Dukhan English School

History

The school field with the Specialist Block in the background

The Dukhan English School is one of the oldest English Medium schools in Qatar. It traces its origins back to the early 1950s when British Petroleum, the operators of the Dukhan Field at that time, established a school at what is now Dukhan Water Sports.

A class from 1954

The school soon outgrew its early roots and was moved to a villa in the senior staff housing area. Many people remember with affection the work of Sheila Smith who was the schoolmistress in the 1960s. The 1960s also saw the establishment of the Dukhan Nursery, run by Alice Lishman. When Alice left Dukhan, the nursery was taken over by Qatar General Petroleum Corporation and amalgamated with the Primary School.

As the Dukhan oil operations grew, the school continued to expand and in September 1996 QGPC gave permission for Year 7 to be started. This was the beginning of the Secondary Section of Dukhan English School, and saw the completion of the work begun by the pioneers of the 1950s.

The Secondary section has grown considerably since then and today offers English, English Literature, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Information Technology, History, Geography, Design Technology, Art and Design, Business Studies, Development Studies, French and Arabic, PE, taught up to the IGCSE level.

The School Today

Today, the school caters for the full age range three to sixteen and is staffed by teachers mostly from the United Kingdom. In September 2007 a Sixth Form will start, which will mean that the school will have around 800 pupils.