Senior rounders squad - Dubai College

Senior rounders squad 

Dubai College Shamal 2010 

SPORTS 

Back Row: Amy Bishop, Kate Ashwell, Clare Thompson. 

Middle Row: Olivia Withers, Natasha Daoud, Gemma Gardner, Alex Ferguson, Fatimah El-Rashid, Mrs K Evans. 

Front Row: Lois Britnor, Karina Takapi-Lambert, Farah Hertog (Capt A team), Sophie Armstrong, Charlotte Cameron 

(capt B Team). 

Once again it was time for the 

highlight of the girl’s sporting 

calendar. The yearly rounders 

tournament at Latifa never fails 

to provide us with an afternoon of 

enjoyment and competition. Despite 

an outstanding turnout to trials, 

(thanks go to the 8 girls that actually 

showed up) we managed to scrape 

two teams together. Nonetheless, the 

Sunday afternoon dawned and we 

were all excited and looking forward to 

doing the best we could. The car ride 

there, proved to be pumping as ‘rude 

boy’ blasted out of the car speakers 

and we somehow managed to beat Mrs 

Evans and Mrs Adamson on the trek 

to Latifa. Arriving in good spirits both 

teams were set for our first matches. 

The second team got off to a great 

start,and we surprised ourselves at 

our ability to actually hit the ball, 

making us victorious in our first few 

games. Unfortunately, this didn’t last 

very long. When playing against EC 

we didn’t get off to a great start as 

their bowler was particularly good. 

We battled through, until Jess took it 

upon herself to do whatever it took to 

stop EC from scoring; sky rocketing 

the ball into one of the girls’ heads! 

Even though this tactic was well-liked 

by the entire team we didn’t win. 

This loss was the first of many, as the 

team suddenly went from great to not 

so great, most likely because of the 

iPod game, ‘Doodle Jump’. Once the 

team members discovered this could 

be played by the lucky person sitting 

out for the inning, everyone started 

volunteering to have a break so that 

they could jump to a new high score. 

However it wasn’t long before the 

team realised that winning was more 

important than a new high score and 

so with the help of Alex and Natasha’s 

numerous big hits we began our 

winning streak once again, but a little 

too late as the tournament was almost 

finished. 

For all the year 13s on the team, many 

of us having played in this tournament 

since year 7, we were determined to 

make our last attempt at the crown a 

successful one. Knowing the contours 

of pitches 1, 2, 3 and 4 like the back 

of our hands, the first team decided 

to bat tactically, bringing in as many 

rounders as possible. This tactic, along 

with Amy’s ‘crazy’ bowls which sent 

other team’s hits in all directions, 

seemed highly successful as we 

managed to win all our pool games. 

The commands of ‘LEFTY’ and ‘BIG 

HITTER’ were enough to organise the 

troops, strategically placing each team 

member in our opponent’s line of fire 

and allowing us to field efficiently and 

catch players out. After winning the 

pool games, we were placed in a round 

robin tournament to determine the 

eventual winner. After beating JC and 

Latifa, our final match was against our 

arch rivals EC. Determined not to lose 

to EC once again, our A game stayed 

true to the tactics that had brought 

us this far. Despite some slip ups and 

handling errors the team came out 

victorious! Finally the trophy was 

ours! 

Overall the tournament was successful 

as we started and ended on a high 

note and on behalf of both teams we 

would like to thank Mrs. Adamson 

and Mrs Evans for attempting to help 

us throughout the tournament, even 

though at times it seemed we were 

beyond help! 

Charlie Cameron and Farah Hertog 

181

SPORTS 

U12 cricket 

Back Row: Mr M Woolley, Sandeep Roy, Waleed Malik, Mustafa Zaid, Mr D Lee. 

Middle Row: Euan McKinnon, Matthew Laven, Aniket Chandra, Francois Pieterse, Pranay Jethwani. 

Front Row: Raheem Zafrullah, Abishek Nair, Rohan Gupta, Saheel Badlani, Sheyan Adenwalla. 

U13 cricket 

Back Row: Jon Devitt, Adil Saldana, Gerard Pieterse, Sam Leach, Michael, Camball. 

Middle Row: Mr Woolley, Saad Iqbal, Saheel Badlani, Euan Mckinnon, Pranay Jethwani, Inam Mian, Waleed Malik, 

Mr D Lee. 

Front Row: Sheyan Adenwalla, Sandeep Roy, Emlyn Davies, Abishek Nair, Rohan Gupta, Raheem Zayrullah. 

182 Dubai College Shamal 2010

In general it has been a very successful 

year for the U13 cricket team with 

many victories in various forms of 

the game, whether it be hardball or 

tape-ball. We played 12 games in all 

and also took part in a seven a side 

tournament at Repton School. 

We started our season with hardball 

matches against rival schools Repton 

and English College. They proved to 

be great matches to prepare us for our 

clash with the English school, Whitgift, 

later on in the year. We beat EC by 

48 runs and 17 runs with Sahil and JD 

taking wickets. Then we hammered 

Repton by 10 wickets with Gerard and 

Rohan sharing an unbeaten opening 

partnership. 

Our U12 team played against the 

touring Cottesmore Prep School in a 

40 over game. Although we competed 

well we were eventually beaten by 3 

wickets, but we took the game to the 

death! Sandip and Pranay both bowled 

well and took 2 wickets each. Inam was 

top scorer. 

When the time came and the Whitgift 

game lay on the horizon there was a lot 

of excitement amongst the team and 

I’m sure that most of us still have those 

cherished photos of the stands and 

stadium on our mobile phones. Having 

declared to bat under the floodlights 

we made our way onto the grass strip, 

another new experience for most of us. 

That’s when the wrath of Saad began 

who by the end of the Whitgift innings 

had taken 5 wickets for 36 runs playing 

a major role in bowling them out after 

just 30 overs for the lowest total they 

had achieved on their tour of the UAE 

- 170. Unfortunately our bragging 

rights were taken away from us when 

they, too, bowled us all out after 30 

overs for an amount of runs rather 

kept secret. Despite losing quite badly 

Mr. Woolley, much to our surprise, 

was not angry! However maybe if Saad 

hadn’t bowled so well we might have 

received the ‘I’m not angry, I’m just 

disappointed’ speech. All in all it was a 

great experience for everyone. 

We were invited to take part in the 

Repton 7 a side tournament which we 

all really enjoyed. Although we had a 

number of players missing for various 

reasons we did really well. We played 4 

games, beating Repton twice but losing 

to British School Al Khubairat to finish 

a creditable second place. 

Our hardball season ended with the 

U12 team claiming victory over Kings 

Primary U11’s. Although Kings put up 

a fight we were just a little stronger. 

Matthew scored 28 and Raahim 29 

runs. 

Following our series of hardball 

matches we began with the much loved 

tape-ball league with boundaries being 

hit left, right and centre most of which 

were, fortunately, for our team; well up 

until our match against Wellington who 

we strongly underestimated, eventually 

losing. However, we played 4 and 

won 3 and we still topped our table 

with Wellington losing their next two 

matches, and us just edging out DESC 

by a few points. 

We played our semi final against JC 

and thanks to some excellent batting 

from our openers, Raahim and Rohan 

and a good all round bowling and 

fielding display we earned the right to 

play in the final at Repton. Once again 

we came up against DESC who had 

dispatched Repton in their semi final. 


SPORTS 

Gerard won the toss and we decided 

to bowl first. DESC batted well but 

our bowling was wayward and they 

scored 131 runs in 15 overs! We knew 

that if we were going to win this game 

and retain our trophy we needed to 

bat better than at any time during the 

season. Gerard was awesome scoring 

40 with great support from Raahim 

and Adil. We needed 14 to win from 

the last 2 overs and 7 to win from the 

final over. We couldn’t believe it when 

we managed 6 runs to tie the game! 

And so into a ‘golden over’ play off! 

The DESC openers got off to a flier and 

we needed 17 runs to win the game 

from our over. We didn’t manage it 

and the dream was over! Although we 

were obviously disappointed this was a 

fantastic game of cricket to play in and 

DESC deserved their win. 

It must be said that it has been a great 

performance all round throughout the 

competition, with Gerard’s clinical 

batting, JD’s bowling, and Saad’s 

‘dedication’ in the field - throwing his 

body around everywhere to get those 

all important catches for the better of 

the team! 

