Jubilee School
Encyclopedia
The Jubilee School is a non-for-profit, independent, residential, co-educational secondary school
located in Amman
, Jordan
. It provides a four-year comprehensive balanced program for outstanding students with high intellectual ability, and with a strong commitment to scholarship.
The project to establish the School was first announced in 1977, during Jordan's Silver Jubilee celebrations of King Hussein
's accession to the throne, as a tribute to His Majesty's development efforts, especially in the field of education. In 1984, Queen Noor accepted responsibility for the as yet unrealized project, and a year later it became one of the major undertakings of the newly established Noor Al Hussein Foundation. After years of research, planning and teacher training, and temporarily housed in a Ministry of Education building, the School opened its doors in 1993 to eighty-nine of Jordan's brightest ninth graders admitted for their exceptional intelligence and academic achievement, and in 1997 the School celebrated its first graduating class. In 1995, H. M. King Hussein laid the cornerstone for the first phase of the construction of the School's permanent home in Yajouz outside Amman, and in early 1998 the School moved from its temporary site to its permanent home. In 2000, the ownership of the Jubilee School for Gifted & Talented Students was transferred from the Noor Al Hussein Foundation to the newly established King Hussein Foundation as its first project in the area of education and leadership.
, Harvard University
, AUB
, Brown University
, the University of Washington
, Connecticut College
, Wayne State University and University of Texas.
for planning terrorist attacks in the Scottish Glasko airport. The school showed no response, however Asha's parents strictly denied the fact of their son being a terrorist.
Asha graduated from the Jubilee School in 1998 with an average of 98.3% in his Tawjihi, he held the 3rd highest mark in Jordan in that year. Asha married his class mate (Da'na) and then they both embarked to the UK where Asha was supposed to finish is studies in neurosurgery. Both Asha and Da'na were arrested by the British police.
On 16 December 2008 [Asha] Mohammed Asha
was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions, the jury accepted that he was an innocent 'dupe' who knew nothing of the plot that people he knew, Bilal Abdulla and Kafeel Ahmed, had planned. The judge at his trial criticized the counter-terrorism police for twice interviewing Asha without a solicitor and in his summing up he told the jury, "What this trial may have revealed to you, on this occasion, [is that] Mohammed Asha's rights were not fully respected." Footage played to the jury showed police officers swearing at and ridiculing Asha, the prosecution also admitted that
interviewing officers told Asha that they found new evidence regarding him which they knew to be untrue. Following his trial,
Asha was transferred from Belmarsh category A high security prison into the custody of the UK Immigration Service, where he awaits deportation. His lawyers said Asha will contest deportation, he wants to remain in the UK and rebuild his medical career. After a few days he was released pending a court decision a number of months later. Asha contested deportation and in January 2009 he was released on bail after the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) concluded it was not in the public interest to prevent him from returning to work. On 7 August 2009 the UK Immigration Service dropped its attempt to have Asha deported and he applied for leave to remain. Dr. Asha was granted the right to stay in UK based on his innocence and is now continuing his medical career in the UK.
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
located in Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. It provides a four-year comprehensive balanced program for outstanding students with high intellectual ability, and with a strong commitment to scholarship.
The project to establish the School was first announced in 1977, during Jordan's Silver Jubilee celebrations of King Hussein
Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal was the third King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein's rule extended through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict...
's accession to the throne, as a tribute to His Majesty's development efforts, especially in the field of education. In 1984, Queen Noor accepted responsibility for the as yet unrealized project, and a year later it became one of the major undertakings of the newly established Noor Al Hussein Foundation. After years of research, planning and teacher training, and temporarily housed in a Ministry of Education building, the School opened its doors in 1993 to eighty-nine of Jordan's brightest ninth graders admitted for their exceptional intelligence and academic achievement, and in 1997 the School celebrated its first graduating class. In 1995, H. M. King Hussein laid the cornerstone for the first phase of the construction of the School's permanent home in Yajouz outside Amman, and in early 1998 the School moved from its temporary site to its permanent home. In 2000, the ownership of the Jubilee School for Gifted & Talented Students was transferred from the Noor Al Hussein Foundation to the newly established King Hussein Foundation as its first project in the area of education and leadership.
Philosophy
- Successful learning takes place through exploration and experimentation, rather than through a rigid transmission of facts from teacher to student. Students should learn to become effective users of knowledge, not merely passive recipients.
- An academic curriculum should stimulate students' higher-level thinking skills and enhance their creative problem solving and decision-making abilities.
- Students should be given opportunities for innovative learning outside the classroom through community service programs, seminars, guest lectures, mentorship and exchange programs, research projects, independent studies and field trips.
