Bahrain School is a

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on behal ...

(DoDEA) school located in

Juffair Juffair ( ar, الجفير) is a district situated in Manama, Bahrain. It was originally a separate village inhabited by Shia Muslims but it has been absorbed by the suburban expansion of Manama in the 20th century, and presently includes large ...

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very d ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...

Overview

The school is operated by the Bahrain International School Association (BISA) with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

(DoDEA) and takes students from

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

Twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 1 ...

. Graduating seniors can earn an American diploma or an International Baccalaureate diploma. Bahrain School is the only DoDEA school in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body ...

area. The closest DoDEA school to Bahrain School is George C. Marshall School in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It provides education primarily to the children of the United States Navy stationed in Bahrain, but historically, about half of the student body has been local enrollment, usually the dependents of diplomatic personnel and ARAMCO employees, as well as wealthy Bahraini citizens. The Navy dependent population declined in July 2004 when dependents were sent home due to security concerns. In July 2009, dependents were again authorized to return to Bahrain. As of 2013, there were 435 total students enrolled in both the middle and high schools, with 69% of the students in grades 10 to 12. 57% of the students at the time were American citizens, with the remaining 43% representing approximately 68 countries. Also as of 2013, the middle and high school employed forty-three teachers, seven supporting professionals, and seven support staff for a total of fifty-seven teachers and staff. Of those, eighteen were male and thirty-nine were female.

Accreditation

Bahrain School is accredited by the

North Central Association The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It w ...

of Colleges and Schools to offer an American diploma. The

College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs ...

authorizes Bahrain School to offer

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and cours ...

courses: Calculus AB, Microeconomics, Chemistry, Physics, and Spanish. On March 1, 1982, the school became the first in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the second in the Middle East after the American International School in Amman, Jordan in 1981, to offer the

International Baccalaureate Diploma The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...

under the accreditation of the

International Baccalaureate Organization The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

.Bahrain School

Sports

Bahrain School has many of the sports that typical American schools have such as basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball, track and field and cross country. The school competes against other schools on the island. Since the school is a part of DoDDS Europe, they also compete in the DODDS European championships.

Notable alumni

Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa ( ar, سلمان بن حمد آل خليفة; born 21 October 1969) is the Crown prince and the Prime Minister of Bahrain. He is also the deputy supreme commander of the Bahrain Defence Force. Early life and educ ...

, The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the

Bahrain Defence Force The Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) is the military force of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahrain Defence Force is under direct command and leadership of a commander-in-chief who holds the rank of field marshal. The Government has a Minister of Def ...

. *

Brent Brandon Brent D. Brandon (born 1960) is a former U.S. Air Force (1988–1992) officer and Electronic Warfare Officer for Captain James Denton who scored an air-to-air kill against an Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1, in the opening minutes of the Gulf War on Jan ...

, Outstanding Graduate from the United States Air Force Academy, Two-year winner of the National John F. Kennedy Fellowship - Harvard University, Winner of the Gilroy Award for Leadership and Flying - USAF Electronic Warfare Officer School, Nominated for Silver Star and awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for Heroism in Aerial Combat in EF-111 aircraft on first wave attack in Desert Storm; chairman of the Board - Boise Classical Academy * Summer Bishil, American

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass ...

-nominated actress.

References

External links