Why Qatar Academy Doha is the school of choice in Qatar

Over the past 25 years, Qatar Foundation has worked to create a learning ecosystem designed to challenge the assumptions of classroom education, test new models of learning and prepare young people for a rapidly changing future. And the establishment of Qatar Academy Doha in 1996 represented an important building block in the foundations of this unique environment housed within Education City.

Sama Ayoub is a senior at Qatar Academy Doha (QAD) – a member of Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Pre-University Education. She joined the school 15 years ago, and since then has enjoyed a multitude of opportunities that have helped her realize her ambitions. “I will be forever grateful for the experience I have had at QAD,” she says.

“The school really focuses on nurturing students in a way that helps to bring out the best in them, supporting those who are willing to go that extra mile. Through the programs and courses offered by QAD – and Qatar Foundation – I was able to explore the fields of medicine and the sciences, which helped me decide what to study after high school and the career I’d like to pursue.”

Ayoub aspires to specialize in the study of medicine and being a student at QAD has brought her closer to achieving her dream, because of the school’s location within Education City.

“Being part of QAD, we were exposed to Education City universities. I learned about a research internship at Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar, because of our visits from these universities and was given the opportunity to find out what it would be like to study there.

“My experience at QAD has helped me gain a better outlook on life itself. I feel that QAD does not just nurture young people, but helps to equip people with the tools to tackle the world after high school.”

Speaking about how the school strives to prepare students for their future, Dwayne Smith, Assistant Principal, QAD Senior School, highlights the holistic learning environment in place at QAD, which includes a rich, enquiry-based International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum that enables students to be selective of their areas of studies, together with unique after school activities – from varsity sports to Model United Nations – that are often thought of, created, and led by the students themselves.

Smith emphasizes the importance QAD places on enabling student voice. “We provide a lot of opportunities for students to provide feedback, such as through our very active student council. We routinely seek feedback and feel like we have a good sense of what our students want and what challenges they are facing. We give them the opportunity to voice that, so we can collaboratively find solutions.”

Continuing, Smith highlights some of the other features of the school that makes it so unique, including a faculty of more than 200 international teachers, who are dedicated to supporting the students through their educational journey, and access to the multiple world-class facilities and buildings found throughout Education City.

“Not only do we take advantage of what we have here on a daily basis, but we do take opportunities to get out to some of the other facilities in Education City,” Smith says. “We’ve developed partnerships with the universities on the campus and are able to utilize their offerings, too. I don’t know where else in the world you would find this.”

Yasser Al-Nuaimi has four children – each of whom went through different education stages at the school, from preschool to senior school – with one son recently graduating.

Speaking about the school, Al-Nuaimi says: “QAD has always been keen to create a family environment behind its walls by involving us, the parents, in the school’s activities and events – in terms of both attendance and participation. They also make sure to keep us constantly updated on the achievements of our children during the year, especially in the early years.”

Al-Nuaimi believes that QAD has had a positive impact on his children during their time at the school, saying: “I believe that the most important thing about QAD is that it helps students build a strong and independent personality. There’s a constant follow-up for the student throughout their education journey and by the time they reach high school, they are confident, have opinions and are able to voice their ideas.

"The school does not focus on academic aspects only, but rather it is an integrated system that enriches the intellectual, physical, and creative aspects in students. Graduating from Qatar Academy Doha is like being given a passport to joining some of the best universities in the world and completing their academic journey in a specialization that will satisfy their ambitions.”

Admissions is now open for the academic year 2021/2022. For more information, please visit: www.qf.org.qa/education/pre-university-admissions