Stowe in Dubai

20 February 2017

James Bernard (Lyttelton 90) and the Headmaster jointly hosted a reception at the Bahri Bar in one of Dubai's most attractive locations, the Madinat Jumeirah, close to the iconic Palm Jumeirah. 

Old Stoics ranged from Charlie Sargent and Nick Paine (both Chatham 13) to Peter Westeng (Bruce 74), Jonathan Guyer (Grafton 78) and Jaideep Gulab (Grafton 79). A number of current parents attended the reception, giving the Headmaster an opportunity to provide up-to-date progress reports on Abdullah Al Banawi (Lower Sixth, West), Tair Udovenchuk (Fourth Form, Bruce), Edwin Rimlinger (Upper Sixth, Bruce), Jack Colebrook (Fourth Form, Bruce) and Hugo Barnett (Lower Sixth, Bruce). A few Stoics even came to say hello – Arabella (Fifth Form, Nugent) and Amelia White (Third Form, Nugent) and Avijit Nair (Upper Sixth, Cobham) - although Dubai's strict laws meant that they weren't allowed into the venue. Unexpected guests included the entire Nuttall family - testimony to the power of social media - who were enjoying a Half term break in Dubai. 

Some of the Old Stoics present are considering Stowe for their children and the Headmaster extolled the virtues of educational continuity for Raghav Gulab and Micky Shillington. It was excellent to meet up with Sean Angle, father of Jamie (Chandos 15) and Jocelyn and John Al Adwani, parents of Aliya (West 16) to catch up with all their news. 

In his speech, the Headmaster explained that he was in transit from Afghanistan where he had been working with Children in Crisis and talked about recent developments at Stowe, including the opening of the Worsley Science Centre and this year's theme of Marginal Gains. He presented James Bernard with a Stowe Shield; James promised it will be prominently displayed at the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre where he is Director of Business Development.