King's Academy

King's Academy (Arabic Translation: "كينغز أكاديمي") is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for students in grades 7 through 12 in Madaba-Manja, Jordan. It is named in honor of King Abdullah II of Jordan and seeks to fulfill His Majesty's vision of producing "a new generation of enlightened and creative minds."[2] King Abdullah attended high school at Deerfield Academy in the United States as there was no school of comparable standing in Jordan when he was a boy, but his son Crown Prince Hussein enrolled in the new school's second incoming class (2008). The school's first headmaster, Dr. Eric Widmer, was a past headmaster of Deerfield.[3]

For other uses, see The King's Academy (disambiguation).
King's Academy
Location
Madaba

Jordan
Information
TypePrivate, boarding
International school
MottoFloreat Scientia
Established2007
Magni DiscipulusSakhr Dabbas
Head of SchoolPeter Nilsson[1]
Grades7–12
GenderCo-educational
Color(s)Red, blue, and gold
AthleticsCo-educational curricular activities
MascotLion
Websitekingsacademy.edu.jo

The primary language of instruction at King's Academy is English. Both Arabic-speaking and non-Arabic-speaking students are required to study Arabic. The academy is a member of the G30 Schools group.[4]

Location and campus

The King's Academy campus was designed by Egyptian architect and Director of the Prince's School of Traditional Arts in London Khaled Azzam. The campus and buildings are constructed on a 575-dunum (144-acre) site and comprise some 33 major buildings. These include classrooms, laboratories and a 50,000-book library, a multi-faith spiritual center and garden, dormitories incorporating faculty family apartments, an observatory, and an auditorium that seats 700 people.

Athletic facilities

The athletic facilities include a semi-Olympic swimming pool, tennis, swimming pool, squash, handball and basketball courts, and cardio and weight training facilities. There is also an outdoor sports stadium, that includes a full-size football field, two additional football fields, and a track.

King Abdullah II Spiritual Center

The King Abdullah II Spiritual Center is a multi-faith spiritual center that is available for use to all members of the school community, regardless of their religious preference. Both the indoor prayer room and the open-air courtyard are available for use at all times by students, faculty, staff and campus visitors.

The Abdul Majeed Shoman Auditorium

The Abdul Majeed Shoman Auditorium holds 700 people and is the location of both school and community events including concerts, student recitals, plays and dance performances. Students and faculty members gather here for weekly school meetings.

The Sheikh Jabir Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Building

The building has a total area of 2,200 square meters and houses the Middle School, the Office of the Headmaster, and the Office of Admissions. The Middle School comprises 10 classrooms, two fully equipped science labs, an art wing, a study lounge and a large multipurpose room, in addition to the dean's office and the school counselor's office. The building is fully accessible with an elevator and additional ramps.

The HRH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library

For use by students, faculty, staff and guests of King's Academy, the HRH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library holds 50,000 volumes.[5] The building is outfitted with wireless internet, reading tables and study spaces, including a circular reading room (a rotunda) that overlooks the campus.

Student body

The King's Academy campus was built to accommodate both day and boarding students, the latter comprising about 70 percent of the student body.

For the 2019-2020 academic year, 660 students were enrolled at the school, representing some 40 countries in the Middle East and around the world. Of these students, 46 percent are female and 54 percent are male.[6]

The school draws students from diverse ethnic, geographic, religious, and economic backgrounds, and approximately 50% of students receive financial aid.[7]

Academics

The school's curriculum is based on the American Advanced Placement (AP) program, and the middle school curriculum is based on the College Board’s QUEST framework for teaching and learning. Students intending to attend a Jordanian university or gain certain professional licenses in Jordan can obtain a certificate of Tawjihi equivalency in lieu of taking the national Tawjihi examination. The primary language of instruction at King's Academy is English, but the study of Arabic is required of all students throughout their years at King's.

The academic departments at King's Academy are:

  • Art, Design and Technology
  • Communication, Rhetoric and the Literary Arts (Incorporating both English and Arabic)
  • History, Religion and Society
  • Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Mathematics and Computational Thinking
  • Physical and Life Sciences
  • World Languages[8]

King's Academy is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). It is a founding member of Global Online Academy (GOA), a member of the G20 Schools group, and is a Round Square school.

Co-curricular activities

All King's Academy students participate three afternoons a week in a major co-curricular activity and one afternoon a week in a minor co-curricular activity. These activities include community service, yearbook, performing and visual arts, sports, the school newspaper (called The Rexonian), and Model United Nations (KAMUN).

King's Academy Model United Nations

King's Academy Model United Nations or KAMUN, is one of Jordans oldest Model UN conferences. KAMUN was initiated in 2014, and has been annually overseen since its inception. Over 500 students from all schools in and around the region participate.

Community service

Community service is strongly encouraged. Students volunteer to help teach English to children, work with refugees, assist in clean-up projects, and work with non-profit social service organizations on environmental, educational, and social welfare issues. Each year, a community service fair is held to encourage students to participate in community service programs during the summer months.

Sports

King's Academy has a strong focus on athletics as part of its co-curricular program. The school competes both in local and international leagues. Competitive sports offered include:

The school also offers a number of recreational programs, where students work to develop skills rather than compete against other schools. These include:

Round Square

In 2010, King's Academy became the first Arab school to gain full membership in the global Round Square organization, an association of more than 200 schools in 50 countries on six continents that emphasizes building the whole person, and which focuses on experiential learning for students in areas relating to internationalism, democracy, environment, adventure, leadership and service. It allows students to travel across the world and participate in community service, exchange programs and adventuring. Since becoming a Round Square school, King's Academy has held three regional conferences and hosted some 400 student and adult delegates from 53 schools across the globe during the 2014 international conference.[9]

Arabic Year

In 2011, King's Academy initiated a new program called Arabic Year at King's Academy (AY), which offers American and international high school students one year of intensive Arabic study, cultural immersion and experiential learning. AY is designed for recent high school graduates (as a gap year program) as well as for students in grades 10 through 12. The program provides AY students with two classes of intensive Arabic each school day as part of a standard load of college preparation courses. In addition, attend outings and trips in Jordan and other countries of the region.[10]

References
  1. Head of School Corner
  2. "King's Academy". King's Academy. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  3. Paumgarten, Nick. "Our Far-Flung Correspondents: Deerfield in the Desert". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  4. http://www.g30schools.org/
  5. https://www.kingsacademy.edu.jo/about
  6. https://www.kingsacademy.edu.jo/admissions
  7. https://www.kingsacademy.edu.jo/about
  8. https://www.kingsacademy.edu.jo/academics/departments-and-courses
  9. "Al Salamu Alaikum, together we have it all… RSIC2014". Round Square. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  10. https://www.kingsacademy.edu.jo/arabic-year

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