Teach Middle East Podcast

Educating For The Saudi ArabiaVision 2030 While Staying True To British Roots with Jeremy Newton

• Teach Middle East • Season 6 • Episode 10

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We talk with Jeremy Newton, director of schools at the British International School Riyadh, about leading seven campuses during Saudi Arabia’s rapid transformation and how a non-profit British model adapts to local needs and Vision 2030. We explore AI in the curriculum, enrichment that prepares students for an uncertain future, and the school’s unexpected cameo on the Riyadh Monopoly board.

• Jeremy’s path from East London to Riyadh
• Life and opportunity in Riyadh for families
• Vision 2030 as a practical guide for schools
• Non-profit identity and community service
• Balancing the British curriculum with Arabic and local history
• REACH 2030 strategic planning across campuses
• AI education, ethics and device use in schools
• Enrichment pillars, trips and real-world experiences
• Riyadh Monopoly board feature and school culture
• Advice to teachers considering roles in Saudi Arabia

Teach Middle East Magazine is the premier platform for educators and the entire education sector in the Middle East and beyond. Our vision is to equip educators with the materials and tools they need to function optimally in and out of the classroom. We provide a space for educators to connect and find inspiration, resources, and forums to enhance their teaching techniques, methodologies, and personal development. We connect education suppliers and service providers to the people who make the buying decisions in schools.

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Hosted by Leisa Grace Wilson

Connect with Leisa Grace:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/leisagrace

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SPEAKER_00:

You are listening to the Teach Middle East podcast. Connecting, developing, and empowering educators.

SPEAKER_02:

Hey everyone, Lisa Grace here with an episode of the Teach Middle East podcast on my on my I nearly said on my sofa as if I'm sitting in an No on the podcast today, people, I have Jeremy Newton, and Jeremy is the director of schools at the British International Schools in Riyadh. And he is, he was just telling me that he's got to spread his wings across seven campuses and making sure that everything goes smoothly. But he also said he's got some fantastic heads of schools that are doing what needs to be done. So his job is to make sure that it all hums along nicely. Welcome to the podcast, Jeremy.

unknown:

Thanks.

SPEAKER_01:

You did a really good job of describing that. Good on you. And thank you for having me on today. And hello to all of your listeners. It's a real pleasure to be here.

SPEAKER_02:

You're welcome. I dare not say where I knew you from, but he was at a neighboring school, guys, when I met him, and now he's at BISR. Wanted to chat to you a little bit about your journey, Jeremy. Like what brought you to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia? When did you get there? And how has it been so far?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, good. Thanks. We'll start from the beginning. So I'm Jeremy and I'm from Bethnal Green in East London. I'm a proud East Londoner. That was where I was born and raised. My mum still lives on the same street there. So if you ever see me knocking around the Cobis Conference or anything similar, you'll more than likely find me in my old bedroom from when I was a kid back on Seaford Street by Bethnal Green Park. So that's where it all started. And I still go back there frequently. And I became an English teacher in my early to mid-20s, working at Kingsford Community School, which is in Becton, under Joan Daylon's now OBE, who's been there, predated me joining, and is still there. And she's done an amazing job at Kingsford Community School. I married my wonderful wife, who's from Venezuela, Adelise. And we are bringing our two boys, Jacob and Alexander, up bilingually. So when Jacob was one year old, we decided to look internationally because we wanted to be closer to my wife's family who were in Madrid by then. So in 2017, we moved to Madrid and I took up a position at King's College School in La Moraleja, which was originally founded by Sir Roger Fries, now part of the Inspired Group. And we were there happily for five years, had our second son there, worked under June Donan as the head teacher at that school. Before being approached to apply for an incredible position that I never thought would ever arise, and not that I knew anything of it, which was to move to Saudi Arabia in 2022 to become the senior principal at MISC schools under Dr. Stefan Sommer, who remains there. So when the opportunity to apply came through, there were some pretty frank and open conversations at home about this potential opportunity. But once we began to research as a family what's happening here in the kingdom and what life is like as a professional, the opportunities, the developments, the experiences, the day-to-day life here, we realized pretty quickly that we wanted to jump at the chance. Um, this is a good while ago now, and there's lots of different types of press around the kingdom. But what we found is as soon as we began to do our research, and it bore out to be true, this is an incredible place to live and work. So we moved in 22. Works at MISC Schools, you say it's fine, you can say the name. We're all still friends and everything's good. And we had an incredible experience there. Stefan and I, with all of the wonderful team there at MISC, we opened a brand new campus, of course, under the founder of His Royal Highness Mohammed bin San Man, whose school it is really. And we took that school from strength to strength until this opportunity came up. It was advertised last September. My kids have been happily here at the school all the way through, so I knew a lot about it and had always hoped to go on to lead a truly excellent British international school, which is what BISR is. So I was successfully in my application, joined officially on August the 1st, although it feels like it's been a lot longer. And I'm really enjoying my time. We're about three months in now.

