Welcome

Thank you for considering taking the step of your career with The British School, Alexandria.

The British School, Alexandria (NOR 440) seeks applications from enthusiastic, hard working and talented teachers seeking to develop their teaching career in an international setting.

We have recently celebrated our 30th Anniversary and continue to be one of the leading schools in Alexandria. The school is a 3-18 British international school. It is recognised by the DfE and is an accredited member of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS). It is a high achieving and forward thinking school with a family atmosphere which enjoys an excellent reputation. We are committed to ensuring excellent learning and teaching in a caring environment. You will find the school a rewarding and friendly place to work with good relationships between staff and students. We have a strong commitment to the professional development of all our staff.

Alexandria is a bustling, friendly and cosmopolitan city on the Mediterranean full of historical interest. Life for teachers is relaxed and safe with a relatively low cost of living and a good infrastructure, shops, cafes and restaurants to lead a European lifestyle. Most teachers are able to save at least 60% of their salary and at the same time enjoy exploring Egypt. Although from time-to-time Egypt appears in the media, you will find that living in Alexandria is in reality similar to living in any other big city with no particular security issues and a strong and stable government.

The British School, Alexandria is a small independent co-educational and dynamic British school with a family focus and an ambitious agenda for its students. Our school is accredited by the BSME and BSO and a full member of COBIS. Our last successful OfSETD/BSO inspection was in May 2013. Within our faculty we have fully qualified teachers who are single, married teaching couples with children and Egyptian teachers in the Arabic department. The Board of Governors is very supportive, ambitious and strategic. Our Patron is HM Consul General Caroline Alcock.

Living and working in Alexandria is a safe and thoroughly worthwhile personal and career choice.

Alexandria has an ancient history and is well connected for regional and international travel. Despite the headlines about Egypt our school and our suburb is a haven and never troubled by any disturbances. All teachers live in sole occupancy furnished school provided apartments within 10 minutes walk of the school. Living costs are low so most teachers are able to save more than 70% of their income if they wish to. Alexandria is a vibrant, large economically developing north African city.

The school is located in the suburb of Roushdy around Kafr Abdou Street. This area is known for its tree lined residential streets and cafe society. There a very good supermarkets and shops close by as well as local fruit and vegetable shops and other shopping. The school is housed on a number of small campuses, one of which was previously large family home. Whilst this is not ideal in some respects it does afford the school great character and a place in the life of our community. Stables block is on part of the Consulate grounds. We have good classrooms and a good range of facilities. Class sizes are small with many Year 7-12 lessons taught in groups of less than 12. Pre-Prep and Prep school classes each have a dedicated teaching assistant. Educational resources and the teaching environment are very good indeed. There have been recent investments in IT including interactive white boards.

Students participate fully in a wide variety of after school activities and trips. Recently our students participated for the second year in the BSME debating competition in Bahrain, last year students travelled to the UN Green Conference in Sharm El Sheikh and for the second year our Head Boy and Head Girl and Upper School students participated in the COBIS Student Leadership conference. Lower School students visited the North Coast for a geography and science field trip and students frequently visit places of interest in the city. In February 2015 30 students will spend a week in England.

Examination results at GCSE, IGCSE and AS Level are outstanding. In Prep-Prep and Prep schools the children make excellent progress and enjoy a rich school life. There is a continuous focus on the further development of learning and teaching, curriculum and assessment making the school a forward looking organisation.

I look forward to receiving your application and in the meantime I hope you the information available to you useful.

Justin Blakebrough
Principal CEO

Background information on The British School, Alexandria

The British School, Alexandria was established in 1984 in the grounds of the British Consulate. Located in the residential district of Roushdy, The school benefits from easy access to local resources. Over the past 30 years it has expanded onto two further sites and now educates around 400 students from more than 20 different countries. The British School, Alexandria is a member of BSME and an Associate Member of COBIS. The School is overseen by a Board of Governors who represent a broad spectrum of Alexandrian life, and includes the Leadership Team.

The School aims to offer the highest quality of British-style education to the local and expatriate communities; the students range from the ages of 3 to 18. Our youngest pupils are taught at Abou Ela Villa and Wilson Building where Foundation Stages 1 and 2 and Years 1 and 2 are nurtured in warm and caring surroundings. The children use some of the facilities of our adjoining Senior School, including the hard sports court and assembly hall. Years 3 to 6 are housed on the Consulate Campus. Year 7 to 13 are taught at the Euclid Campus which is a short walk from The Consulate Campus.

Our children come from many nationalities, but we benefit from having a very stable, family orientated school community. Most of our pupils remain at the British School, Alexandria for their entire school careers which gives us the time to build very strong working relationships with pupils and parents. We have high expectations and are working hard to keep raising achievement at all levels in the school. Enthusiastic, qualified UK staff of all ages and experience give our students every support, both academically and socially. Parental satisfaction is high and we are striving to offer quality in all we do.

It’s an exciting time to be living in Egypt. While the international media might have the world thinking otherwise, here in Alexandria staff feel safe and secure and are able to go about their daily business as usual. The general populace is welcoming and genuinely interested in foreigners who choose to live and work in Alexandria. We believe we are living through a seminal moment in the history of the region and are eye witness to the ongoing development of Egypt, North Africa and the Middle East.