Beyond Textbooks: How USI Qatar Combines Academics, Life Skills, and Real-World Prep

Edarabia had the opportunity to interview Principal Ian Evason of United School International Qatar (USI) to discuss his plans for the school’s future, the challenges facing education, and his strategies for ensuring student success. Principal Evason shared his insights on a range of topics, including academic focus, student motivation, inclusivity, and teacher development. His commitment to delivering a high-quality education and his passion for creating a positive and supportive learning environment for all students were evident throughout the interview.

1. What are your plans for 2025?

At USI, we have a set of core values: excellence, respect, responsibility, integrity and compassion. These core values are at the heart of everything that we do, both academically and socially, and we will continue to instill these values into our students throughout the coming year. Our student and staff numbers will continue to grow in 2025, but our core values will remain at the centre of everything.

2. How do you decide what to focus on academically each year, and which new ideas are you pursuing?

It’s important to start at the beginning! We prepare for each school year with a strong staffing analysis, assessing and reviewing our strengths and areas for development, and then we ensure that our aims are realistic. Change can be challenging for staff and students, so it is important to look for opportunities to improve our staff base and focus on the student experience.

3. What challenges do you anticipate in the field of education over the next 5 years?

The rise of AI is an important area that we need to be aware of. Although it has many potential uses, it will become increasingly difficult for teachers to ensure that the work of older students, which has been produced outside of the classroom, has not been created with the help of AI. It’s possible that schools may need to invest in software that is being developed to help deal with this issue. The internet is obviously a fantastic research tool, but our students need to learn how to think for themselves and use their own voice in their writing.

4. How do you keep students interested in learning, especially those who struggle or seem unmotivated?

There is no magic wand for this. We employ teachers whose skills as educators we believe will motivate and enthuse our students. But ultimately, it comes down to hard work, working closely with the child and their family – that is the skill of the staff. We focus on building relationships with the children and understanding their needs. Making the level of challenge high but the risk of failure low keeps children motivated.

5. How does the school ensure that all students feel welcome and have the same chances to succeed?

The visibility of the senior leadership team is important – no one wants a Principal or Head of School who hides away in their office. We ensure we are out at the front of the school every day at drop-off and pick-up time to speak to the students and their parents. We also place emphasis on the clarity of routines to support learning. At USI, we have strong pastoral support systems in place – students know who to speak to if they need support, either academically or socially. It’s also important to have rigorous and robust monitoring processes in place to ensure that we are consistently delivering the best possible education and social environment for our students.

6. How proactive is the school in matters of student stress and bullying?

We have a School Counselor and Senior Pastoral staff who focus on the wellbeing of our students. It’s important that students know there are staff members they can speak to if they are feeling stressed or are seeking support academically or socially. We also ensure that we have plenty of opportunities for fun alongside academic rigour – it’s vital that students can let their hair down and have fun to ensure that school is a fully-rounded experience for them. When it comes to bullying, we have a strong anti-bullying policy with clear procedures in place to ensure that all instances of bullying are dealt with effectively and efficiently. But of course, when it comes to things like bullying, prevention is better than cure, and we regularly engage our students in assemblies and activities that highlight the importance of showing respect and compassion for their peers.

7. How do you help students build the skills they need for life after graduation?

We believe in developing both the learner and the person at USI. All of our pastoral systems and personal development lessons work towards supporting children to be responsible global citizens with good people skills. These skills help the children to succeed, no matter what their chosen career path is. Of course, we also want them to leave USI with the highest possible academic grades to lead them on to the next stage of their education or the world of work.

8. How involved are parents and the community in making the school better?

We are lucky enough to have a large number of parents who are keen to give their time to supporting the school community. We have a strong Parent Society that meets regularly with the Principal and representatives from the Primary and Secondary teams. They provide us with regular feedback from the class representatives and offer exceptional support for all of the wonderful events that take place at the school.

9. How do you develop a school culture that attracts and keeps great teachers?

Over time, a school develops a reputation for being a good place to work – that certainly helps when it comes to attracting good teachers. We also have a rigorous recruitment process and clear criteria when it comes to ensuring that we are employing teachers of the highest quality. Clarity of communication, challenging inconsistency and celebrating successes all contribute to keeping teachers motivated and happy.

 10. Do teachers at your school have growth opportunities for leadership roles?

Absolutely – all internal candidates are guaranteed an interview for positions that arise. This is a useful starting point as it can identify areas of further development. We have CPD (Continued Professional Development) programmes in place, and we are currently running leadership development training for Heads of Department.

 11. Which after-school activity would you say has the biggest positive impact on a student’s future?

Any! As an ex-PE teacher, I firmly believe that all after-school activities support children in building character and developing friendships whilst challenging themselves. School Activities give students the opportunity to learn skills that we don’t always have time for during the school day or to focus even more on the subjects or sports that they’re passionate about.

12. As a Principal, what is your definition of success?

My definition of success is a calm, purposeful school where students are happy and motivated to learn and where everyone feels valued and can achieve their personal levels of excellence.

13. If you had the opportunity to inspire the world in one sentence, what would that sentence

Embrace the fear, expect challenges, work hard and be kind.