Another highlight of the 2009/10 

cricket season was when Dubai College 

was invited to provide ‘ball boys’ for 

the ARCH Trophy T20 tournament 

(involving Sussex, Surrey, Cape 

Cobras and Fly Emirates), held at the 

7evens grounds. The boys who were 

involved worked hard all weekend 

but thoroughly enjoyed the event and 

especially the chance to meet famous 

cricketers. (We are still not quite sure 

why Inam felt the need to hug Shahid 

Afridi! Did he really make it onto Sky 

News?!) 

I would like to take this opportunity 

to thank our coaches. Mr Lee has 

spent a huge amount of time coaching 

the team with the help of his Year 

11 assistant coaches! Mr Woolley 

organised the match against Whitgift 

during the Easter break at the Sheikh 

Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. We 

can now say that we have played at an 

international cricket stadium! It has 

been a great season for the team and a 

lot of year 7 talent has been identified 

and I’m sure the under 13 team will be 

just as good next year. Good luck to 

all who will be competing for a place 

in that team. As for the Year 8’s in 

the team, good luck to all of you in 

competing for a place in the U15 side 

next year, and remember..........catches 

win matches! 

Gerard Pieterse (U13 Cricket Captain) 

183

SPORTS 

U15 cricket 

Back Row: Siddharth Sehgal, Aaroosh Kohli, Sahas Singh, Tushaar Nadkarni. 

Middle Row: Mr G Rodgers, Ashwin Gupta, Joshua McNicholas, Rehan Ayrton, Osama Aslam, Rishi Ganguli, 

Gerard Pieterse, Mr M Woolley. 

Front Row: Sa’ad Iqbal, Conor Merrigan, Sahil Badlani, Reuben Abraham, Vijay Gupta, Rohan Gupta, 

Parth Rajwade. 

The Dubai College Under-15 cricket 

team once again had a successful season, 

despite a very young team after 

losing many senior players. There 

were a number of different matches 

played against multiple opponents, 

beginning with more traditional 25 

over matches, with a few T20s to add 

excitement. The season ended with 

the third annual edition of the Dubai 

Schools Tape Ball League, which 

consisted of two groups of five teams, 

semi finals and a final 

The highlight of the cricket 

ball season was definitely the three 

game series against the English College, 

which came down to the last 

ball, before it was decided. It began 

with a disappointing batting performance 

from Dubai College. They lost 

and needless to say, the team knew 

they had to bounce back. The reply 

was a dazzling show, consisting of 

power hitting, brilliant fielding, and 

a top class bowling act. After losing 

the first match chasing, the skipper 

(Reuben Abraham) won the toss and 

decided to bat first. Openers Reuben 

and Rehan smashed the bowlers to 

184 Dubai College Shamal 2010 

all corners. The team finished on 190 

after 25 overs. The bowling was mainly 

a variety of spinners spearheaded by 

Josh ‘Warney’ McNicholas. Excellent 

bowling performances all round, 

including youngsters Sahil, Euan, and 

Rohan saw DC end up with a devastating 

victory. 

The stage was set for a thriller of a 

final, and that was exactly what happened. 

The format was a T20, and 

DC once again chose to bat first. The 

openers saw a steady start, but Rehan 

was undone by a terrific delivery. 

A gritty partnership from Reuben 

and Tushaar saw them to a par score 

of around 140. An average bowling 

performance meant a close finish was 

at hand. With only 7 to win off the last 

over, a combination of dot balls and 

wickets from Rehan saw DC through 

to a series win, and jubilant celebrations 

took place. 

A young 9-man team had big shoes to 

fill in the tape ball league, considering 

DC has never lost a game. The first 

game exposed the inexperience and 

lack of practice of this 15 over format 

of the game, as DC only sneaked 

through with a 2 run victory against 

Wellington, mainly due to the 5-man 

spin attack. DC managed a relatively 

easy win against rivals EC and took 

JESS down as well. A weak batting 

performance, with the exception of 

Tushaar, with the help of extras saw 

DC reach a defendable target against 

DBS. However, once again a strong 

bowling and fielding performance 

meant DC topped their table and 

entered the semi finals. DC was to play 

the favourites, Repton, from the other 

group in the semi finals. DC was put 

into bat first and chalked up a strong 

total of 105 in 15 overs. However, 

Repton openers had an opening stand 

that matched the DC one, and the 

match went down to the wire. Repton 

sneaked the victory off the penultimate 

delivery and DC was knocked out 

of the tape ball league after a 19 match 

winning streak. Obviously, the team 

was crushed, but they took heart from 

the fact that they reached so far and 

pushed Repton to the limit, with such 

a young team. 

By Reuben Abraham

U16 cricket 

Back Row: Yousef Khan, Rutvij Merchant. 

Middle Row: Mr M Woolley, Mustafa Shaikh, Josh McNicholas, Shounak Das, Reuben Abraham. 

Front Row: Tushaar Nadkarni, Rehan Ayrton, Sid Choudhary, Arnav Sashiffal, Aman Navani. 

Senior cricket 


SPORTS 

Back Row: Aman Navani, Murtaza Keriwala, Rutvij Merchant, Anwar Sheikh, Usman Naqui, 

Andrew Helsby, Mr M Woolley. 

Front Row: Siddharth Choudhary, Shaun Ayton, Rehan Ayton, Karan Shirgaokar, Anay Dave, Mohammad Ali, 

Abi Chandra 

185

SPORTS 

Once again, Senior Cricket at 

Dubai College has developed very 

successfully with 18 matches played, 

many against overseas opposition. 

Starting off with net sessions in 

October as usual, Mr Woolley and I 

were faced with the impossible task of 

selecting a squad of sixteen, with a lot 

of upcoming talent from the younger 

years. 

We did not have the start to the season 

we wanted, losing to our arch rivals 

Jumeirah College, although we were 

missing six players from our starting 

eleven either through injury or travel. 

The next two games against Jumeirah 

College saw us put them in their place, 

with great performances with the bat 

by Reuben, and by Karan with the ball. 

Our two games against Young 

Talents were hotly contested; we lost 

the first game narrowly, with good 

performances from Mo and Taz. 

Reuben and Rutvij stepped up in the 

second game with great performances 

with the bat, but we were still 

unable to pull off a victory. At this 

point, we had played 5 games in the 

season, Vignesh (JC) playing for our 

opponents each time. 

We played an exciting game against 

the DC Old Boys in January. We 

posted 148 in 20 overs with Mo 


making 71 and Karan 31. Maybe we 

were a bit complacent in the field 

because the old boys knocked off the 

runs with 1 ball to spare! We also 

played Chouifat School, (Rehan 47 not 

out), and destroyed them by 51 runs! 

Prior to the Arch trophy, we thought 

some morale boosting was in order, so 

we invited BSAK over from Abu Dhabi 

for a game that lasted for a shorter 

time than their drive over. A solid 

performance from the whole team saw 

them bowled over for nothing special, 

with the DC openers chasing it down 

easily, Reuben again in the runs. 

It is a shame that Repton Seniors 

decided not to play us this year. We 

will be waiting for them next season 

with great anticipation! 

A major highlight of the season was 

the visit by the MCC to Dubai College, 

where the DC Senior squad trained 

with professional English County 

coaches and players for an entire 

morning, sharpening up skills in every 

department of the game. This was the 

first time any of us had had such an 

opportunity, and in retrospect, it was 

a great experience that taught us a lot 

about the game. 

In April, we reached the climax of 

our season, the Arch Trophy. We 

played two 40 over warm up games 

DC Senior Cricket team Averages for the 2009/2010 Season 

Batting 

with mixed results and although we 

didn’t retain the trophy that we had 

won in convincing style last year we 

had a great time playing against some 

outstanding teams from England and 

New Zealand. 

Highlights of the season: 

1. Rutvij’s unbelievable catch at 

square leg! 

2. Murtaza kicking the ball over the 

boundary and claiming it was not 

four! 

3. Shahyan not throwing the ball in 

from the boundary because he was 

too sore having visited the gym the 

day before! 

Yet another great season has come to 

an end. Despite the ups and downs, 

the chemistry between the squad has 

been exceptional and we wish next 

year’s captain and squad the very best 

of luck, (go and bring the Arch Trophy 

back to where it belongs!). We would 

like to thank Mr. Woolley for all the 

effort he has put into DC cricket again 

this season and the extent to which he 

has enabled us to play so many games 

against some great opposition! It 

really has been a fantastic experience. 

