Message from the Head of Secondary: Empty Stadiums No More...

It may have escaped your notice but earlier this week, Shabab Al Ahli FC of Dubai beat Al Nasr FC in the final of the UAE’s most prestigious football knockout competition, the President’s Cup.  It was a significant moment, not just because it was the tenth time Shabab Al Ahli had won the cup, but more importantly, because 10,000 supporters were allowed inside the marvellous Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain to watch this local football match, for the first time since February 2020.  As I watched on the TV (my team Al Wahda were knocked out in the first round!), it was really quite moving to see the bond between the players and the supporters, reunited at last.  

For many over the last few months, sport has become increasingly important. The footballers, rugby players and tennis stars may ply their trade in empty stadiums but their presence on our screens has provided a welcome source of normality and a distraction from the realities of a global pandemic.  Here in Abu Dhabi, we have been lucky that our children have been able to take part in some sports since last summer and we have all become acutely aware of the importance of physical activity for young people in helping them socially and mentally, as well as physically.  

In school, we are all delighted to see our students out on the fields in their PE kit and even though they can only engage in ‘light physical activity’, it is a hugely important part of their week.  Sport in all its forms has always played a vital role in our school, giving students vital opportunities to try new things, to succeed, to win and lose, to aspire and to be together.  We are very much hoping that in the very near future our students will be able to return to something beyond ‘light’ physical activity and that our fields and sports halls will once again be teeming with life in the hours after the school day ends.  Sport is a vital part of our culture, in school and beyond, and we should cherish the highs and lows it brings to us. 

Chris Lowe