SPEAKER_02:

Amazing. And you know, when you were talking, I was like, it's so interesting how people's lives move. It's almost like what we're gonna talk about later on with a monopoly board. It's almost like you make this move and it leads to that move and then it leads to another move. So it was Madrid and then it was Saudi Arabia, but it all started back in East London. Oh, wait, East London. Um so we have no beef with East London people. You know, I'm a Tottenham girl. I have no beef with London. We're good. We're still north of the river, so we're cool. But all fun aside, what is it like in Saudi Arabia in terms of the excitement and the flurry around schools now with the kingdom being so much more open and so much more things happening in the 2030 vision? What's life like there?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so let's start personally and then we'll do professionally as well. It's an incredibly exciting place to live. I'll say that. So we're about to move into the Riyadh season when the weather cools and everybody heads outside. So Boulevard World and Boulevard City will open their doors. There are array of opportunities for people to engage with sports and experiences outside. There's trips that you can do all around the kingdom. Pace of life is fast. Um, you do spend a decent amount of time in the car getting to and from work. Housing options are brilliant. People find themselves very comfortable here. There are opportunities for you to engage in pretty much any sport or pastime that you want to. It's incredibly safe. My children spend or can go out freely in ways that they would never have done in London. That's for certain. And there are lots of different communities that you can engage in. Work life, certainly the education sector, this is the boom market. The schools are opening all of the time. We can talk about those a little bit later. Of course, BISR welcomes them. BISR remains the only non-profit British international school here in Riyadh. So we're really clear about what our identity is. And we also know that we have a duty to support other schools who are moving because it can be complex, starting up schools. And lots of heads have done so successfully, but they'll certainly testify that it took quite a lot of work. So there's a good dozen or two schools now. There is growing demand for international education, certainly among the Saudi community, but also amongst the growing expat population. I was lucky enough to be at the Ministry of Education last week talking about plans for the World Cup and how the country was gearing up. And I heard informally, so off the record, but I'm sure I can say it, that there's intentions to have a 50% expatriate population here by the time the World Cup comes round. But Saudi Arabia is not like the United Arab Emirates or and it's not like Qatar, where the population is dominated by its patriots. So this is a large country full of very proud Saudis who call this country their home. And we are guests in this country. We come to live and to work and to serve and to do our best to support the development of what's going on, and it's an incredible place to be.

SPEAKER_02:

Tell me then, in terms of the Vision 2030, how is that shaping up and how is BISR positioning itself in there as a non-profit British international school?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So if you haven't read Vision 2030, go and do so. It's readily available as a PDF. It takes on this mythical aura, doesn't it? If there's this vision, but it's literally a document. People can go and read it, and you can read about all of the work that's happening in many sectors. The key quote that applies, I think, to the work that we're doing here is the following. In here is Royal Highness King Salman says that Saudi Arabia wants to attract the finest Saudi and foreign minds and provide them with all that they need. And that's really been the thing that's been in my mind over the last few months as I've taken on the directorship here at BISR. I think that's what we're here to do. We're here to provide the expatriate community with everything that they need from a school. We're here to attract the very finest minds to come and study here, but also stay here. It is a challenge for many expatriate families moving to Riyadh. Housing's a big problem in terms of supply, and schools are a big problem as well in terms of supply. There isn't that much choice. And lots of expatriate families may decide that they don't think the quality of education in Riyadh is good enough for them to want to stay for a long time. What we want to do is to provide the very best of British education. So families can stay in Riyadh, they can raise their children here, they can pursue their career here, and they know that they have a school that will provide them with all that they need. That's of course a top education, but everything else, that's extracurricular activities, trip, safety, well-being, and all that we do here at BISR.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. And I think what happens when people find that school and it meets their needs, they tend to feel a lot more settled. You know, as a parent, you're thinking you want to make sure your child is getting the very, very best. And so, how are you guys balancing that British curriculum with all the standards, but also making sure it's integrated well with the Saudi vision and supporting Saudi students as well, because it's not just about expatriates.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right. It's a brilliant question. And this has been the most fun I've ever had in trying to figure out exactly what it is that we should balance. So over the course of the last two months, we've said we've got seven campuses here across the kingdom. I visited each of the campuses to meet all of the students, all of the staff, and all of the parents. And we're collaborating together on something that we're calling REACH 2030. It's our new vision and strategic plan for the school because there are big questions to answer, like the ones that you pose. What is it that we want as a school? How much should we be providing for the local needs as well as the international needs? Now, we were founded in 1979, so we're about to turn 46. And when we were founded in 1979 by the British and Dutch embassies, of course, the expatriate community here were very different. People would stay for a couple of years on a short-term contract and then might leave. So at the time we opened our doors to anybody who wanted to come, we're a non-selective school. Of course, now the Expatriate community has changed significantly. We have people who want to stay and work here for a long time and they want something that's very different. Here across our campuses, we offer the full British curriculum from foundation stage one up to year 13. We offer a full suite of GCSEs, IB, A level, and B tech. So all pathways can be followed across our campuses. We must adapt to local cultures and customs as well as sensitivities. So, for example, in our history lessons, we might teach local history as opposed to a standard Key Stage 2 history lesson, for example. And we make sure that all of our students learn Arabic and we also offer that as a GCSE in an A level as well for those students who are interested in doing so. But as I say, the most enjoyable part recently is be meeting everybody to find out exactly what it is that they do want. And we're working through that now.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that's brilliant. And you guys have kind of made history recently. I met your two brilliant boys earlier because you guys made history. Everybody who has played board games knows about Monopoly. And somehow you guys have managed to get your own square on the Riyadh Monopoly board. Tell me about that.