Karan Shirgaokar (Senior Captain) 

Name Matches Total Runs Average Best 

Reuben Abraham 17 572 44 79* 

Rutvij Merchant 13 251 23 53 

Arnav Sashital 6 55 9 22 

Karan Shirgoakar 12 112 11 31 

Rehan Ayrton 11 80 8 47 

Mohammad Ali 12 225 25 71* 

Aman Navani 12 123 12 35 

Anay Dave 10 58 10 20* 

Bowling 

Name Matches Total Wickets Average Best 

Aman Navani 15 15 20 4-31 

Anay Dave 11 5 35 2-11 

Rehan Ayrton 9 6 28 2-17 

Abby Chandra 5 1 91 1-6 

Taz Kheriwala 9 4 30 2-5 

Shiny Dastur 7 4 28 

Anwar Shaikh 5 4 18 

Karan Shirgoakar 12 13 19 3-21 

Usman Naqvi 5 1 31 

Reuben Abraham 15 17 16 4-8 

Sid Choudhary 6 6 20 4-8 

Andy Helsby 8 2 21

Arch Trophy Senior Cricket Tournament 

For the second year running, the 

pinnacle of our cricket season was The 

Arch Trophy- a 40 overs a side, U-18 

competition, featuring 4 independent 

schools from England, a school from 

New Zealand and a joint DC/JC squad 

(12 DC, 4 JC). DC were holders of 

the trophy from 2009, which meant 

that every one of us was determined 

to show that last year had not been a 

one-off and consequently we entered 

the warm up matches full of confidence 

and desperate to test ourselves against 

quality opposition. 

Warm Up Match 1 Against 

Uppingham School at DC 

We got our title defence off to the best 

possible start, with a disciplined, wicketto-wicket 

bowling performance that 

helped us restrict the opposition to a 

par score of 181 in the allotted 40 overs. 

An inspired innings of 79* by Reuben 

Abraham, complemented by a quickfire 

40 from our captain, Luke (JC) meant 

that we overhauled their total with a 

comfortable 3 overs to spare. 

Warm Up Match 2 Against Saint 

Kentigern College (NZ) at DC 

Opting to bat in our second warm up 

match, our batsmen were put through 

a thorough examination due to an 

aggressive bowling performance from 

the New Zealanders on a bouncy track. 

A gutsy 40 from Rutvij Merchant 

and steady contributions from Karan 

(26) and Vignesh (27) pushed us 

to a respectable total of 168 all out. 

Unfortunately, an explosive innings 

from their opening batsman took the 

game away, leaving us itching to play 

them again in the tournament. 

1st Match Arch Trophy against 

Abingdon School at Emirates 

Palace 

A magnificent ground, located virtually 

on the beach, saw us clinch a win in 

stunning style with 1-run to spare. After 

we all received some VIP treatment 

from the staff, Abraham reeled off 

another brilliantly paced 75 to guide us 

to a competitive total of 178 all out. It 

took a brilliant bowling effort from Luke 

(3 wickets) and Aman (4/31) to keep 

us on top in a see-saw contest. With 

Abingdon needing 2 runs to win, Anay 

Dave produced a magical, inswinging 

Yorker, uprooting the middle stump, 

(that would have done Waqar Younis 

proud), and the wild celebrations began! 

2nd Match Arch Trophy against 

Uppingham School at The Sevens 

A haul of 5 wickets between Luke and 

Vignesh meant that we were able to 

turn in another disciplined bowling 

performance and restrict the opposition 

to 172/6. However, we were quickly 

brought down to earth again with a poor 

batting performance on a dustbowl of a 

wicket as Luke top scored with 23 in a 

paltry total of 125 all out. 

3rd Match Arch Trophy against St 

George’s College at Zayed Stadium 

Many thanks to Alam Steel for your sponsorship of 

Dubai College Cricket for the season 2009/2010 


SPORTS 

Abu Dhabi 

Having to win every match from here, 

spurred us on and after a wayward 

start, a brilliant display of classical 

leg-spin bowling by Reuben Abraham 

bamboozled the batsmen, leading to 

a swift collapse. Abraham collected 

superb figures of 3/10 in his 8 overs and 

received great support from Vignesh 

(JC), who also snaffled 3 wickets. 

Abraham’s 31 got us off to a solid start in 

the run chase but it was Luke who stole 

the show, hammering 72* in quick time 

to take us home. Won 2, Lost 1. 

4th Match Arch Trophy against 

Winchester College At The Sevens 

On a slow, low wicket that even 

supported Merchant’s crude version of 

left arm spin, Reuben Abraham, Vignesh 

Venkat and Aman Navani all bowled 

great, tight spells to skittle Winchester 

for 180. However, the 56-runs put on 

by the last two wickets proved costly 

as after some quick wickets fell early 

on, the target proved difficult to chase 

down. Only Merchant, top scoring with 

23 and Vignesh (19) offered a little 

resistance but we were unfortunately all 

out for 104, 76 runs short. 

5th Match Arch Trophy against 

St Kentigern College (NZ) at The 

Sevens 

Despite the loss, we still had a 

mathematical chance of retaining the 

title and were very confident. However, 

we were quickly down to ten men 

with Merchant suffering a dislocated 

shoulder in the 2nd over. However, two 

wickets apiece for Vignesh and Rehan 

Ayrton restricted them to 170, keeping 

us in the hunt. Knocks of 35 apiece from 

Luke and Reuben meant that we put up 

a valiant fight but eventually fell short by 

35 runs, narrowly losing out on the title. 

Overall, the tournament was an 

immensely enjoyable experience, 

allowing us to test our skills against topquality 

players from around the world. 

It gave us a great idea of the calibre of 

our own games, and many thanks must 

go to Mr. Woolley who put in hours 

of time and effort to help us. Special 

thanks should also go to Taz, who kept 

us motivated and entertained with his 

optimism even when things got tough. 

Rutvij Merchant. 

187

SPORTS 

Overseas visitors 

Harrow School visited in March playing rugby at 1stXV 

and Under 15 Level. The senior game went their way but 

DC took a notable scalp at Under 15 

Gergely Bogányi gave a truly superb recital in December 

St Kenigern’s College form New Zealand produced some 

outstanding cricket to win the ARCH Trophy 

Cottesmore School from the UK came out on cricket tour 

playing several games during the Easter break 


Writer, Isobel Fonseca enthralled English literature 

students when she visited in March 

Prince Henry’s School from Leeds showed some 

Yorkshire grit on the rugby field 

Flautist Sarah Williamson was captivating when she gave 

a concert in September 

A very well drilled Trinity School Under 12 rugby side 

enjoyed their trip to Dubai

Two netball teams from St David’s School in 

Pembrokeshire found strong competition from the DC 

senior teams 

Action from the DC/JC victory against Uppingham 

School from the UK 

The Harrow Under 15 rugby team 

Members of the Hungarian Choral Quintet who performed 

in the Music Centre in October 


SPORTS 

Karina Takapi Lambert and the St David’s captain at the 

presentation after the games 

Heritage School from Zimbabwe turned up for the DC 10s 

and thrilled us with some African music and dance 

Moira House School from the UK produced an 

outstanding performance of Jeeves during their stop off in 

Dubai en route to the Far East 

189

DUBAI COLLEGE ALUMNI 

The DC Alumni 

This last year former students and 

staff of Dubai College met up at the 

Alumni Reunion in London for the 

21st consecutive year. The event, now 

a fixture in the social calendars of 

many regular attendees, was equally 

well attended by alumni who had 

never made it to a reunion before. All 

enjoyed the rare opportunity to chill 

out with close friends from years gone 

by. Those present spanned the full 

history of the school, from a student 

who’d been at Dubai College the year 

it first opened to current staff Mr. 

Penson and Mr. & Mrs. Jones, whose 

DC theatre trip to London happily 

allowed them to drop by between 

West End musicals and deliver 

hugely appreciated copies of the 2009 

Shamal. 

Although no Alumni-organised social 

event took place in Dubai during this 

last year, there has been plenty of 

activity amongst the alumni in the 

Emirates. 

The DC Old Boys put in another 

splendid performance in the Local 

Social tournament at the Dubai Rugby 

7s, only to have their hopes of taking 

home a trophy thwarted in the semifinals, 

for the third year running. 

In May the team also took part in 

an international 7s tournament in 

Amsterdam where they reached the 

quarter finals. I am reliably informed 

that they did not allow the rugby to get 

in the way of their social activities. 

