Emma-Jane Weighell | Director of Music, DESC

Emma-Jane Weighell is the longest serving member of staff at DESC. Starting at DESS in September 2001, five years before the existence of the DESC site at Academic City, Emma-Jane has worked within Music and the Performing Arts for two decades. When Emma-Jane was approached to write a piece for this publication, her words were, “it would be an honour.” 

In my time here I have worked with 5 school leaders; from Ken Battye, who appointed me for the secondary post, then Peter Daly who was known for his courageous statement for DESC to be simply ‘The best secondary school in Dubai’, through to Garry Russell, then a brief period for Andrew Tkaczuk to take the helm, followed by Andrew Gibbs and finally Christopher Vizzard. I have seen many changes in my time at DESSC as well as within Dubai itself.  I wonder if  any of you readers even remember life before DESC, the Country Club or the fact that Sheikh Zayed Road had just two lanes and sand tracks to get to the Beach Road?   

Starting the secondary as DESSS (far too many S’s; some quickly got dropped) with 32 pupils on role on the primary site at Oud Metha you think would be an easy ride for teachers? Well, yes, I can guess why you would think that. The truth of the matter was, it was busy, really busy. Whether it was curriculum planning, creating policies, attending meetings, adapting to a mixed staff of secondary and primary year groups, teaching across both schools, what very quickly became the ethos at DESC was to cater for all, which underpinned the very heart of the College. 

In our second year, it was time to move to the desert, the current site. After being given blueprints, and allowed to scribble all over them, the staff had the opportunity to make the College their own. I designed the DESC music area to be big enough for a grand piano to fit through classroom doors, I created an area for live music and singing within a classroom as well as a study area, and my materialistic wish of a bathroom for my office, which I had always yearned for, was granted. I remember knocking down virtual walls from the architects plans and wearing a hard hat around a very dusty site. The fact that we opened without water and electricity was very much overlooked!

The larger campus in turn catered for more students and soon we were able to feel the exceptional potential that the College had. For me, this also meant providing exceptional experiences for our students and, with our headteacher coming from another outstanding BSME school, St Christopher’s, Bahrain, the expectation was that we would compete with other students at the highest level. So, off to the Young Musicians of the Gulf (YMOG) competition we went, with our brooms packed for our ensemble piece. Whilst we were slightly out of our league, we were the only school that was asked to do a special extra performance in a St Christopher’s assembly. In our second year at YMOG, we graduated to boomwhackers, water bottles, a xylophone and, with a loan from our PE dept, basket balls too. We quickly became known as the ‘Basket Cases’. At DESC we are always being given the chance to be creative, some may say weird and wacky, however, the mantra was aIways - let’s be different, let’s be clever. Oh yes, did I mention, well done to our ‘Basket Cases’ for achieving joint first place at YMOG that year! 

I also remember the outside concerts that took place in DESC’s new amphitheatre, which was very aesthetically pleasing. However, in reality, our resplendent Festive Concert which was all decked out with mince pies and twinkling lights, became not quite so pleasant when the heavens opened and the amphitheatre became waterlogged with the instruments still outside. Bedraggled, drenched and with many laughing faces we repositioned ourselves into an adjacent space, now one of the House indoor spaces. You would think that in April time, at the Easter Concert, the Amphitheatre would come into its own? Alas, no. By the time I had done a day of rehearsals, the backs of my legs looked as if I had been rolling in cochineal and the stringed instruments sounded almost atonal in the heat. In those initial years, it wasn’t always just the DESC students that performed; the staff from the Music, Maths, English and PE departments often collaborated and showcased their talents in the early years and also performed as a band at the Staff Ball.

Charity was always at the heart of DESC and remains so to this day. With our first few trips to Ethiopia to support a charity called RAEY, teaching Maths, English and Music to the Ethiopian youngsters, the DESC community also provided enough underwear, shoes, toothbrushes, toothpaste and stationary resources for the entire RAEY school. DESC also raised enough money for two classrooms to be built. RAEY have now come a long way in terms of their school and the support that they provide to their community. This was just one of the early charities that DESC supported, along with Brest Friends and Children of the Mountain.

I know that not everyone in Dubai will agree with me, but I still to this day believe that DESC is, by far, the best school in Dubai. It may be that all teachers say the same about their school, however, I don’t believe them. For me, it has always been the added value that the DESSC brand brings; it really goes above and beyond what is written on the tin. It goes without saying that there is a wealth of knowledge within the staff body, as demonstrated by our excellent examination results, however, I believe that it is the drive, enthusiasm, passion and belief in the students that make us winners on that stage. As a mum of three, I have seen this from a parental perspective as well as a professional one. There quite simply is not another school in Dubai that can offer me and my children what DESC offers daily, whilst standing firm on the values on which the College was built.

The students that leave us, our Alumni, are a testament to both the School and College. The communication I receive from them years on, the invites to weddings (I suddenly feel very old), the careers that they wish to share or the fact that they still want to pick brains on interview questions or audition criteria, all demonstrate that our DESSC staff really do shape the lives of our students. I am proud that these youngsters grow up to be respectful, caring adults who can converse and hold their own, are interesting and set themselves apart with their manners. What a legacy this place has. Truly outstanding.