07 August 2014
King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) announced that constitution work is underway to expand the educational facilities and capacity of The World Academy, the city's first K-12 school offering the International American curriculum leading to international baccalaureate in grades 11 & 12. The World Academy is managed by GEMS Education, the world's leading K-12 private schools operator. At completion, the expansion will bring phase one of the school up to full capacity by adding six additional classrooms, two science labs, one science preparatory room and a state of the art design and technology room. The new facilities will occupy an area of 1,770 sqm.

Fahd Al-Rasheed, Managing Director and CEO of KAEC, said: "The World Academy is currently attended by 246 students from KAEC and surrounding areas. Now we are continuing development work to accommodate more students and meet the full requirements of the curriculum."

"The population of KAEC is growing fast and the continuous opening of new business operations constantly increases the demand for places at The World Academy. The additional facilities will significantly contribute to the concept of the Academy as a Smart School in which technology is included in the curriculum and this will support our endeavor to provide an innovative learning environment that builds self-confidence in the students and develops their skills and creativity," he added.

Mazen Tamar, Head of Corporate Business Development - Health Care and Education in KAEC, said: "We will add labs for science subjects including biology, chemistry and physics and will continue our work on the integration of vocational education in the school curriculum starting from the 7th grade through the 12th grade. This will be achieved through the design and technology facilities introduced, which are set up for the organization of workshops covering different professional skills."

He added "the laboratories are expected to be operational during the month of October and work on phase one of the school to be fully completed by the end of this year."

The World Academy, the first school in KAEC, opened 2012 to educate the city's children through a new and distinct approach based on international standards while taking into consideration the cultural values of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

© The Saudi Gazette 2014