Many recent leavers took up the 

school’s invitation to visit the campus 

on the last day of term in December, 

and during the winter holidays the 

now traditional “Past v Present” 

sports challenges saw cricket added to 

the rugby and football that has been 

played between teams of former and 

current students in past years. Scorekeeping 

was a little lax, but the general 

consensus was that a great deal of fun 

as enjoyed by all - both on the field 

and in the stands. The intention is to 

ensure that the ladies have their day 

next year with some organized netball 

games. 

The possibility of holding an Alumni 

golf tournament was discussed until 

the decision was taken to join forces 

with the FDC. It is hoped that a date in 

October can be arrange where alumni 

can participate in the FDC golf day 


along with current students, staff and 

parents. The connection between the 

Dubai alumni and the FDC is growing 

ever stronger. Former students Anna 

Zickerman (ex Head Girl) and Peter 

Debenedictus have now joined the 

FDC committee and there has been a 

marked effort to increase the alumni 

presence at FDC organized events 

such as the Summer Ball. 

In March the first ‘official’ alumni tour 

was held. Graham Penson took a small 

group of former students around the 

College where they were able to revisit 

old sights and sounds as well as catch 

up with ‘old’ teachers. As a direct 

result of this experience former Head 

Girl, Amal Akbar, who was part of the 

tour agreed to return and talk with 

the Sixth Form about her ‘life journey’ 

thus far. Amal’s talk was so successful 

that Mr. Jones (Head of Sixth Form) 

has now begun to organise a series of 

such talks entitled ‘Journeys’ as part of 

the Sixth Form’s pastoral programme. 

Recently Anna Zickermann gave a 

fascinating account of her sojourn and 

hopefully and there’s more planned 

for next year. 

It continues to be evident that DC 

students still feel close to the school 

long after they leave and the feeling is 

mutual at the 

school. The diverse achievements of 

former students are regularly reported 

in the school’s e-bulletins and the 

yearly Alumni newsletter, the Dhow. 

The school board’s recent approval of 

the proposal to establish a dedicated 

DC Alumni website will no doubt 

further strengthen the bond between 

Dubai College and its past students 

and teachers. The website will be 

an invaluable tool, not least to help 

organize and publicize DC Alumni 

activities, and to promote closer 

contacts between everyone who has 

fond memories of their time at Dubai 

College. 

If you are leaving Dubai College this 

year, please take the time to register 

your contact details with the Alumni 

Association by sending an e-mail to 

alumni@dubaicollege.org. Be sure to 

include your full name, the years you 

were at Dubai College and the year 

group you were last in before you left. 

Finally, everyone in the DC community 

was shocked and saddened by 

the news of the tragic death of former 

student Christophe Hissette. During 

his College career Christophe was a 

popular member of the student body, 

respected by both his teachers and his 

peers. 

He will be fondly remembered by 

those who knew him. 

Journeys – Amal Akbar talks to sixth 

formers about her life after DC 

Alumnus Annabel Young was 

awarded the prestigious ICE Quest 

scholarship from the Institute of Civil 

Engineers 

GB international triathlete Carina 

Rodd will be taking part in a full Iron 

Man competition in July. Carina 

will be one of the youngest ever girl 

competitors to compete in such an 

event.

An Old Boys’ rugby team after their post Christmas game 

pictured with members of the College 1st XV 

For the third consecutive year the DC Old Boys’ rugby 

team made the semi final of the Social 7s competition at 

the Dubai International 7s only to lose out to their 

nemesis the VB All Blacks. 

Yvonne (Lodders) Bibas, Ian Brooks, Michelle 

(Rapson) Anliker & Helen (Slater) Gibbs at the London 

reunion. 

Lynn Baker, Catherine Hughes, Fran (Light) 

Wilson & Claire (Hughes) Cheadle at the London 

reunion. 

DUBAI COLLEGE ALUMNI 

The Old Boys Football team that lost a close encounter to 

a College side due to seasonal indulgence 

Sarah (Prosser) Williams, Stephanie Ash, 

Deborah (Ward) Puxty, Peter Ward & Jamie Nicholl at 

the London reunion. 

The first official alumni tour made sure it included Mr. 

Lakiss’ classroom. 

Former student Sami Khalaf visited College to recruit 

summer interns for his surf camps in Bali and SW. France. 

Anyone interested in a holiday contact 

www.starsurfcamps.com 


191

FRIENDS OF DUBAI COLLEGE 

Friends of Dubai College – A Review of 2009/10 

Dear Friends of Dubai College, 

With the advent of the summer break 

almost upon us, I am delighted to 

share with you some of the highlights 

and achievements of the past year in 

the activities of the FDC. 

From the start it must be recognised 

that the general environment in which 

the school operates has seen many 

significant changes and challenges. 

This has placed a great deal of stress 

and affected everyone’s time available 

to devote to volunteer work of any 

kind, not just that of the FDC. In 

addition the particular challenges for 

a not-for-profit school such as Dubai 

College are plain also. However, I am 

pleased to say that both these factors 

have not affected the FDC and, in 

fact, we continue to go from strength 

to strength. Our focus; to support 

any and all activities to enhance the 

school life of the students has been 

unwavering and this will not change. 

At a high level, a great deal of success 

has been achieved to increase the 

dialogue and collaboration between 

the FDC and the Board of Governors 

to bring to bear the tremendous 

goodwill that exists among parents 

and alumni, and to consider new and 

creative ways to leverage this. Our 

Constitution has been upgraded to 

reflect the current day compared 

to thirty years ago when it was first 

written but without changing the 

essential purpose of the FDC as 

originally envisaged. At the AGM 

a new committee was elected and 

I am delighted to record that three 

members of the Dubai College Alumni 

came on board, reflecting strong links 

and the urge to work together to tap 

the nearly 1000 Alumni out there in 

the community. 

Our calendar of events retained some 

old favourites and brought in some 

new projects too. The Fun Race Night 

in October was held in the Majlis 

Room of the Irish Village and proved 

to be an excellent start. The Year 7 

Fun Day attracted close to 200 parents 

and students who came together for 

the “It’s a Knock-Out” style event and 

all ended up very wet and very happy. 


The FDC supported a Battle of the 

Bands event which encourages the 

incredible musical talent in the School. 

In March we tied up with the Dubai 

Round Table to hold hugely successful 

Table Top / Car Boot Sales which 

raised funds for the various charities 

and for the FDC itself. We hosted a 

Quiz Night in May which was highly 

successful. In June the finale of our 

year was the FDC Summer Ball, held 

at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, generously 

sponsored by Emirates Airlines and 

featuring a wonderful meal, prizes, 

and live music to end the School year 

with a great fun night. Taken together, 

these events have helped to increase 

the funds of the FDC to close to AED 

200,000 at the year end. 

Throughout the School calendar the 

FDC was also present at every sporting 

event to provide snacks, medical and 

other services to the participants 

and their supporters during the long 

hot days. I would especially like to 

thank Ashlee Middleton of the FDC 

and all her wonderful volunteer team 

who baked, served, cooked, provided 

vouchers and all manner of other help. 

They all deserve a mention, so here 

goes: Catherine Jones, Julie Heyster, 

Sarah Booth, Sally Prosser, Sandy 

Pruim, Jo Penson, Andrea Jhoolun, 

Chris Johnson, Louise Eldredge, 

Beena Govender, Susan Bieleski, Fiona 

Duncan, Alka Malik, Marie Benson, 

Debi Evans, Hayat, Ruth Christensen, 

Lizzy, Shabala Kabe, Annette Jagliani, 

Shachi Pehlaj, Rob, Sarah Javanshiri, 

Alistair Middleton, Donna Merrigan, 

Laura Murray, Mona Irfan, Alison 

Summers, Catherine Leach, Marzia 

Bawany. Thank you all! 

Towards the end of this School Year 

the FDC entered into an in-depth 

dialogue with the Board of Governors 

to identify a major larger-scale 

project towards which we could focus 

our efforts and leverage the FDC 

network. After evaluating several 

options the FDC selected Project 

Pavilion, the building of a changing 

room / pavilion on the sports field. I 

am truly delighted at the response 

we have received from parents and 

alumni and prospective sponsors 

who have pledged their support in 

terms of services and materials and 

money. Over the coming months we 

are hopeful of executing this project 

which has the full and active support 

of the Board, subject to completion of 

the approvals from local authorities. 

