Ammon News - HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan has been nominated as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Amman Baccalaureate School (ABS) by outgoing Founding Chair, Princess Sarvath El Hassan. HRH Princess Sarvath founded the ABS in 1981 and has served as Chair of the BoT for four decades. Princess Sumaya had previously served for many years as Deputy Chair and as a member of the Parent-Teacher Association, as well as being a former student and the parent of students.

In her new capacity as Chair of the BoT, HRH Princess Sumaya said that she celebrated the inspirational work of HRH Princess Sarvath and the other founders and leaders of the school over the years as ABS continued to strive towards excellence in everything it does, including the education it provides and the systems it engages to deliver it.

She added: "This year we mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of ABS, a milestone that gives us all an opportunity to take stock and to refocus on our evolving school for the future. It offers us a chance to review and renew our guiding statements."

"ABS has come a long way since the founders set themselves the task of establishing an innovative and ground-breaking school in 1981. ABS quickly became a mould-breaker and innovator on the national, regional, and international levels, and we continue that tradition."

The ABS BoT and academic staff have worked closely over the years with the International Baccalaureate Organization Council of Foundation to develop, pilot and implement an IB syllabus for the History and Culture of the Islamic World, and for teaching and examination of Arabic at Language ‘A’ Level. Today, as a result of their collective efforts, these two subject options are offered worldwide.

"Today, we are delighted that despite the challenges posed by two greatly disturbed academic years, 2021’s IB Diploma results were outstanding," added HRH Princess Sumaya. "In line with other leading educational institutions and authorities around the world, we did not host exams but awarded grades based on internal assessment and extended essays." ABS scored a 100% pass rate, with 35 students scoring above 40 out of a maximum of 45 with 3 students scoring 44 and a class average of 39.