Gulf English School
Hi there
I am completely new here and wanted to get some good advice!
Currently we are living in Saudi Arabia, from the UK, my husband is a Science Teacher and we have 2 children aged 4 and 6. We have both just been offered jobs in Qatar at the Gulf English School.
We have pretty much made our decision to accept, the package is good, as well as the accommodation and the school looks good for the kids - extra curricular activities etc - which we don't have here at our current school! We feel that it would be a better and freer life for us all there, financially we would be better off, career wise for my hubby would be good as this is promotion and there seems to be more opportunities for our children.
What concerns me is that i have read some things on the net about the school basically saying do not work there!!! I know you always get disgruntled employees who go on a mission and I am trying to establish whether this is the case here! Obviously this is a huge move for us and don't want it to be a huge mistake!
Does anyone on here either work there, know anyone who works there, have children there etc - any info would be great!
Also what is it like to live in Qatar, beaches etc - we miss the ocean as we came from Wales right by the sea, and living in the mountains in the south of Saudi we don't see it very often! :-/
I have a good feeling about this opportunity but am obviously a bit panicked now I have seen some of the comments on the internet! I want this to work as everything so far has seemed great!
Ellie
xxx
Hi,
I know your comments are from over a year ago but I am struggling to find any recent comments about the Gulf English School. Did you or your husband end up working there? What did you think of the school? I have been offered a job and I need to make a decision by the end of the day and I would appreciate any information I can get.
Please help me make my decision :)
Thank you!!!
Hi Peggywoo,
Have you been working in the Gulf English School? I've just been offered a job for this year and I was wondering if you had been working there and what you thought. I would really like some information as I have to make a decision by the end of the day.
Thank you!!!
Hi Ellietot,
I am going to the same school to teach there next year!
I am also looking all over the internet and seeing some comments that don't promote the school that well!
Have you heard any other reviews - I'd really like to get in touch with some current teachers.
Hope to hear from you soon!
it's not so much about the students it is about the working conditions for the teachers, but for the children it does very much depend on what is available to them - eg our current school doesn't have many resources, no swimming, no extra curricular activities etc, whereas from what we have seen GES has a lot more resources and is larger.
Trooper, thanks for the advice - the problem is it depends on what is available at the time - my husband is looking for at least a Head of Science position, not many of those jobs around and Dave's cafe is very much focused on TEFL.
I am hoping our attitude of a place is what you make of it, we have an ethos of making the best of situations and enjoying what we have, so hopefully that should put us in good stead for whatever we enter in to!
xxx
try www.eslcafe.com and look for the job discussion forum for Qatar. Only teachers post there, so the comments may be more objective ;) IMHO, look for a job at one of the more reputable schools like Compass, Sherbourne, DESS, etc. Once here, you won't be able to switch sponsors so leaving will be your only choice if it turns out to be the wrong choice. Good luck!
Schools are overrated. It actually depends on the ability of the student whether he/she will succeed or not
Its a great school, go for it.
Bikinis on the hotel beaches and plenty of places for a tipple and a booze shop for home consumption. Schools are improving here but I'm not an expert on this one. I'll leave that for others to comment. However you are right, sone say the school is fantastic some say rubbish. Who to believe.
Qatar is a good place to travel from. Qatar airways opens up more routes each year and you can get more than an orange juice on the flight...
LOL - That made me laugh - you know my hubby is more desperate to get out than me - and I AM THE ONE WHO IS RESTRICTED!!!! lol - but tbh - Saudi has never bothered me the way it does some people, although I can very much understand why some people struggle here! And the freedom of Qatar compared to Saudi would be lush!!!! Beaches, no abaya, bikini on some beaches I understand?????? oh and the odd tipple of alcohol! ALL selling points! ;-)
What worried me is the job - the school hubby is at atm, is ok, as in we have good friends here and he does enjoy his job - it is mainly the lack of professional development, promotion opportunities and the facilities for the kids that really bother us - the GES looks to be far far superior in those areas - am just a bit panicked as one of the comments I have read said if you are planning to work at GES then RUN! A little concerning when you plan to uproot your entire family and make such a huge change!
Our motivation to move overseas 2 years ago was, well money obviously, but also to travel, I have always wanted to see everything in the world i possibly can so the thought of moving to another country is a good thing (in fact last November we drove from Abha, KSA to Dubai, just for the adventure! :-) ) So would love to experience Qatar as well, just hope the job is the right decision!!!!!
xxx
You have a chance to get out of the Saudi the open prison? Why are you still thinking about it.....
Yes they have beaches here and the lifestyle is good. Well apart from the nutters on QL....