Our future fund-raising efforts will be 

dedicated towards achieving this goal 

and your full support will be much 

appreciated. 

The FDC can do nothing without 

the active and selfless support of the 

Committee, volunteers, teachers, 

alumni and importantly, our valued 

sponsors who help us throughout the 

year. It is not possible to mention 

everyone but it is a pleasure to work 

with such dedicated and communityspirited 

people who give of their time 

and skills so generously, and who do 

not seek anything in return except 

to know that they are contributing 

positively to the experience of the 

students at Dubai College. This is 

what goes to make the spirit of the 

Dubai College community. 

I must, however, mention the tireless 

support of Captain Richard Higgins, 

the Bursar, and his staff who work 

towards the success of all our events 

– we highly appreciate and value this 

partnership. In addition, I must also 

mention the exceptional support the 

FDC has received from the out going 

Headmaster, Dr Carlo Ferrario. He 

has provided invaluable guidance 

towards helping forge the links with 

the Board and also actively supported 

the events. On behalf of the FDC, I 

wish him well in his next career steps 

and at the same time, I welcome Peter 

Hill, as the new Headmaster who is 

already an active member of the FDC 

Committee. 

Once again, thank you all for your 

support throughout the year and we 

look forward to even better in the new 

term. Have a great summer break and 

safe travels. 

Yours sincerely, 

John Merrigan 

Chair, Friends of Dubai College

FDC Year 7 

Fun Day 

Over 300 eager families from Y7 

enjoyed an afternoon of fun, laughter 

and lots of water one Friday afternoon 

in February as Y7 Fun Day got under 

way. With Mr Penson at the helm, 

each game was greeted with enthusiasm 

and lots of eager participants both 

young and old. 

It was a hot and windy afternoon 

but that did not deter the battling 

Y7 classes and their families as they 

fought it out in order to claim the title 

of Y7 Fun Day winners and lift the 

wonderful trophy. Games involved 

water, balloons, running, balancing 

and more water and there was clear 

evidence of team tactics as each team 

was determined to do their best. Jokers 

were skilfully played in an attempt 

to double points and there may have 

been a little bit of extra help deployed 

in the last game too! 

Everybody joined in and thoroughly 

enjoyed the afternoon. Mums, Dads 

and other family members agreed that 

it was a great way to meet each other 

and get to meet some of their child’s 

friends as there was lots of time for 

socialising between each game. Thank 

you to all the families for joining in 

with such great cheer and also for 

bringing lovely things to eat to stock 

the refreshment table. 

The final game was an enjoyable slippery 

affair with several teams poised 

to win. While Mrs Merrigan, our able 

scorer toted up the final scores, Mr 

Penson held an impromptu sliding 

game that saw everybody under the 

age of 15 getting thoroughly wet and 

slippery and having a great time. 

At the end of a very busy afternoon, 

the clear winners were the green team 

-7JS and they were delighted as they 

celebrated with a big cheer and by 

holding the trophy aloft. 

We look forward to seeing all those 

families at the next FDC event. 

Sarah Rogers 



193


FDC Summer Ball 

Parents, staff and alumni literally had 

a ball at this year’s FDC Summer Ball 

held at the Crowne Plaza Dubai. The 

whole event proved to be a resounding 

success as Chairman John Merrigan 

and members of the FDC committee 

ensured that everyone experienced an 

evening to remember. 

During the pre-dinner reception 

guests were entertained by a DC 

student jazz quartet. 

Prominently displayed were images of 

the FDC Pavilion Project, provided by 

architects CR2. The positive comments 

from guests confirmed the growing 

interest in the project and ‘the buy a 

brick’ campaign got off to a great start 

with over AED 16,500 pledged. 

During the evening the Chairman 

made a presentation to Headmaster 

Dr Ferrario, thanking him for his 

contribution to the College and in 

particular his support of the FDC. 

Committee member Andrew 

Lavin, who worked tirelessly to get 

sponsors for the evening, auctioned 

a signed World Cup rugby shirt 

for the Christina Noble Children’s 


Foundation, raising 2,500 dirhams. 

Numerous smiles and cries of delight 

were seen and heard as the prize 

draw got underway. The star prizes 

were left until the end with Deputy 

Chairman Mike Johnson winning 

a 42” flat screen television and DC 

teacher Graeme Rodgers winning a 

two night stay for two at the Burj Al 

Arab. The star prize of two Emirates 

Business Class tickets to London 

went to a delighted College Registrar, 

Deborah Harding. 

Following the dinner everyone was 

royally entertained by musicians 

Suburban Voodoo. The band, who are 

making a name for themselves locally, 

are made up of a former parent, two 

current parents, a teacher and ‘a ringer 

vocalist’ (she’s very good though) and 

it wasn’t long before guests were up on 

the floor dancing the night away. 

Thanks go to all of the companies who 

supported the evening. Our gratitude 

also goes to James Young and Crowne 

Plaza, Dubai for their assistance 

in making the event so successful. 

Special thanks too, go to Headmaster’s 

Secretary, Elianna Skouroupathis 

for her hard work in organizing 

ticket sales. Finally we acknowledge 

the enormous contribution made 

by parent and committee member, 

Belinda Southby. Her superb 

coordination of the evening made it 

an excellent celebration of yet another 

successful year for the FDC.



195

AWARDS AND RESULTS 

GCSE Presentation Evening 

A host of proud parents crammed into 

the College Music Centre this week 

to witness their offspring receiving 

their GCSE certificates. Dr. Ferrario’s 

welcome got proceedings underway 

during which he reminded everyone 

that GCSE examinations have been 

in existence for twenty two years. The 

Headmaster also introduced board 

member and guest of honour Mr. 

Charles Neill and went on to congratulate 

the current Year 12 cohort for 

producing the best ever set of GCSE 

results, having achieved an astonishing 

84% pass rate at A*/A grades. 


Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Gulliford 

kept the evening rolling along inviting 

Mr. Neill to present the certificates to 

the students. Several interludes added 

to the atmosphere and enjoyment of 

the evening as Kyal Mapara, Olivia 

Withers and the hilarious Bilal Khan 

gave the audience a taste of ‘the Year 

11 experience’. Superb musical entertainment 

was also provided by Evita 

cast members Sophie MacAdam Clark 

and Lucie Turner who, accompanied 

by Mr Hardman, gave the forthcoming 

school production an excellent ‘plug.’ 

Following the certificate presentation 

Mr. Neill congratulated the students 

on their wonderful success. He also 

offered the Year 12 some advice for 

the future, urging them to follow 

their dreams. However, he did offer a 

warning to parents that this course of 

action might be costly. 

Dr. Ferrario brought a wonderful 

evening to a close, thanking Mr. Neill 

for his support of the evening. He also 

thanked the students and their parents 

and invited everyone to enjoy refreshments 

in the courtyard.

COMMUNITY 

DUBAI 

ACTION 

COLLEGE 

C A A 

S 

AWARD 

SERVICE 

CASA 2010 

One of the highlights for Year 9 

students comes towards the end of 

the academic year when those who 

have successfully completed their 

Community Action Service Award 

are celebrated. The award, now in its 

eleventh year, is based upon the IB 

Middle Years CAS and acts as excellent 

preparation for the more rigorous and 

demanding Duke of Edinburgh Award 

Scheme which commences in Year 

10. The award is made to a student 

who earns the required number of 

points in each of the four award 


categories, Activities, Representation, 

Performance and Creativity, 

Responsibility/Community Service. 

This year the parents of over ninety 

per cent of the year group gathered 

in the College Music Centre as Head 

of Lower School, Mr. Keith Evans 

welcomed everyone and explained the 

structure and purpose of the award 

scheme. Mrs. Neasa Lawless (school 

governor), then presented certificates 

to the successful students. During 

the evening guests were entertained 

by Misha Goddard (Flute), Karan 

Talreja (Guitar) and Daniel Wakefeild 

(Saxophone). 


