Spotlight on… our commitment to nurturing minds!

Our transformation journey is about coming together, working towards a shared Purpose, celebrating our legacy, and collectively reshaping the future of Al Ghurair. It’s a privileged position, and we all have a part to play in shaping and driving the transformation!

With change all round us, every day, it’s important that we don’t miss milestones along the way, and that we look outside our own teams and departments to see how others are championing and enabling our journey.

Our new ‘Spotlight’ series aims to shine a light on transformation highlights, across the business. Each edition will feature a different team or colleague, showcasing progressive action, innovation and Purpose-led progress!

Take a look at another edition of our ‘Spotlight’ series below:

Nurturing Minds at Dar Al Marefa

Education is a core imperative for Al Ghurair – and has been since the family’s early days, dating back to 1960 when Abdulla Al Ghurair launched the country’s first Co-Ed school in the Masafi mountains. Through this landmark initiative, students in then-remote locations were able have unprecedented access to education, boarding at the school during the week, and returning home to their families at the weekend.

So began a commitment to - and passion for – education, which Al Ghurair maintains as a core focus to the present day.

In 2008, the Al Ghurair family established Dar Al Marefa Private School - Dubai as the region’s first bilingual IB school, expanding education opportunities in the region. More than just an IB Curriculum school, Dar Al Marefa is a community that empowers its young students and enriches their development, giving them the skills that they need to become lifelong learners.

Over the past fourteen years, Dar Al Marefa has established a deserved reputation as a top-ranked learning institution in the region, renowned for achieving superior scores and pass rates. In 2021, a cohort of 26 students achieved a 100% pass rate and recorded an IB average of 37.2 points. Further, an impressive 94% of these Dar al Marefa students met or exceeded the 30-point world average in the 2021 academic year, with a staggering 44% of those students scoring more than 40 points.

Last month, Dar Al Marefa hosted the annual graduation ceremony for the class of 2022, to celebrate the successful graduation of students from kindergarten through to Diploma Programme. The ceremony was attended by esteemed guests from the Dar Al Marefa Board of Directors, including Dr. Arturo Lujan, CEO for Al Ghurair Ventures.

This marked the first in-person graduation celebration since the COVID-19 pandemic, and was a proud moment for students, parents, and faculty members alike.

Commenting on the milestone occasion, Naira Hamdy , Principal of Dar Al Marefa, said: “Every graduation is a cause for celebration at Dar Al Marefa, as we commemorate the accomplishments of our students, and the hard work and effort they have demonstrated during the course of the year. For the graduation classes of both 2021 and 2022, it feels an even greater accomplishment, as our students have had to adapt to change and navigate unpredictability caused by the global pandemic.

The IB Diploma programme is an especially demanding curriculum that aims to develop well-rounded individuals who are intellectually curious and ready to tackle any challenge, as well as encouraging resilience, patience and determination. I can wholeheartedly say that our students have achieved this, and more!

As teachers, it is a privilege to be able to work alongside these bright young minds, and to have an opportunity to nurture skills and empower growth. As always, we watch with anticipation to see what our students – past and present – will achieve in future!”

Dr. H.C. Arturo Lujan Lujan, CEO, AG Ventures, which encompasses Dar Al Marefa, further comments: “As somebody with a personal passion for lifelong learning, it brings me both joy and pride to see our students graduate, year after year. Being able to play a part in nourishing the minds of future generations – by sparking curiosity and instilling a continuous desire for knowledge – is a great honour indeed. I hope that our graduating students are as proud of themselves as we are of them!”

?For more information about Dar Al Marefa, please visit: https://www.daralmarefa.ae