SPEAKER_01:

We have there's so much to say here. The first thing to say is a massive thank you to Adam and Fiona Jackson, who are two parents here at our diplomatic quarter campus, who have been so happy and impressed by the work of the team here under Anna Power, the principal at this school, that they wanted to reach out and offer the opportunity really as a kind gesture. They led on the Monopoly project here. You know, Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932, and Monopoly debuted in 1935, so they're almost a similar age. And you're right, Monopoly holds a unique place. It's one of these long established games that everybody loves, which actually is very similar to our position. We're the traditional British international school here in Riyadh, and I think the synergy between the two organizations is brilliant. And anecdotally, uh, yes, you met my two boys just a moment ago, Alexander and Jacob. Now, BISR is a brown square on the Monopoly game. And if you remember uh Monopoly, Lisa, you'll know that Whitechapel is a brown square, and we've taken the Whitechapel Square, and it was in the Royal London Hospital on the Whitechapel Road that I was born, and also my oldest son Jacob. So when you talk about life chances moving you around, there's another one. Born in Whitechapel and now uh leading the school that has appeared on the Whitechapel Square on Monopoly. But really, it's an honor and a privilege for us to have been asked to do that, and it positions us now for the future. We're 45 years old, we expect to be here for another 45 years, and it's so wonderful to be part of a permanent fixture such as Monopoly Read, which is launching this month, I believe, for retail.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow. So can you imagine the students of the school playing Monopoly at home, maybe with friends or with their parents, and they're like, oh, we've just landed on EISR. That's that is way cool. I really, really like that. And so, what is the school doing to commemorate this? What are you guys doing to celebrate this achievement?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and unfortunately, due to the logistics of this, we couldn't quite get all of the images we were showing you earlier in that we have grand size monopoly money dotted around our campuses. There are, of course, unique different pieces for the Monopoly game. So one of them is a camel. So we asked politely if we could take the camel from the launch of Monopoly. So we were all invited to the launch of Monopoly. That happened in June. And thank you to the invitation. So, of course, there was a lot of press there when we spoke about the school and our work. You will find the Monopoly board upon its launch in all of our classrooms here across our schools, and we'll be doing all that we can to promote the wonderful game as it launches here in Riyadh for the first time.

SPEAKER_02:

How cool is that?

SPEAKER_01:

That is really a freaking cool immediately thing. And it's the best story. I love the fact that we're Whitechapel. You could just have played it out. It's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02:

You wouldn't you wouldn't have been able to make that up, I don't think. So, how does BISR students, how are they being prepared? And I'm moving from Monopoly to the game of life. Yeah. How are they being prepared for careers that are emerging? Because I know as a traditionally British school, we can be quite academic. I went to a Church of England boarding school for my sins. So I know what the tradition is like, but how are students now being prepared for, you know, specific careers that are emerging out of that 2030 vision?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And in some ways, education can be really, really quite simple. You know, we want our students to be happy, we want them to be safe, and we want them to learn really well. We have three pillars here at BISR that's learning, enrichment, and well-being. And we're very conscious that we cannot prevent the hand of time from ticking, but that we have a moral responsibility to ensure that our students are as prepared as they can be. So we have an incredibly wide range of qualifications for all students to take. But on top of that, our enrichment program is incredible from AI and coding to trips abroad to sports. My educational philosophy is that every student can, every student has the ability within themselves. And it's our job as educators to provide them with all that they need for them to be able to flourish. So we're working closely with agencies, both here within the kingdom and further afield, to prepare them for the AI life that they're embarking on. Our integration of devices from year three up has been a real success. There's debate around, of course, the age group with which devices should be given out, and we're working through that to ensure that we're taking those things responsibly. Students take part in sponsored placements and experiences outside the classroom that really are beyond any school I've ever worked at. And I must send credits are the enrichment pillar of staff who look after all of the trips and experiences that they go through. So, as I've said, we are a school that is non-selective. We want students to be welcome here and we want to provide them with whatever career they want to choose or elect to take part in. And we hope that we're preparing them suitably for the future, whatever that holds.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I think it's a hard question. I asked it and then while you were answering it, I was like, that's a very hard question. I think we don't prepare students for careers. We prepare students for life, and they choose and adapt and learn and unlearn as the world and as things evolve, because we don't necessarily know what the careers will look like in 10 years. So we can't.

