in schools offering a British curriculum.
BSB’s increased fees will rise to BD7,398 per annum for the next school year for sixth formers. St Christopher’s will go up to BD7,662.
