Sara Village School, Dhahran, is a British-style primary school teaching the National Curriculum of England for children aged four (Reception) to 11 years (Year 6), and serving employees of BAE Systems, the Ministry of Defence and, more recently, other residents of Sara Village Compound who may work for other companies.

The story so far...

Sara Village School (SVS) was founded on a specially designed campus in 2010 within Sara Village as a school for the children of compound residents. It is operated under contract to, and on behalf of BAE Systems through a Service Level Agreement, by not-for-profit International Schools Group, which operates the British School Dhahran, the American School Dhahran, ISG Jubail School and ISG Dammam School in the Eastern Province, and is licensed by the Ministry of Education and governed by a Board of Trustees. 

Sara Village School currently has approximately 100 students representing 10 countries including Saudi Arabia. The total capacity of the school is 156 students.  The majority of the teaching staff is British. 

Unsurprisingly, given the student numbers, Sara Village School has small classes, consisting of Foundation 2 (Reception class),  Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) and Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6), with just one class per year group - seven classes in total - each of which has its own classroom and several specialist areas, allowing plenty of space. 

The school is led by Richard Charlesworth as Principal.  Mr. Charlesworth has worked in education for over 16 years and has taught in the UK, Thailand and Saudi Arabia in both primary and secondary schools. He joined ISG in 2015 as a Business Studies and Economics teacher at the British School Dhahran (BSD). In 2018 he joined ISG’s Teaching and Learning Office as the Coordinator for School Improvement, where he led a wide range of initiatives and projects across all ISG schools.

Mr. Charlesworth has a BSc (Hons) in Accounting and Finance from The University of Bradford, a PGCE in Business Education, an MA in Teaching and Learning from the University of Manchester, and a Certificate in School Management and Leadership from Harvard University. He is currently undertaking the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) with University College London. As a newcomer to Sara Village School, Mr. Charlesworth aims to inspire Innovation and Compassionate Action through promoting and implementing research based best practices for teaching and learning.  Mr. Ashworth’s wife, Sarah, is a primary teacher at ISG’s British School Dammam, and has three young children.’

Sara Village School says that it offers a “unique approach, a commitment to educational excellence and a strong partnership with parents.”   The school staff ensure that students experience 21st century learning in a safe, positive and nurturing environment. 

A focus on ‘caring’ is a theme that seems to run through the school. According to Principal Richard Charlesworth, “the caring environment created by all staff and the nurturing community surrounding the school make it a place where children can really learn and thrive. Testament to this is the fact that Sara Village School won the Global Empathy Awards 2022, which is an incredible achievement for both students and staff.” 

Not only does the school aim to provide a ‘measurable educational opportunity’ for its students through a focus on learning which is engaging and enjoyable, but it also aims to be a “cause of professional satisfaction among the staff and a source of pride within the community we serve.”

The school shares its Mission with the other ISG four schools – “We inspire innovation and compassionate action.” Its Core Values are – “Respect, acceptance, integrity, responsibility ...with a commitment to act.”

What about the curriculum?

Sara Village School follows the National Curriculum for England adapted to encompass local customs and those of other nationalities. The Key Stage 1 programme is child-centred, with the needs of young children at the forefront of the curriculum, while Key Stage 2 further develops key skills and builds students' independent learning abilities.

The school appears to be exceptionally well-resourced, providing a PC and a tablet for every student, which means that individual learning can be specifically tailored to each student’s abilities. The school also offers specialist teaching and resources, with teachers being able to access materials for literacy, numeracy, languages, sciences, information technology, art, music, drama or PE.  Students work predominantly with their class teacher, while also receiving specialist teaching in native or non-native Arabic, creative arts and PE from Year 2.

Teaching resources are said to reflect the requirements of a Western expatriate primary school, while being sensitive to its particular international setting. The most appropriate and current texts to support learning through the National Curriculum for England, together with a testing system designed to monitor progress and attainment, allow the school community to compare SVS against any school using these and other standardised assessments worldwide.

In addition to the academic, after School Activities (ASAs) in a variety of interest areas are offered to students throughout the year on week days except for Thursday. These activities begin at the end of the school day (2.15 pm) and last for one hour. Some activities may also take place during lunchtime.

What about the Facilities?

Sara Village School occupies a modern school building and offers high quality facilities including bright, spacious, purpose-built classrooms linked with airy corridors and open spaces utilised for colourful displays of current learning topics. There are specialist facilities for art and craft, design technology, music and science. There is also a dedicated library and a computer room. Students use the compound sporting/recreational facilities for PE, which are all very close,  together with dedicated areas on the school site.

The school is equipped with the latest technology to facilitate learning, which includes interactive touch screens, computers in every classroom, Chromebooks and iPads sufficient for every student in Key Stage 1 and 2, dedicated internet provision, a wireless environment, and a computerised library package which enables students to access information using both physical and electronic sources. The library has more than 1,000 titles covering a wide range of topics encompassing both reference and fiction aimed at all reading levels, from beginner to age 12. Every student visits each week, assisted by the librarian, with access to a comfortable environment conducive to study or leisure engagement.

There are a number of outdoor areas that are well-used by the students, including shaded picnic and play areas with state-of-the-art playground equipment, and a grassed sports field where students participate in football and track and field activities during the cooler months.

The Buzz

Being a small school, as would be expected, this is a very tight-knit community and there is a family feeling. The school has two specific parent groups which organise on behalf of the parent community - 

The self-elected SVS Parents Association supports school functions and sponsors their own events such as charity fund raising, concerts and performances as well as mixed adult and student social events (bonfire night, etc.) for students and families, whilst Sara Parents Advisory Group meets at least once a term with the Principal and representatives of the staff, to discuss school improvement issues. 

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What about the fees?

The SVS website does not provide fee information.  However, as a guide to fees in other ISG English National Curriculum schools, the fees for Primary years at ISG's British School Dhahran start at 65,765 SAR for FS2 (Reception), falling to 61,650 SAR for students from Year 1 to Year 6.  These fees do not include VAT.  Students joining BSD for Year 7 will face fees of 65,325 SAR to Year 9 and 73,200 SAR for Years 10 to 13.

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