Sherborne Qatar students.
Sharaka Holdings, the Qatari conglomerate that operates 31 successful companies across eight industry sectors, has established a dedicated sector – Sharaka Education - to help build Qatar’s human capital and world-class educational standing.
Sharaka Education is establishing strategic partnerships with renowned international educational brands across a broad spectrum from education to edutainment.
“We have formed Sharaka Education to enhance the high quality, holistic educational options available to the youth of our country. In doing so we see ourselves nurturing a generation of highly educated, competitive, responsible, well-groomed and internationally savvy young people,” said Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Thani, Chairman, Sharaka Holdings.
Sharaka Education will oversee Sharaka’s existing educational investments which include the award-winning KidZania brand’s entry into Qatar, the IQRA English School, which now caters to over 1,000 students in ever-expanding facilities, and Sherborne Qatar, Preparatory and Senior school that has a student population of over 1,200 across prep and secondary schools with over 39 percent of the students being Qatari.
“With the introduction of these highly successful projects we are making sure that what is taught in schools doesn’t just remain in classrooms. We are developing facilities which are fit for 21st century education and preparing our young people for an ever changing and dynamic world,” said Sheikh Abdulla.
He said that KidZania Doha is owned by Qatar Entertainment (Tasali) WLL, which is a joint venture between Sharaka Holdings and the Aspire Zone Foundation. It focuses on experiential learning and role play opportunities enabling children to learn through play.
“KidZania’s role playing activities have been created by world class educators after studying school curriculums in detail. In fact, educators believe that a day in KidZania is the same as a day spent in schools,” Sheikh Abdulla who also chairs Tasali added. He said that It has a unique business model where industry interacts with students at a very young age, nurturing them and helping them understand the importance and relevance of various professions. “Equally important is the fact that KidZania teaches children to give back to society – a value which resonates strongly with Sharaka Education and the entire Sharaka Holdings Group,” said Sheikh Abdullah.
The move is in line with the Sharaka Holdings’ focused alignment with Qatar’s 2030 Vision development plan which aims to deliver a world-class education system that equips citizens to achieve their aspirations and to meet society’s needs.
Sheikh Abdulla said the success of KidZania, IQRA English School and Sherborne has established Sharaka’s strong education credentials on which it plans to further build sector-specific investments.
Sherborne Qatar is a founding member of the Ministry of Education Outstanding Schools Initiative. Its ethos, brand and educational standards are overseen by and aligned to the parent Sherborne School in the UK.
“It is our intention to seek out the world’s leading education partners to ensure Qatar’s citizens and its residents receive the most relevant education for today’s world. This will be delivered in unrivalled facilities as our contribution to fostering a diversified, knowledge-based economy,” added Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al Thani, Vice Chairman and Board Member of Sharaka Holdings.
