Haifa Al Khaifi approached the Gabbitas Dubai office looking for support for finding the right school in the UK for her son, Joud. Below we share how we help their family every step of the way.
Haifa was extremely busy with work, so was looking for an organisation that could take care of everything and help them make the right decision.
Joud had already been identified as dyslexic, so they were looking for boarding school that could provide specialist support whilst allowing Joud to pursue his passions.
Gabbitas were delighted to be able to help, providing a comprehensive itinerary of accompanied school visits in the UK and impartial advice on finding the right school in the UK.
What were they looking for?
With Joud’s dyslexia, they were looking for a school that could provide expert learning support surrounding his organisation skills and in English and maths.
But alongside this, his interests lay within creative media and notably digital games production. So they were looking for a school where he could thrive and pursue his passions.
With Haifa often travelling with work, they were looking for a school near an airport where both Haifa and Joud could easily fly in and out of Germany and Oman.
Finally with Joud looking for a Y10 entry place, it was always going to be more challenging. However, with our unrivalled relationships with schools in the UK we knew we could help.
How did we help?
Firstly, we assessed Jude’s strengths using the UKiset and Student Profiling tools. His results were undeniable; he should pursue his passions within computers.
Next we gave them lots of information on the different types of British schools in the UK and their different characteristics.
It can often be overwhelming for International families to get their head around the different timetables, exams and general ethos within different schools so we were delighted to make it easy to digest for Haifa and Joud.
Haifa had raised concerns about high profile cases in the news around the lack of effective pastoral care within boarding schools. However, due to our excellent relationships with the schools in the UK we were able to reassure her that Joud would be safe and happy.
The family were already so impressed with the service Gabbitas offered them, so they opted for an accompanied itinerary of school visits in the UK.
Based on their criteria, we set up schools visits traversing from the top to the bottom of the UK: starting at Merchiston Castle, then Strathallan School, next Bloxham School, Clayesmore School and finally Milton Abbey.
Milton Abbey was a late addition as Haifa wasn’t initially that keen. But through conversations with our Senior Consultant, we persuaded her to give it a try.
So despite being initially reluctant about Milton Abbey, after seeing the school they both knew it was the right place for Joud.
As a small school with strong support for dyslexia, they felt confident that his needs would be met.
Moreover, the fact they offered BTEC Creative Media (including modules on Digital Games Production) it was a no-brainer for them and would allow Joud to pursue his passions in games design.
Haifa was delighted with the in-depth professional knowledge that Gabbitas gave her and, especially as a busy person, the fact that we took care of everything.
Joud is now thriving at Milton Abbey and we are excited to see where his career in games design takes him!
