The community at Al Raja was proud to graduate its first class in 2008. Students have then succeeded in heading around the world to institutions of higher learning. Two students were asked to share their thoughts about their experiences at Al Raja School and what life is like now that they are at university.
Abdulla (2009), Keswick University (Keswick, England)
After completing a one year science and engineering foundation course at the University of Warwick upon graduating, I started my civil engineering degree programme at University College London.
Thinking back upon my time at Al Raja, I would say that the thing that makes it different is the atmosphere that allows students to be occupied academically and at the same time engaged socially with the people they go to school with everyday. As Al Raja is relatively small when compared to most other schools, there is always a feeling that everyone knows everyone and it the students much more comfortable in expressing themselves fully at all situations. Friends are not just school friends, teachers are not just teachers, and the feeling of “we are all one big family” is not just a cliché.
Thinking back upon my time at Al Raja, I would say that the thing that makes it different is the atmosphere that allows students to be occupied academically and at the same time engaged socially with the people they go to school with everyday. As Al Raja is relatively small when compared to most other schools, there is always a feeling that everyone knows everyone and it the students much more comfortable in expressing themselves fully at all situations. Friends are not just school friends, teachers are not just teachers, and the feeling of “we are all one big family” is not just a cliché.
Noof (2008), Royal College Surgeons Ireland (Busaiteen, Bahrain)
I won't lie by saying that my experience at Al Raja was simply awesome, because every path in life has its ups and downs. However, I look back and all I can see is that cozy and safe place which holds twelve years of my memories. Al Raja is the place where I met the best of friends, the home that introduced me to new parents, the playground that gave me more brothers and sisters, and the school that taught me the most valuable lessons in life. I was among the first batch of graduates from Al Raja in 2008, and since then I have been studying Medicine in RCSI-Bahrain (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland- Bahrain).
University life in general is really different from life we experience during school. I remember how we used to argue every single decision, break every new rule, and complain about every extra word we had to read. But today, I realize that you cannot always have your way in life. Everything happens for a reason and every single moment at Al Raja, regardless of it being magnificent or miserable, has prepared me for my future in one way or another. Nowadays in university, there are times that I have to sit for three exams on the same day. Every time I come across one of those days I recall how much we complained about sitting for two exams in school. Thus, I admit that I would not have made it this far without having this school as a part of my past. I am honored and proud to be a graduate of Al Raja; and, no matter how much I write, I would never be able to find the perfect words to describe my precious school.
University life in general is really different from life we experience during school. I remember how we used to argue every single decision, break every new rule, and complain about every extra word we had to read. But today, I realize that you cannot always have your way in life. Everything happens for a reason and every single moment at Al Raja, regardless of it being magnificent or miserable, has prepared me for my future in one way or another. Nowadays in university, there are times that I have to sit for three exams on the same day. Every time I come across one of those days I recall how much we complained about sitting for two exams in school. Thus, I admit that I would not have made it this far without having this school as a part of my past. I am honored and proud to be a graduate of Al Raja; and, no matter how much I write, I would never be able to find the perfect words to describe my precious school.
