Thoughts on the school itself

Private schools are common in Jordan, because the state system is very poor. My school is towards the top end in terms of prestige, being old and well established (though there are several above it who have selective entry).

The school therefore competes by being more community focused, and particularly accepting of students with difficulties of one sort or another. The children that need it get a heavily personalised system of teacher aides in class and pull-outs – for which the parents pay, of course.

They take the social aspect of teaching extremely seriously, with a form class system that in many ways mimics the social aspects of what RE deliver at St John’s. There is a very large emphasis on extra-curricular, although not so much on sport compared to a NZ private school. They do try to keep students doing PE until the end of schooling, which is good.

The school is 700, but is heavily weighted to the Junior school. It seems that as students get older the internationals tend to go to their home country – either because parents shift or via boarding school. This leads to very small senior year levels compared to junior.

The staff seemed very good and committed to their jobs. Bad staff are moved on, in the way only a contract system can achieve. I really could not have asked for a nicer department to move into. It was very friendly, good teachers and well organised.

The staff overall do however come and go at a very quick rate. Most see out their two year contract, but many don’t renew because Jordan’s not a long-term spot for everyone. Not many teachers stay past a second contract – the sort of person driven to be an international school teacher isn’t one who stays at the same place. Coming from schools where half the staff have served for decades to one where five years puts you in the “old timer” category was a real change.

It doesn’t matter so much with teachers, but the management likewise are all new in the last two years to their current posts, and many of them completely new to the school. My Head of Department is something like the fourth in five years. The result is that the school is always in flux. New systems are always being introduced and old mistakes repeated. That isn’t so good.

On the plus side, the school is quite wealthy and well resourced. Teachers get their own rooms. The IT set-up is good. Class sizes are small. It pays well – of the gripes in the staff room, none were about pay or resources. 

Staff are required to do extra-curricular stuff, but not necessarily much outside school hours, and certainly not all year. The teaching load isn’t particularly onerous, so the expectations are quite reasonable.

It’s a good school, which strives to do well by its students. 

For me it’s weakness is a lack of attention to detail regarding low-grade poor behaviour, which allows them to slip slowly into very poor habits. I think the school’s reliance on the good students mostly being obedient is allowing the poorly behaved to have too much freedom.

I’m not much of a disciplinarian, but I like to sweat the little stuff like arriving on time and wearing uniform.

It’s also a bit Hogwarts for my taste. House points, extra-curricula and challenges get far more focus than academic performance. They mean “community school” very literally. The parents have bought into that, and the students like it – but it just isn’t for me.