197


Examination results 

GCSE ADVANCED LEVEL 

No. of Candidates 97 No. of Candidates 73 

2001 A* and A passes 55.3% A and B passes 61.5% 

A* to C passes 98.1% A to E passes 99.1% 



A* to C passes 99% A to E passes 98.8% 


2003 A * and A passes 67.2% A and B passes 76.4% 

A* to C passes 99.8% A to E passes 100% 






A* to C passes 99.6% A to E passes 99.8% 





2007 A* and A passes 78% A and B passes 82.3% 






2009 A* to A passes 83.1% A and B passes 89.7% 



Prize Giving and Founder’s Day 2010 

Guest of Honour 

H.E. Mr. G. Warrington 

Her Majesty’s Consul General in Dubai 

Junior (Years 7-9) Subject Prizes 


Subjects Winner Special Mentions 

Arabic Ziyan Kassam 9PF Amna Ali 9AA 

Dorottya Nagy 9NB 

Art Sophie Burley 9PF Emily Hoad 9NB 

Azmina Gulamhusein 9RG 

Design & Technology Sophie Burley 9PF Dorottya Nagy 9NB 

Serafina De Piro 9PF 

Drama Emily Collinson 9RG Zach Penson 9VB 

Misha Goddard 9NB 

English Adam Andreani 9SS Taimur Samee 9AA 

Victoria Frost 9SS 

French Dorottya Nagy 9NB Parth Rajwade 9RG 

Sarah Hamoudi 9RG 

Geography Karan Gupta 9SS Dorottya Nagy 9NB 

Ayeesha Ghelani 9SS 

History Sarah Hill-Smith 9AA Dorottya Nagy 9NB 

Amaan Khullar 9PF 

ICT Sophie Burley 9PF Bethany Wright 9PF 

Amaan Khullar 9PF 

Islamic Studies Yehya Al-Hafidh 9RG Sina Alishahpour Sehsheykhi 9SS 

Shayan Momeni 9NB 

Mathematics Oh Hyun Kweon 9PF Dorottya Nagy 9NB 

Ziyan Kassam 9PF 

P.E. (Girls) Jessica MacCormick 9VB Honor Nicholl 9RG 

Sarah Hill-Smith 9AA 

P.E (Boys) Lewis Streak 9NB Rehan Ayrton 9RG 

Tom Harding 9AA 

Science Thomas Murphy 7AD Imogen Lemon 8CG 

Honor Nicholl 9RG 

Spanish D’Arcy Anderson 9VB Joanne Mascarenhas 9VB 

Ambre Battistella 9NB 

Music Bethany Wright 9PF Daniel Wakefield 9RG 

Dorottya Nagy 9NB 


199


Senior (Years 10-13) Subject Prizes 

Subjects Winner Special Mentions 

Arabic Jan Biddle 11NM 

Mustafa Shaikh 11MQ 

Aditi Shrikhande 11KM 

Neha Khan 11DL 

Art Helen Panayi 13CJ Sohanna Srinivasan 13JI 

Sarah Cheetham 13LA 

Biology Minaal Khan 13CC Helen Panayi 13CJ 

Sam Aki 13LA 

Business Studies Zehra Sharif 11CH 

Chemistry Michael Geeson 13JI Minaal Khan 13CC 

Design & Technology Sarah Cheetham 13LA Elliott Denham 12CA 

Kinara Rodrigues 11CG 

Drama Karan Shirgaokar 13JI Aoife Kilalea 13DM 

Kelly Park 13VH 

Economics James Armstrong 13LA 

English Nayanatara Prakash 11DL Aashini Shrivastav 11CH 

Rutvij Merchant 11GC 

French Gabriella Skouroupathi 13TD Alia Ahmed 13JI 

Lara Daoud 13PR 

Geography Philip McCarter 13JI Duncan Head 13PR 

Lu Han 13JI 

History Lorna Keegan 13CJ James Armstrong 13LA 

Lewis Hammond 13TD 

ICT Michelle Bushill 13CC Jemma Gardner 13DM 

Rhian Turner 13IJ 

Islamic Studies Midhat Ahmed 12EJ Iman Tahir 12BV 

Anwar Shaikh 11MQ 

Mathematics Michael Farid 13CJ Sohanna Srinivasan 13JI 

Karan Shirgaokar 13JI 

Further Mathematics James Armstrong 13LA Neal Thomson 13DM 

Sara Ahmed Al-Liusie 13LA 

Music Technology Emily Kaba 12HG 

Music Charles Barsaga 11GC Erik Brinkhorst 13VH 

P.E. Jamie Shirlaw 13JI Rob Miller 13DM 

Jemma Gardner 13DM 

Physics Michael Farid 13CJ Sarah Cheetham 13LA 

Sohanna Srinivasan 13JI 

Spanish Zehra Sharif 11CH Lily Schuck 12HG 

Victoria Staley 12CA 


Endeavour Prizes 

Awarded to a pupil who has made an outstanding effort across the curriculum, or 

who has made a very determined effort to overcome problems by a diligent approach 

to his or her studies. 

Winner Special Mentions 

Year 7 Leah Mitchell 7RL Rory Hossell 7JS 

Pooja Daswani 7ST 

Aleisha Murphy 7AD 

Year 8 Jenna Denton 8MJ Sophie Wells 8GJ 

Matthew Palmer 8CG 

Year 9 Emily Hoad 9NB Emma Britnor 9AA 

Year 10 Isabel Taylor 10PT Rory Blincow 10GR 

Caroline Jalili 10PT 

Year 11 Majdie Hajjar 11NM Mark Heyster 11DL 

Pastoral Prizes 

Awarded to a pupil who has made valuable contributions to PSHE and the House 

Programme, is consistently well-organised, has shown care and consideration to 

members of tutor and year groups and has a positive attitude to school life. 


YEAR 7 Natalia Adair 7EA Jessica Shaw 7ST 

Ashna Gupta 7GW 

YEAR 8 Inaam Mian 8GJ Karan Nair 8GJ 

YEAR 9 Sucheta Kinger 9VB Ziyan Kassam 9PF 

Conor Merrigan 9AA 

YEAR 10 Niamh Merrigan 10BA Yasmin Adib 10GR 

Kelly Shuttleworth 10PT 

YEAR 11 Aashini Shrivastav 11CH Riccardo Sommerauer 11NM 

YEAR 12 Olivia Withers 12JM 

YEAR 13 Nicola Blincow 13PR 



201


All-Rounder Prizes 

Awarded to a pupil in recognition of his or her all-round academic and 

creative talent, social contributions and extra curricular participation. 


YEAR 7 Sandip Roy 7GW Jas Singh 7EA 

Tzeitel Degiovanni 7RL 

YEAR 8 Gerard Pieterse 8GJ Tom Papke 8MJ 

Imogen Lemon 8CG 

YEAR 9 Pritika Mehra 9PF Sarah Hill-Smith 9AA 

YEAR 10 William Hammond 10TJ Maryam El-Rashid 10GR 

YEAR 11 Nikhil Kanade 11DL Tom Summers 11GC 

Rutvij Merchant 11GC 

Natasha Daoud 11DL 


House Captains 2009—2010 

Barbarossa 

Kristiena Hynes 12HG Andrew Chetcuti 12ZB 

Chichester 

Hannah Flower 12SO Kyal Mapara 12SO 

Cousteau 

Olivia Withers 12JM Tom Capon 12JM 

Heyerdahl 

Lana Neil 12SO Stephen Jones 12JM 

Special Prizes 

The Ernst & Young Prize For Literature 

Awarded to a pupil who has shown an excellent degree of critical awareness and a genuine 

interest in exploring the complexities and subtleties of meaning in the language of literary text 

Alia Ahmed 13JI 

The Godwin Austen Johnson Prize 

For Outstanding Design Talent 

Megan Jones 13JI 

The ‘AAA’ Service Centre Prize 

Awarded to a Sixth Form Pupil (other than Head Boy or Head Girl) who has made the most 

significant contribution to the Sixth Form in terms of academic endeavour, active support 

of the Sixth Form community and who has a genuine concern for the welfare of others. 

Philip McCarter 13JI 

The Prize For Academic Excellence At GCSE 

Awarded to a G.C.S.E. pupil who has performed at an outstanding academic level. 

Natasha Daoud 11DL 

Special Mention: Zoe Panayi 11DL, Mustafa Shaikh 11MQ 

Zehra Sharif 11CH 

Special Achievement Prize 

Kabir Tourani 12BV 



203


The Most Outstanding Performance 

In A School Production Award 

The Prize For Sporting Excellence 

2008-2009 (Boys) 

James Armstrong 13LA 

The European Council Of International Schools 

Award For International Understanding 

Awarded to a student who is a good representative of his or her own country, with a positive 

attitude towards the life and culture of others, able to converse in at least two languages, 

a contributing force in the life of the school, with the ability to bring people together into 

a sense of community, thus furthering the cause of international understanding. 


