The Abu Dhabi branch of Cranleigh School is set to open in 2014 and will be located on seven hectares of the Saadiyat Island, making it one of the largest campus in UAE. Courtesy TDIC
The Abu Dhabi branch of Cranleigh School is set to open in 2014 and will be located on seven hectares of the Saadiyat Island, making it one of the largest campus in UAE. Courtesy TDIC

Cranleigh Abu Dhabi School breaks ground on Saadiyat Island



ABU DHABI // Construction work has begun on the prestigious Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, the emirate's first boarding school.

Cranleigh has a 148-year history in Surrey, England, and the campus on Saadiyat Island is expected to open next year.

The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) today announced the ground-breaking at the site.

Once completed, the school is tipped to be one of Abu Dhabi's largest, with places for more than 1,600 primary and secondary pupils between the ages of three and 18.

It will provide the latest IT equipment, including tablet computers for pupils.

"This is a milestone in the island's transformation into a premier destination, while demonstrating TDIC's mandate to support the development of high-level education in Abu Dhabi," said Ali Al Hammadi, deputy managing director of TDIC.

"When it opens, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi will provide educational benefits not only for the island's residents and members of Abu Dhabi's community, but the region as well."

The school was designed by Godwin Austen Johnson Architects of the UK, and is next to Manarat Al Saadiyat and the UAE Pavilion in the Saadiyat Cultural District.

"TDIC is currently in the process of selecting the main contractor, which will be the next key milestone in the school's development," said Mr Al Hammadi.

Registrations will be accepted from November.

ksinclair@thenational.ae

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Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid 

Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

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How green is the expo nursery?

Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery

An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo

Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery

Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape

The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides

All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality

Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country

Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow

Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site

Green waste is recycled as compost

Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs

Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers

About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer

Main themes of expo is  ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.

Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months

if you go

The flights

Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return. 

The trek

Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required. 

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