SPEAKER_01:

At least if you don't mind me saying, you know, I agree with your analysis that there is so much I could say about the diversification and the move away from the oil economy here in the kingdom and what jobs will look like. But I think it'd be presumptuous of me to assume that I know. We want to ensure that our students are really well equipped with everything that they need. And that's academic, but it's also them as individuals. And the wonderful thing about moving to this school is the level of happiness and care and joy that you see in students' faces beyond anything I've ever experienced. And really a big shout out to all of the school leaders here across our seven schools for making the atmosphere such. It's a brilliant place for your students to come and study here at BISR.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I actually have kind of a throwaway question for you. We're going off scripts. I take people off script. Be aware, be warned. No, but seriously, it is a question I always ask school leaders. And because you have oversight of seven campuses, and I know that you have obviously, as you have mentioned earlier, a history of leading great schools. I wanted to find out from you what are you seeing now in the classroom that excites you? Like what programs, what initiatives, what are you seeing that is exciting? Because I think my listeners love to know what's cutting edge, like what's happening out there.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And you're based in the UAE, aren't you?

SPEAKER_02:

I am. I'm based in beautiful Abu Dhabi.

SPEAKER_01:

There you go. So what we know from this summer is that both the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have announced that artificial intelligence must be explicitly taught in the curriculum from the start of the next academic year. Now, the United Kingdom government have not mandated that. So it won't be part of the British curriculum. But here in a school, therefore, that straddles both, we have a responsibility to determine exactly how we're going to begin to explicitly teach AI, not just the use of it, but the ethics, the coding, the practicalities. And that's what really excites me at the moment because we're in a unique position to be able to make that decision. We're not mandated by KSA to follow a particular curriculum, and the United Kingdom hasn't done so. And as I've been on tour, as I've said, speaking to parents and students across all of our communities about exactly how they want to do, that's been the thing that's actually caused the most debate, Lisa. I must say, we've got such strong views. And I think I have a big responsibility, both with the implementation of AI, but also the use of devices within schools to determine what's best for our school community and how we're going to do it. I'm a huge fan of Century Tech. I've used those in my previous schools, and I really believe in using AI in a way that's going to help students achieve academic outcomes that exceed what we expect from them, but also our responsibility for ensuring that our students are using devices in an appropriate way. And I think that's one of our biggest challenges this year.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. I think also when you think about the whole AI thing, a massive thing is AI literacy. We host the AI in education summit, and next year it's going to be in April in Dubai. And we call it the summit for the people who tinker. Because it is definitely not something you can keep your finger on and think it's not going to change. It's changing so rapidly. There is so much happening. But I believe education, I think our job is to help our students to test and to see where they fit rather than prescribe what they should be doing, help them to understand what is it that they can do with it and allow them to kind of explore. I've got a question for you, and this might be my last question. Saudi Arabia still holds that mystery about it in the West. What would you say to a teacher who is looking at Saudi Arabia as a potential place to go and work? Why should they choose it?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So let's narrate that a little bit. When I started as a recruiter here in the kingdom in 2022, they were the first adverse that I was placing. Recruitment was a difficult piece of work for schools. This was back at MISC. Lots of people don't have access to the information that they should about the kingdom. Lots of people have heard or read things that may be misleading about what life is like here. Saudi Arabia is an incredibly safe place to live and work. Opportunities are abundant. The lifestyle is incredible. Almost everybody who moves here that I've met has settled well. And that includes all of the staff here, both at BISR and previously at MISC. If you're considering moving to Saudi Arabia and you've seen a job that you're interested in, I would suggest you go T I Throw, you jump on a Saudi or a BA flight. They run regular throughout the day. You come over to Riyadh and you pay a visit. You come and visit our schools, you come and visit the football teams, you come and visit Boulevard World, and you see it for yourself. Because regardless of the country that you're in, we know that there are narratives abounds, and experiencing things firsthand are the only way to know the real truth and how you'll react to something. You're all welcome. If anybody would ever like to come and visit us at any of our seven campuses at BISR, including you, Lisa, you're always more than welcome and will make you feel at home.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you so much. Thanks for being on the podcast, Jeremy.

SPEAKER_01:

No, thank you for inviting me, for meeting my kids, for seeing the Monopoly money, and for all of your work, Lisa.

SPEAKER_02:

It's been brilliant. Thank you.

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