Erik Brinkhorst 13VH 

Founder’s Prize For The Most 

Promising Musician (Under 14) 

Emily Collinson 9RG 

The Prize For Sporting Excellence 

2008 -2009 (Girls) 

Karina Takapi-Lambert 13JI 

Tanisha Saxena 13VH 

Deputy Head Girl 2009 - 2010 

Farah Hertog 13LA 

Deputy Head Boy 2009 - 2010 

Karan Shirgaokar 13JI 

Head Girl 2009 - 2010 

Anisha Senaratne 13LA 

Head Boy 2009 - 2010 

James Armstrong 13LA

Prize Winners 2010 



205

HEAD BOY FOUNDER’S DAY SPEECH 

James Armstrong Head Boy 2009 - 2010 

My education began as it will finish 

- in the UK. I’m not entirely sure if 

this is a good thing or bad; you see 

my last memory of education in the 

UK is at my state primary school and 

can be summed up in one simple 

word - Football. Seriously it’s all I 

remember doing there, at break lunch, 

in maths, I’m not sure if we even had 

classrooms. It is testament to Tony 

Blair’s impact on the state education 

system that this is my only living 

memory of it. 

My time in DC however, cannot be 

summed up so briefly. It has gone 

almost too fast, I’m sure you’ve all 

heard plenty of speeches focused on 

time and how we all feel there isn’t 

enough of it. We’re always chasing 

time and I’m sure most of you will 

agree it tends to go much faster as you 

get older. 

Yet I think most of the sixth form will 

find that somehow lower school didn’t 

quite go slow enough. Life seemed 

so easy; my biggest concern each 

day was what had made it into my 

lunchbox. At the time, the prospect 

of joining a new school had been 

somewhat daunting, in hindsight less 

so. My point-approach adversities 

with confidence, in retrospect things 

are never as difficult as they first 

seem. The lower school provided an 

opportunity for us to learn more about 

our own abilities, interests and each 

other; I quickly discovered with my 

art teacher Miss Doherty, that the 

right side of my brain was in fact dead, 

probably since birth. 

These years which we remember 

as having almost no responsibility, 

will soon give way to complete 

responsibility in university. This will 

be difficult as we’ll be leaving to enter 

a society very different from the one in 

which we now live. Those sixth form 

males who get monthly manicures 

will have to realise these days are 

numbered; our sheltered upbringing 

in Dubai is coming to a close, it’s time 

to tie our own laces. This will merely 

be the next challenge in our life and 

one which we’ll most likely look back 

upon as being rather more reckless 

than responsible. 

I find that my time in DC has prepared 

me for this responsibility, Mr Mac’s 

terrible cooking lessons may have 


done little; just bung it all in. Chuck 

the spaghetti against the wall. Don’t 

worry it’s all about the seasoning 

not the food. It turns out the food is 

actually quite important. 

But the school has prepared me 

through the experiences it has given 

me. When I look back on my life in 

Dubai, I will remember it in terms of 

my life at Dubai College. It has been 

defined by it. We’re in school five days 

a week, eight hours a day, and when 

not in school most of my time spent 

has been dominated by it through 

friends, or in sports- the number 

of weekends spent on a bus to Abu 

Dhabi at 7am for a rugby tournament 

still haunts me but I should thank 

Mr Jones for teaching me not only 

everything about rugby, but perhaps 

more importantly how to win, I 

have never met someone in my life 

who hates losing so much, and it’s a 

useful asset to have. Competitiveness 

drives people, and the hugely talented 

student body here works off this. It 

is the defining characteristic of the 

school. The results here speak for 

themselves but what’s done in the 

process of getting these results is for 

me the most satisfying. Social lives, 

sports, hobbies and various other 

pursuits, upheld whilst sitting exams 

are what make the results more 

exceptional. I don’t think anywhere 

else in the world will you find a further 

maths class like ours. Ten students, 

eight nationalities and everyone so 

different - a fish, a thespian, a Hilary 

Duff fanatic (who is the hardest player 

on the rugby team) a male ice skater, a 

part-time bodybuilder - I could go on; 

it epitomises DC. I should probably 

apologise now on behalf of the class 

to Mr Lakiss for the years of abuse we 

have given him. 

It is this variance in the student body 

which makes it unique and which has 

made growing up in Dubai so fulfilling. 

I hold my peers on the balcony in the 

highest regard, everyone in the Sixth 

Form has brought something to it in 

their own different way. I have so 

many memories of this school, and the 

people in it, students and staff alike. 

One memory which sticks out in 

particular involves my science 

partner throughout GCSEs. In Year 

10, he illegally smuggled a packet of 

Polos into physics and during their 

consumption, managed to get one 

lodged in his throat and proceeded to 

choke on it in the middle of our lesson. 

Don’t worry the ending isn’t tragic. 

His response was unique; he began to 

pound his chest like King Kong unable 

to breathe. Our science teacher saved 

his life with the Heimlich Manoeuvre 

and the Polo was swallowed. The 

student then informed our teacher it 

was a pen lid he had absentmindedly 

been chewing, so as to avoid further 

retribution for sneaking food into 

class. 

During his near-death experience he 

had the cunning inspiration to remove 

the lid from his pen and place it in his 

pocket to hide the evidence. Sorry Mr. 

Quinlan; it was a Polo. 

This student in September heads 

to Oxford to study chemistry. You 

wonder what makes Oxford, Oxford. 

I feel confident in saying our year can 

now head to the next chapter in their 

lives in the knowledge that they’ve 

got what they wanted from secondary 

school, reached their potential and 

are prepared for the futures that face 

them. There will always be challenges 

in life, in varying shapes or forms, 

but as the late Art Buchwald said, 

“Whether it’s the best of times or the 

worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve 

got”- so make the most of it!

This day has made me anxious for 

quite a while now - partly on account 

of my fear that the minority of this 

speech will be words of wisdom, with 

the majority being my blatant attempt 

to suppress my urge to cry. Mostly, 

however, I’ve been apprehensive for 

what today signifies. No doubt for 

my peers and I it marks a step in an 

uplifting new direction; even so, it also 

means leaving the place that managed 

to shape an awkward group of adolescents, 

into the marvellous group of 

people (who claim they’ve grown up) 

sitting in the balcony today. However 

something I’ve learned, is that some 

things simply can’t be avoided, and despite 

wishful thinking, the passing of 

time is one of those things. As clichéd 

as it sounds, the days of being in Year 

7, sporting white shirts and obsessing 

over ‘piczo’ sites doesn’t seem that 

long ago. And now here I am ready to 

leave, a whole three inches taller than 

when I first came to DC, and standing 

here clumsily trying to sum up the last 

seven years of my life. 

To the Lower and Middle schools; 

I understand, if the concept of time 

escaping you doesn’t quite sink in 

just yet. I’ve sat where you are now 

and listened to six Head Girls before 

me tell me the same thing, yet I never 

truly understood the gravity of the 

phrase “time flies” until now. So if 

you don’t take away the message that 

time is fleeting, at least understand 

that it is precious; a commodity that 

can’t afford to be wasted. A typical 

tendency for many of us is to worry 

about our future rather than experience 

the present, but something 

becoming Head Girl has taught me, is 

that you can’t possibly anticipate who 

you’ll turn out to be down the line; so 

ultimately, time spent worrying is time 

wasted. - I think my year can agree 

that change is genuinely ever present 

and has the uncanny ability to leave 

you in a completely different place 

from where you started. Rather than 

let this intimidate you, embrace the 

notion that change has the potential to 

lead you away from whatever is troubling 

you now, despite how difficult 

it may seem. Besides, to be honest, I 

don’t quite remember the bad things. 

Instead what stands out to me now are 

HEAD GIRL FOUNDER’S DAY SPEECH 

Anisha Seneratne – Head Girl 2009 - 2010 

the wonderfully silly moments.- Like 

the time our class decided to laugh 

every time Mr. McIlveen said the word 

‘the’ – much to his confusion. Or the 

time Robyn thought it’d be hilarious 

to throw my pencil case up onto the 

roof of the ‘music block ‘. It was all 

very funny, until I made him climb up 

the ladder and get it! Or the absurd 

games that kept us amused all through 

Year 9, such as our fetish with stealing 

each other’s shoes, the boys fixation 

on trying to put me in the bin- something 

that still keeps them amused 

to this day, and as of this afternoon, 

their brilliant idea to wrap me to a 

chair with cellophane and leave me in 

various areas of the school. That was 

fun. That’s one thing I really appreciate 

about my year – we took our time 

to grow up. 

