HH Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi opens refurbished British Council teaching centre in Sharjah

The ceremony was attended by Her Majesty's Ambassador to the UAE, Richard Makepeace, Director of the British Council in the UAE, Peter Ellwood, as well as staff and students of the British Council in Sharjah.

The newly upgraded facilities of the centre will allow the British Council to accommodate more students in greater comfort, and provide more convenient access to technology for students with its enlarged computer room.

Peter Ellwood, Director of the British Council in the UAE, said: "We are very honoured to welcome His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi to the British Council in Sharjah, which he also formally opened in 1998. It is also a pleasure to welcome His Highness as a distinguished UK alumnus.

"Sharjah is making rapid progress in many fields and this refurbishment programme will allow the British Council to play an increasingly supportive role in this development, especially for the people of Sharjah. The British Council aims to complement and support the local education system and strives to make a contribution to the development of the community through its teaching, testing and examinations work in Sharjah."

Justin Kernot, Sharjah Branch Manager for the British Council, added: "The British Council has been present and active in Sharjah for five years, and we have more than doubled our teaching staff to meet local demand from an increasing number of students, over the last two years. The refurbishment programme is part of our response to this increase in demand, especially for English language courses, which is the focus of much of our work. We run courses for children as young as three and a half years, right up to adult courses in General and Business English. We now also offer IELTS (International English Language Testing System) preparation courses and testing - the first time this has been available to students locally in Sharjah."

The British Council opened its teaching centre in Sharjah in September 1998 and currently enrols between 130-150 students on its courses, each term.