All Change at the top at Cranleigh Abu Dhabi

The Top School in Abu Dhabi according to sister site, SchoolsCompared.com, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, is welcoming a new head as its hugely influential founding principal leaves for GEMS Education.

According to The National newspaper, Mike Wilson, the current Headmaster of Cranleigh Prep School in the United Kingdom, will take over from Brendan Law at the start of the next academic year.

According to information sent to WhichSchoolAdvisor.com Wilson has been "hugely involved" in the Cranleigh Abu Dhabi story, with a role before Law's. Cranleigh is "in his veins". The up coming head has held various roles at the UK school for a total of 25 years. He is said to be "resolute, principled, ambitious and passionate about education and what it should give children".

"What he will bring in addition is a real focus on the detail which any young school needs as it starts to move into a more mature phase of its development."

Wilson is already a member of the Abu Dhabi board and wrote the school’s curriculum plan.

Law, who was named on WhichSchoolAdvisor.com's Most Influential List, will start at GEMS Education as its Vice President of Education with responsibility for the company’s British schools. He moves to GEMS in March next year, at the end of the second term.

Law told The National he had “hugely mixed emotions".

“These are remarkable staff and children and I am very fortunate. They are all very dear to me. Being the founding head has been a huge privilege.”

Among those paying tribute to Law were Mohammed Al Mubarak, TDIC Chairman. In a joint statement with Adrian Lajtha, Chairman of Cranleigh’s Board of Governors, he said: “It takes a very particular skills set to launch and lead a new school and Brendan was perfectly suited to the role.

“He has been an outstanding leader and his legacy is one to be proud of.” 

Under Law's leadership, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi came first equal as a school parents would recommend to prospective parents, the key question we ask in our ongoing reader survey. The school achieved that distinction after just 12 months.