Now, being all grown up, and the only 

student in my year planning to study 

in Australia, its dawned on me that 

realistically, leaving school means 

leaving behind a large group of people 

I deeply respect, admire and care for 

and that I quite possibly may not have 

the fortune of seeing again. 

I have no doubt that we will all settle 

into our new surroundings with ease; 

the tricky bit is leaving behind the 

quirks to which we’ve all accustomed 

ourselves. 

Despite the fresh start university 

promises I sit and ask myself, who 

could possibly replace the roles in my 

life at present? Who will distract me 

from my work if I don’t have Therese 

in my maths classes, or say something 

inappropriate, and apologise profusely 

if there’s no JJ. Who could ‘orange’, 

‘scooter’ and spontaneously dance as 

much as Finn or Sam? Who will call 

me Shani? It’s not the prospect of 

the unknown that’s daunting, we’re 

prepared to cope, it’s leaving behind 

all we know now that’s hard to grasp. 

Of course through university, we’ll 

meet brilliant people, cultivate new 

experiences and refreshingly, live life 

in an entirely different light. I’ve never 

questioned our capability to move 

forward, or how much I’m certain we’ll 

enjoy doing so, but at this very moment, 

the thought of not seeing the 

faces I see everyday down the halls 

through which I’ve always walked, is 

heartbreaking. 

� 

Considering the impact DC has had on 

me, I couldn’t possibly leave without 

thanking two significant groups of 

people. Firstly, all the teachers who 

put up with my vocal manner and little 

boy hand writing in their classes over 

these years. In particular Mr.Penson, 

Mrs.Jones and Mr.Jones – I’m sure 

I speak for the A Level Drama Group 

when I say, these three teachers make 

up a department whose remarkable 

sincerity has always made their students 

feel less like students, and more 

like a cute little theatrical unit –I can’t 

quite express how much I’ve gained 

from you over the years. 

And lastly my year. I tried to think of a 

summative statement including all our 

inside jokes, but the majority are too 

rude, there are too many nicknames to 

mention and most of the words we use 

aren’t even real. In short, I feel beyond 

lucky, and somewhat privileged to 

have been able to grow up with all of 

you. Now as we move away, with trepidation 

no doubt, but more importantly 

a sense of accomplishment at what 

we’ve achieved here: who we’ve all 

become, we will build on the impression 

this school has left on us, the 

impression we’ve left on each other, 

and allow ourselves to make the next 

seven years of our lives as fulfilling as 

the last. Thank you. 


207

DESTINATION OF LEAVERS 2009 

Aneeka Ahmed Bath, Architecture 

Aisha Al Hafidh Southampton, French 

Talal Al Nawab Gap Year 

Issam Ashur Imperial College London, Civil Engineering 

Hassan Aslam Manchester, Economics 

Alexia Austin Brisbane, Journalism 

Kate Barnett Nottingham, Physiotherapy 

Anish Bhatnagar Chicago, USA, Liberal Arts 

Alex Brightmore Gap Year, applying for Medicine in 2010 

Lauren Bruffaerts University College London, 

Emily Burns 

European, Social & Political Studies 

Guildford Conservatoire, Musical Theatre 

Hannah Campbell Cornell, USA 

Human Biology and Health & Society 

Oskar Caneborg Edinburgh, Medical Sciences 

Greg Cannie Edinburgh, Law and History 

Neha Choudhary Northwestern, USA, Economics 

Anushka Chugani Tufts, USA 

International Relations and Languages 

Riddhi Cidambi Vassar College NY State, USA 

Liberal Arts 

Charlotte Codd Bournemouth, Fashion and Textiles 

Jason Comport University of Washington Seattle, USA 

Liberal Arts 

Artemis Constantinides Strathclyde, Business Enterprise 

Stephanie Constantinides Glasgow School of Art, Interior Design 

Rory Convery Notre Dame, USA, 

Liberal Arts with History Major 

Matthew Corcos Southampton, Civil Engineering 

Ellie Davidson Leeds, English Literature 

Ilona Debono Istituto Europeo Di Design, Milan 

Product Design 

Melanie DeBono Bocconi University, Milan, Economics 

Tess Deykin Bristol, Sociology 

Mandira Dhawan Nottingham Trent, Sociology 

Callum Dickson Edinburgh, Philosophy and Politics 

Rob Durie Northumbria, Psychology & Sports Science 

Conor El Sibai Warwick, Theatre & Performance Studies 

Stephen Fahim Imperial College London, 

Biochemical Engineering 

Daniel Fernandes Bristol, Civil Engineering 

Stephanie Gay Gap Year 

Siobhan Gerrard SOAS, London, Social Anthropology & Law 

Ross Gould Manchester, Computer Science and Maths 

Anish Gupta St Catharine’s, Cambridge, Economics 

Zara Haider Manchester, International Management 

David Hillier Imperial College London, Medicine 

Richard Holly Bristol, Civil Engineering 

Elliot Hurdiss University College London, Neuroscience 

Charlie Beth Hynes Warwick, Psychology 

Philip Illingworth Kingston, Criminology and Forensics 

Leigh-Anne Janaway Birmingham, Music 

Sharif Kamyab Glasgow, Business Management 

Rahul Kanade Vassar College, USA, Economics 

Bilal Khan Nottingham, Law 

Haneen Khan Bristol, Law 

Ross Langdon St. Andrew’s, Environmental Biology & 

Geography 

Nida Leewenburgh Princeton, USA, Physics 

Robert Legnar Gap Year 

Maxine Machado London Studio, Dance 

Leah Mapara Nottingham, Medicine 


Sarah Martin University College London, 

Biomedical Sciences 

James McConville Queens, Belfast, History and Politics 

Corrine McElhinney Glasgow, Sociology & Anthropology 

Nikita Mediratta Nottingham, Medicine 

Chirag Mehra King’s College London, Medicine 

Nupur Mohan London School of Economics 

Roxanne Mukhi Oxford Brookes, Marketing 

Zara Nicholas Oxford Brookes, 

Marketing and Tourism Management 

Vibeke Nielson Bournemouth, Art Foundation 

Marcus O’Connell Cardiff, Architectural Studies 

Alana O’Kirwan Nottingham, Architecture 

Katie O’Mahoney Oxford, Politics, Philosophy and Economics 

Shannon Palmer Auckland, NZ, Marine Science 

Saanya Papar Cornell, USA, Architecture 

Ben Pollock Oxford Brookes, Architecture 

Dylan Price Cardiff, Civil Engineering 

Elle Puni Auckland, NZ, Biomedical, Health Studies 

Shreya Radia Manchester, Economics and Politics 

Ranjani Ramani London School of Economics 

Philosophy and Economics 

Mathew Rivers Southampton, Oceanography 

Natalie Robehmed Columbia, USA, Liberal Arts with 

Philosophy Major 

Carina Rodd Nottingham, Economics 

Nic Roderick Durham, Economics 

Lena Rodgers University of Falmouth,Photography 

Paul Rogerson Manchester, Economics 

Eloise Rowe Gap Year, Applying to UK in 2010 

Rosie Ryan Durham, Psychology & Philosophy 

Sahas Saigal Bristol, Mechanical Engineering 

Pippa Seika Gap Year Applying for Medicine 

Zenny Sharif The Arts Institute, Bournemouth 

Art Foundation 

Ryan Sheridan Bournemouth, Marine Biology 

Jenny Smith Leeds, Medicine 

Matthew Snelling Southampton, Electromechanical 

Engineering 

Alexa Soar Leeds, Fine Art 

Dwani Soni University College London 

Architecture 

Iva Stefanovic Florence Design Academy, Italy, Interior 

Design 

Thomas Stone Surrey, Law 

Diosa Taylor Leeds College of Art and Design 

Art Foundation 

Ben Thompson Bath, Mechanical Engineering 

Sean Thornberry Odessa College, USA 

Alex Tompkins University College London, Chemistry 

Matthew Turner State University, USA, Golf Scholarship 

Charlie Wild Queens University, Belfast 

Business Economics 

Pascal Yammine Edinburgh, Sports Science 

Annabel Young Bristol, Civil Engineering

Senior rounders squad - Dubai College

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