The facilities were often basic and the hours long, but the pay-offs were immense. Long before the UAE had branches of global schools and universities, pioneering teachers put down foundations that stood the test of time. They ensured pupils did not have to leave the country and they educated generations of youngsters. To mark the UAE's 50th anniversary, The National has profiled some of these schools.
Only a few schools in the Emirates can speak of a legacy that predates the UAE, but Dubai English Speaking School (DESS) is one.
The school opened in a villa on the shores of Dubai Creek in 1963.
The pupils were taught in a rudimentary classroom and modern facilities were lacking. But change was coming.
Dubai's late Ruler, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, in 1967 granted the school land in Oud Metha.
From only a handful of pupils in the villa, about 2,700 pupils now attend DESS and its secondary school arm, Dubai English Speaking College.
To celebrate its 58-year journey, DESS is launching an alumni project, with sixth-form students and the school's first-ever pupils contributing stories.
Some of the stories are about the kids going to schools on donkey and camels
Andrew Gibbs
“There are four sixth formers at Dubai English Speaking College who are going to be writing a book over the next 15 months," said Andrew Gibbs, principal of the college.
“This comes on the back of establishing some recent contacts with the first seven children to ever attend DESS in 1963.
“There are things I've learned with a view to capturing as many of our alumni as possible, the oldest of whom are around 64 years old."
He said speaking with former pupils had corrected his knowledge regarding places, dates and times.
There was no set curriculum to begin with and a mix of British and American pupils attended the school in 1963.
The first group of 10 pupils were taught by some of the parents and by a British serviceman, Flight Lt F Loughman, from the Royal Air Force Educational Corps.
The book will show what life in the Emirates and the school was like more than 50 years ago. It will also include noteworthy visits to the school such as by Princess Anne, daughter of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, in 1987.
"Some of the stories are about the kids going to schools on donkey and camels. If you lived over the Creek, you got a boat, and then you were picked up by a donkey which brought the last few 100 yards to the school," Mr Gibbs said.
Aileen Davidson has taught at DESS since 1991.
The primary school teacher moved from Ireland during a career break in 1989 and has lived in the UAE since.
“The school is very much interwoven within the fabric of the city, because we have endured and grown with the city despite the fact that our campuses might not look swanky," said Ms Davidson.
“One of the things I like is that there's children that I taught who are now coming in with their children.
"If I'm on duty at the gate I still meet parents and they're saying, Hello, Ms Davidson, and I'm thinking, Oh, my goodness, I taught you when you're four.
"I feel so privileged to have been able to see that and to see how the children I taught got on in life."
Ms Davidson, who joined as a year five teacher, later became a group leader and now takes care of special educational needs.
"I remember our beautiful field at the back that was sand. There was football played out there and sports days held out there," she said.
"It's been a tremendous ride over the years.
"Life was a lot simpler and a lot quieter. Some colleagues would hop into their cars and drive across desert to get to school.
"I remember my first night out in 1989. I had literally arrived to the country and was living in Sharjah and came over to the Metropolitan hotel in Dubai and had no idea where I was going and the Sheikh Zayed road was a dual carriageway."
After months of hardly any celebrations during the pandemic, the school will be marking the UAE's Golden Jubilee next week.
A two-day-extravaganza, complete with food, falcons, henna, music, competitions and exhibitions, has been planned.
The Emirati Heritage Festival, which will be held on Sunday and Monday, will see more than 1,000 pupils come together to celebrate the Emirate’s rich history and culture.
"We will celebrate the music and the animals and the culture and the food," said Catherine Dando, headteacher at DESS.
"It will be a two day extravaganza celebrating all things Emirati."
Designers from the Museum of the Future will also be giving a talk. And pupils will work on a project that predicts what Dubai will be like in 50 years.
'We're looking at UAE, past, present and then what the children would imagine the UAE would be in 50 years," said Ms Dando.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Bio
Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering
Favourite colour: White
Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
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The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Meydan race card
6pm Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
6.35Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
1,800m
7.10pm Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m ,400m
7.45pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
8.20pm Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m
8.55pm Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
9.30pm Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m
