Taking charge

The British School of Bahrain (BSB) in Hamala has promoted Karen Moffat from the position of acting director to the ‘Head of the School’ from this academic year.

The school has decided to re-title the position of director that was until recently held by Bill Frost, who has been on extended leave for more than a year.

Mr Frost, a former British Club of Bahrain chairman, has decided to remain in the UK where he returned to take care of his ailing mother who died of cancer late last year. He had played a significant role in the school’s development for more than eight years.

Mrs Moffat believes Mr Frost’s decision was based on a number of personal reasons. She said: “He was a driving force behind this school. He is a ‘people person’ and was great at bringing the right people on board. 

“He has been the heart and soul of this institution and it wouldn’t be the way it is without him. I am hoping to take forward the strong foundations he has laid for the school where he will always be welcome.”

The school currently has around 1,500 students, a far cry from when it opened in 1995 in a small campus in Adliya with only 172 pupils. It is now owned by Bahraini businessman Esam Janahi who merged it with Al Ruwad School in 2007 and now boasts a modern campus that opened in September 2008.

Mrs Moffat, 55, has had a long association with Mr Frost having worked with him at St Christopher’s School as deputy head for three years before moving to Hong Kong and joining the BSB in February 2007 as deputy director.

This summer, the BSB has continued with its infrastructure development and beefed up facilities to the tune of BD900,000. It includes building a new administrative block, kindergarten sports hall, classrooms, extended play areas and installing a new ionising system in the pool. The eagerly anticipated school library is also now open.

Not happy about resting on her laurels, the new head has already chalked out plans for further expansion at the school. These plans include a state-of-the-art gym for senior school students, an assembly hall with a gallery and a stage, a drama studio, basketball courts, a large swimming pool, more laboratories and classrooms along with a robust extra-curricular programme.

Mrs Moffat, who is pursuing a doctorate in Educational Technology from the University of Bath, and calls herself a ‘non-techie geek’, said: “The big thing about our planning is technology. I am passionate about that. I write about it and I am involved with it daily.

“I believe if we don’t marry technology into our classrooms we are preparing our children for our past and not their future. I believe that children have an entitlement to gain access to technology skills because everyone is going into a technology-driven work environment where those skills are expected.

“That’s a very big challenge. It is just the case of getting the money and the bandwidth. We have so much more to do!”