Dubai College caretaker earns Unsung Hero gong

Dubai College's head caretaker Conceicao Sousa was named Unsung Hero of the Year at the Education Journal Middle East Awards, which were held at Grosvenor House Dubai on May 3.

Sousa has been on the not-for-profit school's payroll since almost the very beginning, and will retire at the end of the academic year after 33 years of service.

Sousa manages a team of 15 support staff and has worked with five headmasters and two bursars during his tenure at Dubai College.

"It feels great to win tonight. I've really enjoyed working at Dubai College. The bursars and headmasters were always very good to me, and I wish I could work for them a lot longer," Sousa told Education Journal Middle East.

Among the many testimonials for Sousa that impressed judges was one by Dubai College director of sport Andy Jones, who said: "Conceicao is the glue of Dubai College, ensuring that everything works smoothly. He manages his role and that of our caretakers with humour and humility. He is universally respected by the youngest student to the oldest member of staff. An honest, hard-working and unassuming Gent."

The Highly Commended unsung hero nominee was Raffy Santos from Dubai International Academy. Other shortlisted nominees included Ashwin Mhalsekar from Uptown School, Dr Maha Aljurd from The Winchester School - Jebel Ali, and Sunesh Kumar from Greenfield Community School.

The Education Journal Middle East Awards were sponsored by STS, Atlab, TELLAL Institute, Evolve Uniforms, iCademy Middle East, and Risalla Consulting.