On 2 December 1971, the rulers of the seven Emirates united to become the United Arab Emirates. For citizens, expatriates, and tourists alike, National Day is a time for reflection and celebration.
The nation’s schools have already been celebrating, and nowhere more so than at the Repton Family of Schools, with Gillian Hammond, Principal at Repton Al Barsha, saying: “Our students enjoyed VR tours of the seven Emirates, which allowed them real immersion into the unique characteristics and heritage of each Emirate in this great nation. They also experienced a wonderful dog show by the Dubai Police and their canine unit, camel rides, meeting a falcon, henna, and of course, we all loved the Emirati food! We completed our celebrations by sitting in the shape of the number 51 and taking an amazing photo from the roof. This will be displayed in our Reception area for all to see.
“We celebrate to show our respect for this nation’s leaders”
“We encouraged our whole community to reflect on why we celebrate this important day each year. What does it mean to us and our families? We reached the following conclusions:
- “We celebrate to show our appreciation of the opportunities, relationships, lifestyle, and memories living in the UAE provides everyone.
- We celebrate to show our respect for this nation’s leaders who maintain the highest levels of safety, infrastructure, facilities, and services.
- We celebrate because we are inspired by the entrepreneurial, ambitious, and tolerant vision that drives continuous improvement for all our children, who are the world’s future leaders.
- We celebrate to honour those who make, and have made, sacrifices for our freedom and security here in the UAE.”
Over at Repton Abu Dhabi, Principal, Steven Lupton, commented: “At Repton Abu Dhabi, both Rose and Fry campus communities came together to celebrate the UAE’s 51st National Day. The day was full of fun, laughter, and of course… food! We enjoyed getting to explore some of the UAE’s heritage and culture through live cooking stations, traditional games, basket weaving, camel rides, falcons, henna, and much more.”
“The day was full of fun, laughter, and of course… food!”
And at Repton Dubai, Headmaster David Cook said: “It was wonderful to see the whole school celebrate the history, culture, and traditions of the UAE, on this very special day. It was certainly colourful, and thoroughly enjoyable, with a theme of sustainability and caring for our precious planet. We were delighted that the Minister for State was our honoured guest speaker, His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, who was able to convey this message to the whole community.”