Kathryn Jane Allen

RAK Academy, 2002-2016 

B.A. in International Studies: Specialisation in International Affairs - Zayed University

Head Girl (2014-2015)

​

As a student who has been at RAK Academy for almost the entirety of my school life, I have seen the school grow and change throughout the years while I, myself, have grown with it. With RAK Academy being an international school that welcomes students from all over the globe, I have had the honor of meeting people and making friends from places that I may never get the chance to visit.

​

The globalism of the school also means having the opportunity to study external curriculums such as IGCSEs, The International Baccalaureate (IB) and A-Levels. Personally, I did IB in order to explore my skills and help me find a direction in which to continue my studies after school. Over the years, I have recognised my strengths in subjects such as English, geography, art and languages and have been able to identify the subjects that I can improve in.

​

Overall, RAK Academy was a great environment to explore my abilities and skills, as well as to discover myself as a person and help prepare me for what comes after school and it was an entirely beneficial and enjoyable experience.

RAK Academy, 2005-2010 (IB Diploma)

University of North Carolina, Class of 2014, B.Sc in International Business Management and B.Sc in Entrepreneurship

HL – Business, ITGS, Maths; SL- Physics, English & French

​

Ananya Huria, RAKESS and an IB alumni, is now back in United Arab Emirates and working as a successful Design, Digital Media and PR associate in Dubai. Like any other expat kid, she joined RAK Academy (RAKESS then) in Year 8, when her parents migrated to RAK due to their jobs. After finishing her IB diploma in 2010, she moved to North Carolina, USA to study International Business and Entrepreneurship.

​

Ananya highlights her key learnings from IB and how the program helped her during her university years, “IB was not easy, but the most rewarding 2 years of my life! IB taught me to prioritize every little thing in my life, from HL Math assignments to spending time with friends and family to getting those CAS hours in. Those 2 years spend writing papers and essays really eased my way into uni. I remember my first year in uni I had to write 5 page essay every week for almost every class and it was a breeze, because every IB graduate is trained to produce 20+ page papers at any given time.” IB did not only help her excel at university but also gave her skills to adapt and grow among different people and culture. “IB is such a global program that wherever you go you’ll find IB people to connect with, and not just that the program itself gives you so much insight about the rest of the world that by the end of it you feel like a global citizen!”

RAK Academy, 2002-2016 

Bachelors of Arts in Economics, Finance and International Development at McGill University, Montréal, Canada

​

Lavanya Huria joined RAK Academy at age 7, and found it a very stimulating environment in which she was exposed to many languages, cultures, and people. Due to the small size of the classrooms, she found it easy to socialise, as well as collaborate with her peers on academic topics. She remembers RAK Academy as a microcosm of her current university. "My whole life up until now was this school. I got the opportunity to expand all of my interests - the performing arts, sports leagues, international charitable initiatives, as well as successfully introducing Psychology as a course taught in the IB. RAK Academy showed me ways to always live up to my potential. Coming with 30 advanced credit with the IB has given me such an advantage, because I am looking at less time at university, already having the refined writing, and organisational skills. The workload at university resembles the assignments given to me during my last two years of high school. A solid foundation such as this one has prepared me well for the exciting city of Montréal. "

Lavanya also received a Student Award from the Council of International Schools in recognition of your contribution to the development and advancement of internationalism.

RAK Academy 2001-2016

B.A. in International Studies: Specialisation in International Affairs - Zayed University

Head Girl (2014-2015)

​

As a student who has been at RAK Academy for almost the entirety of my school life, I have seen the school grow and change throughout the years while I, myself, have grown with it. With RAK Academy being an international school that welcomes students from all over the globe, I have had the honor of meeting people and making friends from places that I may never get the chance to visit.

​

The globalism of the school also means having the opportunity to study external curriculums such as IGCSEs, The International Baccalaureate (IB) and A-Levels. Personally, I did IB in order to explore my skills and help me find a direction in which to continue my studies after school. Over the years, I have recognised my strengths in subjects such as English, geography, art and languages and have been able to identify the subjects that I can improve in.

​

Overall, RAK Academy was a great environment to explore my abilities and skills, as well as to discover myself as a person and help prepare me for what comes after school and it was an entirely beneficial and enjoyable experience.

RAK Academy 2013-2016 

I am now studying in The Netherlands to make my dreams of working for GoPro, Red Bull or National Geographic come true. University was not exactly as I expected but I am enjoying my time here.

​

At my university, lectures are fun. They bring people from actual businesses like Sony to talk to use about how the gaming and media industry is changing for example. Tutorials which are basically classes are more fun, for now we have mainly completed presentations for our 4 main subjects, pitching in English, Management, Project Management and Media & Entertainment. Luckily life at RAK Academy prepared me for these tasks and while the IB programme was difficult it has made my transition to university much easier.

​

Trust me when I tell you that school and university will probably be the best years of your life so work hard and do something you actually love.

RAK Academy, 2008-2016

Bachelor of Commerce, Christ University, Bangalore, India

As a student who has been in RAK Academy for 8 years, I have seen the school grow in different dimensions with their focus on excellence in education. RAK Academy Secondary School has over 900 students from 103 nationalities which shows how international the school is. I had the privilege of making friends with people from various countries around the world. RAK Academy offers the chance to study prestigious courses including, IGCSEs, A-Levels and IB. RAK Academy is also one of the few schools in the UAE to offer both the British Curriculum and International Curriculum, this presents an opportunity for students to explore courses of their choice while at RAK Academy.

I chose the IBDP because I felt it provided me a wider holistic education. I can say that the IBDP helped me develop intellectual, personal, social and emotional skills. I also felt that IBDP helped in building my critical thinking skills and to always be at the service of our community. Over the years at RAK Academy, I was able to recognize my strengths in subjects such as Business and Math, which helped me to choose finance as my major at university.

​

Overall, I believe that RAK Academy provided numerous opportunities for me to explore my strengths and build on them. It was a wonderful 8 years at RAK Academy that I’ll always treasure and a huge thanks to everyone who was a part of a great journey.

​

​

​