New senior leadership team at Dubai's Raffles International School

Dubai's Raffles International School has appointed several new senior leaders, including a new principal, head of secondary, and head of primary.

Zeba Khan has been promoted to principal. Khan brings more than 20 years of experience across public and private education in Middle East and Canada to her new role, and has been with Raffles International School since its inception and was most recently the school's vice principal and head of primary.

Commenting on her new role, Khan said: "I am truly honoured to be the instructional leader of such a wonderful school community. My vast and varied experience has made me appreciate that as a school we cannot stand still but must seize the exciting opportunities ahead and as a community stay true to our vision and core values, and committed to our journey, 'towards excellence'. Our wonderful student community is our biggest strength. Students of ninety-six different nationalities are exemplary in the way they seek to learn from one another."

Peter Rowlands joins Raffles International School as head of secondary. Rowlands has spent the majority of his career teaching in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Most recently, he was head of secondary at the International School in the Seychelles.

He has a strong background in the sciences, having earned a physics degree at university, followed by his time as a science and technology teacher.

His philosophy is one where the students are presented with choices across a broad and deep curriculum so that each one can shine as an individual. The students need to feel challenged to do their best and to know that important lessons need to be learnt from failure.




Also joining Raffles International is the new head of primary - Edward Cooper.

Over the course of his 20-year career, Cooper has worked in the public, private and PP sectors, helping to improve both primary and secondary schools, and has led schools across Africa, America, Asia and Europe.

Most recently, Cooper supported a group of independent primary schools in London in an executive head role whilst leading his own school to inspection and accreditation success. He has also recently trained and worked as a school inspector in the UK, and prior to that in the Americas.

Commenting on his new role, Cooper said: "I am honoured to be entrusted by Innoventures Education to lead the large primary phase at RIS. I am very excited to work for a highly reputable all-through school, which has a clear commitment to continuous improvement. RIS has come a long way since it was founded ten years ago, and as a school we are clear and invigorated about the journey ahead of us. Improving the outcomes for pupils at RIS is our top priority, and one that can only be achieved through a concerted, collaborative effort on the part of all stakeholders."