King Faisal School Riyadh

[Open Communication]

Does anyone have any information on this school?

[Open Communication]

There is no info on the school at ISR or anywhere else that I can see.
1. Is the package as described at SA, is it good?
2. Are students and admin pleasant?
3. Are accomodations adequate/nice?
4. Is there PD?
5. How is life in Riyadh?

Why wouldn't you work there?

[alecsmario]

any new info?

[shadowjack]

King Faisal School is on the DQ in west Riyadh (Diplomatic Quarter). Teachers are housed in apartments on the DQ. They are ok, but not great. It is nominally a full IB school under the auspices of the King Faisal Foundation, which also runs Al Faisal University.

The package is ok, but not super. You do get what you are promised as per my friend who used to work there.

Students can be a handful. The MYP when I was in Saudi was not done in English much, so that students were at a disadvantage when they came to the DP - not because they didn't speak English, but because they didn't know the subject language and terminology in English.

Admin can be so/so, as can students. You are dealing with rich Saudi families: that said, some rich Saudi families I know value education A LOT - because they had a good education when many of their countrymen did not, and they know the advantages it bestows. Others care not so much.

As mentioned, accommodations are so so. My friends had some plumbing problems and it took quite a while to get them fixed, with lots of nagging and follow-up.

Finally, life in Riyadh is exactly what you make of it. Some people spend all their time and energy making the rounds of the embassy parties and functions. Some spend their time fossil hunting in the desert. Some join the Harley Club and go for rides most weekend mornings. Others join the Riyadh Rovers group and go out trekking amid the sand dunes and deserts of Saudi, far and wide. Others do nothing except go to work and go home and complain that there is nothing to do. Still others join the Salsa Group, or the Loose Boots group and learn dancing . Some join the football league, or the rugby team. Others become brewmeisters. Some join one of the two hashes that meet every weekend and that are totally unlike any other HHH group you have belonged to/been with. Tamer, but you will have times of year when you regularly have 130 to 200 people out, every hash. Some go in for shopping. Others complain there is nothing to do in Riyadh and sit at home. Still more go golfing at Dirab or Riyadh Dunes. Some take off to Bahrain every weekend. Some fly to Lebanon for a weekend, or go to Kuwait or the Emirates or Qatar or take a tour of Sanaa in Yemen - but they stick with the tour and do not go outside of the old city, which is the World Heritage Site with amazing wind towers and old architecture that are stunning. Some go to Maidan Saleh, the sister city of Petra. Others go to Jeddah for the weekend. Some will go scuba diving or snorkeling at the Farasan Islands, which is amazingly pristine dive waters that you will never get to if you are not in Saudi. Others join the choral society, take music lessons, or join the drama group.

I could list more, but you get the drift. Did I tell you that there are many expats in Riyadh who complain there is nothing to do in the community? Why? Because nothing in Riyadh, or indeed in Saudi, will come find YOU. YOU have to go find IT. And if you ask around...it is definitely there. While I am glad to be out of Saudi and on a new phase of my life, I DO miss it, miss the people, the culture, and the opportunities there that had nothing to do with teaching. And yes, at some point I may go back, if the situation is right and if Mrs. S wants to as well.

Good luck!

[alecsmario]

thanks for the info!

[Flyingpigs]

Shadowjack--what an inspiring post!! LOVE IT. Taking the time to list all the things to do, provides a wealth of information and definitely shows the two sided coin. Well done. :)