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Join Date: 05 Mar 2015
Location:  UAEPosts: 54 |
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Schooling in UK adds to life skills, says Omani Takatuf scholar |
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Schooling in UK adds to life skills, says Omani Takatuf scholar
Muscat: Hisham Mohammed Al Hashmi, a Takatuf scholar from Ibra, has taken to English boarding school like a duck to water, joining extracurricular activities and even becoming a prefect. Hisham was granted a two-year Takatuf scholarship to study at the Millfield School in Glastonbury, England. A fresh graduate from Musa Bin Naseer School in Seeb, he could have gone straight to a university foundation programme but instead chose boarding school as a preparation for college, saying the extra year is worth the opportunities he's had. "One year isn't much compared to the experiences that I would get. Up till now I've done things I never thought I would do, like horseback riding, the English traditional way of horseback riding, athletics, and basketball," Hisham told Times of Oman. He has participated in an 8km run for charity, walked the runway in a cultural fashion show, and joined the Physics Society and the Math Society, making presentations in both clubs about different aspects of the subjects that fascinate him. Hisham even he became a prefect, which is a leading student role in boarding school life who works with staff, monitors students, and gives tours to parents of potential students. "There are always opportunities but unless you take them, it's useless. There is always something waiting for you to take it...like being a prefect. I didn't want to be just a guy who came and studied for two years and left. I wanted to leave something, and make a difference," he said of being a prefect. His father went to a boarding school and often shared fond memories of his time there with Hisham, which also inspired him to accept the scholarship. He says living in a boarding school has been a wonderful experience since his housemates have become like family. "It was hard the first couple of weeks but then you feel at home and you don't feel that homesick especially because you're not alone. Everyone is so friendly and I never thought people here would be this kind," Hisham commented, adding that the house parents and other students would always help him whenever he had a problem. Hisham said he has taken extra science classes that have also helped him shape his academic interests such as physics and computer science. "I never would have learned the things I'm learning here in physics and math because my [university] programme would have only focused on computer science. This has given me lots of experience I wouldn't have gotten otherwise," he explained. He says the classes have inspired him to apply to study mechanical engineering and physics programs for university rather than computer science. He hopes his studies at Millfield and the variety of extracurricular activities he has done will help him be accepted at a top university. "I wanted to go to a really good university, somewhere like MIT or Harvard, and that's the main reason why I applied [to Takatuf]," he said. Source:timesofoman http://www.timesofoman.com/News/51917/Article-Schooling-in-UK-adds-to-life-skills-says-Omani-Takatuf-scholar |
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