Creating a new school

A state-of-the-art modern facility at the cost of approximately BD15 million ($40 million) is to house the new Riffa Views International School (RVIS) in September this year.

Presently under construction at the Riffa Views Signature Estates, the school has an area of 18,000 square metres and will boast of excellent faculty, top quality American curriculum and cutting edge technology that according to the school's administrators will be second to none.

"RVIS board members started with the premise that they wanted a world-class top-tier school hence all the decisions from fee structure to campus development and curriculum stems from this premise.

"Technology at the school is being developed by a Netherlands team who is also providing similar ground-breaking technology elsewhere in Bahrain. Every child will have a laptop computer connected to the central server room with smart boards and LCD projectors in every classroom," said Bruce McWilliams, 54, director of RVIS.

The facilities don't end there ... five science labs, two cafeterias, full-sized gymnasium, grass playing fields, an indoor tennis court and seven outdoor tennis courts which are part of the Boris Becker's Tennis Academy, two swimming pools, two-storey library, access to the Royal Golf Course ... the list is mind boggling.

Presently the school, which has a total capacity of 560 children, is taking students from pre-kindergarten to grade five but will eventually be increased to grade 12 offering a choice of International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma or American matriculation.

"At a minimum we will add a grade every year," said Mr McWilliams who came to Bahrain in August 2007 from Dubai to drive the RVIS project forward. The Canadian educationist is part of the International Schools Services (ISS) network that provides management services to over 200 schools worldwide.

But setting up an international school of excellence has come with its set of challenges.

From recruitment to rising cost of construction and curriculum snags, Mr McWilliams has had to deal with all aspects of RVIS to keep the momentum going in order to commence the school term on September 3.

Despite the sharp escalation of construction cost - the price of concrete and steel has doubled in the construction period of RVIS - the school will open its doors on schedule.

"There is also a worldwide crisis concerning overseas teachers especially with the falling dollar rates which make their salaries less financially rewarding after conversion.

"Also, post 9/11 many foreign workers don't want to travel outside their home country. Another factor is that a lot of ISS teachers are being absorbed by International Schools in China - an emerging market - where a school opens every month," he added.

At present RVIS has recruited 23 teachers who are arriving in August out of which 78 per cent are oversees hire and 62 per cent of the teachers are graduate degree holders predominantly from the US.

The school's curriculum has undergone hawkish scrutiny to comply with stringent Ministry of Education guidelines. Certain material featured in some textbooks has had be removed which is understood to have included photographs of ballet dancers and a reference to the late-Jamaican reggae star and cannabis-user Bob Marley.

"The ministry has an obligation and responsibility towards the cultural beliefs and norms of the kingdom. We have had to make minor changes in the curriculum to observe this but given that we come from a family of international schools we uphold and value each other's cultural beliefs," said Mr McWilliams.

"At RVIS we are going to have children of different nationalities and the key element for these children is to learn to be accepting and respectful of the differences and traditions of various cultures and by doing so they will enrich themselves.

"The beauty of an international school is that children learn a lot outside the textbook which consequently changes their world view."

Keeping the traditional requirements in perspective RVIS plans to offer an Arabic programme to all of its students to satisfy a variety of needs. "We recognise the need for Arabic speakers to preserve their language and pass it on to their children which is why we have introduced a strong Arabic programme as part of our curriculum," Mr McWilliams explained.

"We have already selected 60 students after putting them through our entrance tests for which admissions experts flew down from Dubai. RVIS is very well positioned and interest in it is accelerating as a new choice on the island.

"We have a blank slate in terms of our reputation which clearly affords us an opportunity to become special," he added.