Esol Education

Founded in 1976, Esol Education specializes in the establishment and management of high quality international schools around the Middle East and Mediterranean. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, with branch offices in Hong Kong, Cairo and Nicosia, Esol Education currently serves over 10,000 students, operating a total of nine international schools in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Nicosia, and Aley.

Each of the Esol Education schools follows an American or British curriculum and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) and/or the Council of International Schools (CIS). Seven Esol schools currently offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme with some offering the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IBPYP).

Esol Education schools enjoy the benefits of experienced leadership and management, excellent facilities, and caring and dedicated teachers. Since its inception, Esol’s focus has always been the attainment of the highest standards of educational excellence.

Esol Education’s story begins with its founder, Chairman and Superintendent, Walid Abushakra. Mr. Abushakra began his career as an educator in Lebanon, teaching mathematics and physics at the secondary school level. By the age of 32, he had become a school Director and had co-authored two series of mathematics textbooks.

In 1969, Mr. Abushakra became Director of the Universal College in Aley, one of Lebanon's most historic and prestigious schools, founded in 1907. When the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975, he looked beyond his home country and sought to bring high quality American and international education to the broader region. He left for the United States in 1975, and later he established a new American school in Kuwait called the Universal American School (UAS-Kuwait).

Mr. Abushakra tailored the school to the local community, instilling a positive and pleasant but conservative school atmosphere with highly qualified American teachers and administrators. During Mr. Abushakra’s fourteen years as its Superintendent, its enrollment grew to over 1,500 students. Its top graduates were going on to elite American universities like Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. UAS-Kuwait had a profound impact on education in the Gulf emirate as its success led to the emergence of many other new international schools.

Esol Education’s mission is to provide outstanding education to students and excellent professional opportunities for educators in international communities, instilling the knowledge, skills, and character necessary for success in the 21st century.

Esol Education’s vision is to be the most reputable and trusted provider of high quality international education.

At Esol Education, we believe that sustainability education holds the key to inspiring and enabling future generations to find crucial solutions to the mounting issues humanity is facing as a result of climate change. As educators, we are keen to contribute by incorporating sustainable values within our existing and upcoming schools and instilling a “green consciousness” within our students, with a vision to having this consciousness cascade into the important decisions they will make when they graduate and take their places as the leaders of the future.