GEMS Education Makes Two Leadership Appointments

GEMS Education has appointed two new Vice Presidents of Education to head their portfolios of British and IB curriculum schools as the school network continues to strengthen its senior leadership team.

Brendan Grant Law and Peter John Derby-Crook, both education veterans, will bring added value to GEMS Education’s student and teaching community based on their fantastic track record in managing premium schools in the UAE, UK and Singapore.

Sir Christopher Stone, Chief Education Officer, GEMS Education, said: “Brendan and Peter will play a crucial role in driving the development of our British and IB curriculum schools.”

“With their extensive experience, proven leadership abilities and track record of establishing highly successful educational communities, we look forward to their contribution to the GEMS Education network in order to create a brilliant future for our students, teachers and staff,” he said.

Brendan, listed as a UAE Education Influencer 2017 by whichschooladvisor, advises numerous government agencies including the Crown Prince Court, and has played a leading role in the development of the UAE Moral Education Programme in his previous role.  As a strategic education leader with a proven track record in first class schools, Brendan has led two educational institutions in Abu Dhabi prior to GEMS Education.

Peter brings to the table 30 years of experience as principal & CEO having worked with the Tanglin Trust in Singapore, where he led three schools. Previously, Peter has held leadership roles at schools in Jakarta, Tokyo, Oman and the UAE and will bring a wealth of experience in British and IB curriculum and accreditation.

An accomplished speaker and motivator, Peter has presented TEDx talks, named 'Most Inspirational Business Leader 2017' by CEO Monthly and is also a member of the World IB Heads' Council.

Both will be joining the Education team, led by Sir Christopher Stone at GEMS Education in the coming weeks.

GEMS Education has 50 owned and managed schools in the Middle East of which 30 offer British curriculum or the IB curriculum. Within the IB curriculum, GEMS students’ have continued to achieve outstanding performance with a 91 percent pass rate as compared to the international pass rate of 79 percent in 2016. 

Similarly, in 2017, there was an 11 per cent increase in the number of students appearing for A level examinations as compared to 2016 with 19 per cent achieving A* grade, and 52 per cent of all results were at either A* or A grade.