Meet our new Executive Principal

The start of the academic year is even more exciting than usual for Compass International School Doha.

Not only are we opening our Themaid Campus, we are also joined by a new Executive Principal, Mr Paul Holyome.

A highly qualified and experienced school leader, Mr Holyome’s career began as a business and economics teacher in the UK. Teaching seemed an obvious choice for him, he said, as he wanted to share and “use the knowledge he had learnt to help young people.”

He quickly moved into school leadership and has had much success in driving the growth and development of schools, in part due to a learning philosophy which focuses on enabling success.  

“I believe that every child and adult should have access to the very best learning environment – one which supports them to thrive and excel in whatever they want to do.”

Mr Holyome is excited to ensure this is realised here at Compass. “I was immediately impressed by Compass. It is a fantastic school and I’m looking forward to working with the amazing, committed team to build on its many years of success.”

This will be a particularly exciting year for the school with the opening of our new Themaid campus, bringing more world-class facilities and opportunities to our students. “One of the things that struck me the most on my first visit to Compass was the connection between the campuses,” said Holyome. “Whilst each campus has a unique character, there is a real sense of one school with one vision. With the opening of Themaid this year, we intend to create even more collaboration between the campuses so that our whole learning community benefits. For instance, we will offer even more outstanding opportunities for our students, particularly activities available outside traditional academic study.”

Mr Holyome is passionate about creating opportunities for our community, believing that our students, parents and teachers are the heart of the school. “I am lucky to have a seed of purpose in my role. I get great satisfaction from seeing happy children who love learning and I enjoy helping our outstanding team continually develop as professionals.” Over the next year, there will also be increasing experiences and engagement available through Compass and Nord Anglia Education’s unique collaborations with The Juilliard School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and UNICEF.

With such an engaging environment and educational offer, what else can students expect from their time at the school? “We will continue to treat every child as an individual so that our students are challenged in everything they do, with the right support and encouragement to ensure they succeed.”

Above all, Mr Holyome wants to ensure that students make the most of the experiences available at Compass International School Doha as their time in school will pass very quickly. He advises them “to work hard, be yourself and never be afraid to challenge the norm. Every child has the potential to achieve great things and I encourage you to be proud of your accomplishments.” Students should also appreciate and contribute to the school’s warm, close-knit community by “taking time to make friends and being kind and supporting those around you – they help make school some of the best years of your life.”