- In order to contribute effectively to society, students need to develop self-confidence, tempered by humility and a sense of responsibility towards their larger community.
- Students preparing for leadership positions need to develop exceptional oral and written communication skills.
- Students must develop independent initiative and learn from their successes as well as from their failures.
- In addition to serving its students, one of the School's primary functions is to provide a variety of educational services to public and private institutions through workshops and training programs for teaching and administrative staff.
Goals
- To provide an integrated balanced educational program to its students who are accepted on the basis of competence, capability and exceptional performance, based upon solid academic grounds and extensive opportunities for students to develop higher-level thinking skills, creative problem-solving, leadership and effective decision-making.
- To achieve educational excellence by means of developing training and educational programs and materials to be later disseminated and utilized by the educational community in Jordan and the region. Thus, to serve as a laboratory for the development, testing and dissemination of innovative techniques in mathematics, science, and humanities which can become a resource for secondary school teachers in Jordan.
- To develop public awareness of the characteristics and needs of talented children through outreach programs, the dissemination of research findings, counseling and community service
Graduation and beyond
Jubilee graduates consistently rank in the top 10 percent of national exam scores for secondary schools. Virtually all of graduates attend highly competitive colleges and universities in Jordan, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Recent graduates have attended, Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, AUB
AUB
AUB may refer to:*Asian University of Bangladesh*American University of Beirut*Asia Universal Bank*Asia United Bank*Augsburg Airways*Apostolic United BrethrenOr in medicine:*Abnormal Uterine Bleeding...
, Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, Connecticut College
Connecticut College
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut.The college was founded in 1911, as Connecticut College for Women, in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women...
, Wayne State University and University of Texas.
Quotations
- “When I am in deep stress, I resort to the Jubilee School where I enjoy the democratic educational environment which is based on freedom of speech, and responsible mature dialogue.” - King Hussein of Jordan
- "We do not want simply to produce educated young people, important as that is; we hope to nurture educated activists and future leaders who can identify and help to resolve the challenges within their own societies and contribute to stability, peace and justice in the wider world, " – Queen Noor, describing the mission of the Jubilee School
- "The Jubilee School was established with the purpose of preparing for life the promising sons and daughters of this dear country without discrimination. From the outset, your school steered away from the traditional pattern of rote learning and adopted the incentives and convincing approach, encouraging students to use their common sense and develop their talents to reach the truth, acting like a lantern, leading them to what is better, more beautiful and nobler in life." - Prince Hamzah bin al Hussien
Arrest of Al-Asha
On July 2, 2007, the British Government arrested a Jubilee School alumnus Mohammed AshaMohammed Asha
Mohammed Jamil Abdelqader Asha is a Jordanian doctor resident in the United Kingdom, who was a suspect arrested after the attack on Glasgow Airport on 30 June 2007...
for planning terrorist attacks in the Scottish Glasko airport. The school showed no response, however Asha's parents strictly denied the fact of their son being a terrorist.
Asha graduated from the Jubilee School in 1998 with an average of 98.3% in his Tawjihi, he held the 3rd highest mark in Jordan in that year. Asha married his class mate (Da'na) and then they both embarked to the UK where Asha was supposed to finish is studies in neurosurgery. Both Asha and Da'na were arrested by the British police.
On 16 December 2008 [Asha] Mohammed Asha
Mohammed Asha
Mohammed Jamil Abdelqader Asha is a Jordanian doctor resident in the United Kingdom, who was a suspect arrested after the attack on Glasgow Airport on 30 June 2007...
was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions, the jury accepted that he was an innocent 'dupe' who knew nothing of the plot that people he knew, Bilal Abdulla and Kafeel Ahmed, had planned. The judge at his trial criticized the counter-terrorism police for twice interviewing Asha without a solicitor and in his summing up he told the jury, "What this trial may have revealed to you, on this occasion, [is that] Mohammed Asha's rights were not fully respected." Footage played to the jury showed police officers swearing at and ridiculing Asha, the prosecution also admitted that
interviewing officers told Asha that they found new evidence regarding him which they knew to be untrue. Following his trial,
Asha was transferred from Belmarsh category A high security prison into the custody of the UK Immigration Service, where he awaits deportation. His lawyers said Asha will contest deportation, he wants to remain in the UK and rebuild his medical career. After a few days he was released pending a court decision a number of months later. Asha contested deportation and in January 2009 he was released on bail after the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) concluded it was not in the public interest to prevent him from returning to work. On 7 August 2009 the UK Immigration Service dropped its attempt to have Asha deported and he applied for leave to remain. Dr. Asha was granted the right to stay in UK based on his innocence and is now continuing his medical career in the UK.