Three students from Hartland International School, Dubai have just been awarded full academic scholarships, pitting them as the first to receive such an honour at the school.

Elizaveta Soboleva, Year 6; Zeina Al Khawaja, Year 8; and Fatima Rizvi, Year 7, bagged the scholarships estimated to be worth around Dh65,000 each on an average.

The British curriculum campus had chosen to celebrate the 'Year of Giving' initiative by rewarding excellent students with a placement at its school. These are its first such scholarships since the school opened in 2015.

With Hartland International's annual fees set between Dh49,750-75,000 (an average of Dh64,500 a year), Soboleva, Khawaja and Rizvi will have their tuition fees and associated costs waived entirely, for the upcoming 2017-18 academic year. Another of Hartland International's students, Eesha Gupta of Year 7, was awarded a part scholarship, with 50 per cent fee waived.

Award selection

The scholar holders were selected by Fiona Cottam, school principal, and Professor Ralph Tabberer, chairman of the governing body, upon review of their submitted applications.

Each candidate submitted a detailed application with supporting evidence to demonstrate to the selection group why they should be awarded the scholarship. A total of 10 awards were available for this year, but only the exceptional were awarded to ensure that standards were not compromised.

Though there were many very good applications from some promising young people, not all met the set requirements. The programme will be extended and offered again next academic year.

"We are delighted to extend the high standard of a Hartland education experience to these young people. We are confident that they will continue to excel in our dynamic and existing exceptional cohort of students," Cottam said.

"Giving back through rewarding excellence rings true with our school's ethos of unlocking potential, and we are pleased to launch this scholarship programme in line with the Year of Giving."

Source: Khaleej Times