Dubai Tour Report

After multiple weeks of football fitness sessions and football training sessions in preparation for this tour, the time had finally arrived on Friday 24th October for 68 members of our school’s community to embark on the largest team sports tour our School has ever organised. The 61 pupils and 7 members of staff made their way to Heathrow Airport and departed on the overnight flight to Dubai International Airport. Upon arrival, there was no time for rest as a busy day of sightseeing, and a training session lay ahead. After dropping our belongings at the hotel, we made our way to the Burj Khalifa to travel to the observation deck of the largest building in the world. From this viewpoint, the pupils had a breathtaking view of Dubai, and it was an excellent way to start our tour by observing the landscape from above. After a short lunch stop in Dubai Mall, which ended with us viewing the water fountain display in front of the Burj Kalifa, we checked into the hotel and then made our way to Sevens International Stadium for a training session. During this training session, the accompanying staff were so impressed with the effort and quality shown by our pupils considering that the pupils had very little sleep in the previous 36 hours.

The following day, we visited Atlantis Waterpark, the largest waterpark in the world, and the pupils enjoyed several hours exploring the waterpark's thrilling rides. This included the 'Leap of Faith' which saw them plummet in a near-vertical fashion at 60km/h before travelling through a clear tube surrounded by sharks and 'Poseidon's Revenge' which saw pupils enter a chamber with a trapdoor which opened resulting in pupils dropping 31 metres at a speed of 60km/h. After an energy sapping day, we all enjoyed a fantastic buffet at our hotel before watching Barcelona vs. Real Madrid.

On Monday 27th October, we travelled to Abu Dhabi to see the Formula 1 Track before having lunch in Yas Mall. Following this, a real highlight of the tour was us exploring the nearby Shiekh Zayed Grand Mosque. The behaviour of the pupils was exceptional, and they thoroughly enjoyed learning about the history of the Mosque, observing the beauty of the religious site and learning more about the culture of the local population. After the visit, it was time for the first football fixtures at Abu Dhabi Cricket Club and Sports Hub with Regional Sports Academy. Their commitment to training sessions prior to the tour paid off as the pupils performed admirably in these fixtures with the U14A team winning 8-1 (Christiano S (3), Michael T J (3), Marcus C B and Andre K), the U14B team winning 2-1 (Jayden J M and Chido O N) and the U15A team winning 2-0 (Samuel A and Jake P). Furthermore, despite the U15B team falling to a defeat, the staff were very impressed with their commitment and work-ethic during the fixture. It was great to witness all the pupils enjoying both their success and the success of their fellow pupils.

After a late dinner and an early breakfast, the pupils had some relaxing time in the morning on Tuesday 28th October on Kite Beach which had a spectacular view of the Burj Kalifa. The pupils enjoyed a swim in the sea, touch rugby on the beach and some beach football as well before returning to the hotel for lunch prior to their 'Desert Safari' excursion. The tour party was collected in jeeps and made their way to the desert where the tyres were deflated, and they travelled over the sand dunes exploring the desert. After their trip through the desert, we enjoyed a traditional dinner and an entertainment show including traditional dancing, fire dancing and music. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed their excursion in the desert and fully immersed themselves in the local culture.

Our last full day in Dubai was action-packed with pupils either visiting the local mall or swimming in the pool before their final lunch in the hotel where we celebrated Ollie O'D's 15th birthday. After lunch, we travelled to Dubai Creek and Souks which was an eye-opening experience for our pupils with many of them attempting to haggle for cheaper Dubai Chocolate. After visiting the Souks, the pupils had their second fixtures of the tour and, once again, the staff members were delighted with the commitment levels shown by all pupils as the standard of opposition was greater than during their first fixture. Impressively, the U14 A and B teams won these two fixtures as well with the U14A team winning 5-1 (Christiano S (3), Andre K and Theo M) and the U14B team scoring two late goals to win 3-2 (Michael A, Theo N and Chido O N). The U15 teams faced a tougher challenging and despite losing both fixtures, they should be proud of their efforts with Sean B and Jace R scoring the U15A team and Cameron B, Joe C and Tristan G scoring for the U15B team. The touring party then enjoyed their final dinner together before arriving at Dubai International Airport for the return flight.

The purpose of this tour was for the pupils to immerse themselves in the local culture and to develop their sporting prowess and the staff members on this trip are unequivocal in their belief that these aims were achieved. The pupils were exceptional throughout the trip, and they were a credit to themselves, their families and our School's wider community. They should be very proud of their attitude and behaviour throughout the entire tour, and we look forward to them representing our school’s sports teams for the remainder of their time at our School. Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Asomani, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Mooney, Mr. Rumun and Mr. Secker for their assistance on this tour as, without their help, this amazing learning experience would not have been possible.

Mr. Brett and Mr. Murphy