Education_BH: Innovation and Excellence celebrates the remarkable innovations implemented in Bahrain’s schools and universities. We learned about these innovations, the process, the challenges, and the lessons learned from some of the leading educational institutions in the Kingdom.
Read all about the Nadeen School‘s innovation below.
High Performance Learning and Launching of Post 16
Nadeen School has earned High Performance Learning accreditation and launched the post-16 provision, offering A Level and BTEC pathways. The HPL framework develops academic skills and character from early years through to post-16.
Please share a brief background of your innovation.
High Performance Learning is an internationally recognised framework designed to develop learners who combine strong academic performance with advanced learning skills and well-developed character. It places equal emphasis on Advanced Cognitive Performance development, such as meta-cognition, strategic thinking, and collaboration, and on VAAs that underpin long-term success. HPL fits Nadeen particularly well because it complements the school’s commitment to inclusion, personalised learning, and high expectations for all. As Nadeen grows into a full-through and post-16 school, HPL provides a coherent, shared language of learning that supports progression from early years through secondary, specialist, and post-16 pathways.
Over the past two years, Nadeen School has made sustained and measurable progress in embedding High Performance Learning across all phases. This journey has been supported by several external visits and rigorous internal evaluations. In May 2025, Jan Steel from GEMS Royal, Dubai, formally accredited Nadeen as a High Performance Learning School, recognising the strength of its leadership, the consistency of its practice, and its positive impact on learners. This accreditation coincides with a significant stage of school development, including the establishment of our first Year 11 cohort this academic year and the continued expansion of secondary and specialist provision. Nadeen will progress to World Class accreditation next year, reflecting its ambition to benchmark against leading international standards.
How was the innovation planned?
Nadeen’s rapid growth is strongly aligned with its High Performance Learning journey. The school has established its first Year 11 cohort and will introduce a post-16 provision next year, offering both A Levels and BTEC pathways, ensuring aspirational and diverse progression routes. In response to its international community and global outlook, the school has expanded its language provision to include Mandarin, supporting learners in applying advanced cognitive skills in authentic global contexts. These developments reinforce the coherence of HPL across academic, vocational, and inclusive pathways.
What were the challenges faced during implementation?
Implementing High Performance Learning has required significant cultural and pedagogical change. As with any whole-school transformation, some staff initially found the scale and pace of change challenging, particularly where it required shifts in mindset, teaching practice, and assessment. Embedding HPL demanded sustained professional learning, coaching, and a focus on explicitly teaching learning behaviours and self-regulation. Leaders carefully balanced ambition with support, ensuring staff felt confident to embed ACPs such as higher-order thinking and meta-cognition while modelling the VAAs of resilience, collaboration, and reflection. This measured and supportive approach has been critical in securing consistency and long-term sustainability.
Give us a brief assessment of your results.
HPL is applied inclusively across the school, ensuring high expectations for all learners. The THRIVE programme, which supports learners with complex needs, has grown significantly and is now fully subscribed. THRIVE is underpinned by the SCERTS framework, which focuses on developing social communication, emotional regulation, and independence. Learners within THRIVE also develop ACPs through personalised problem-solving, communication, and reflection. As learners progress, Nadeen is developing ASDAN pathways, ensuring meaningful accreditation and progression routes aligned with individual strengths and aspirations. This reflects the school’s belief that high performance looks different for different learners, but ambition remains consistent.
In hindsight, what were the most valuable lessons learned while implementing the innovation? Could things have been done differently?
The impact of High Performance Learning at Nadeen is evident in learners’ behaviour, attitudes, and outcomes. Learners demonstrate increasing resilience, empathy, and concern for society, choosing collaboration and demonstrating respect for others. They show a growing ability to reflect on their learning, understand how and why they learn, and regulate their emotions and learning strategies more effectively. These VAAs and ACPs are particularly evident as learners progress into Key Stage 4, where increased independence, confidence, and strategic thinking are required.
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