Message from Principal David Gray:

Brummana High School is the only Quaker school in Lebanon and one of only two in the Middle East. It continues to thrive and flourish educationally in spite of the many burdens which it, along with the rest of the country, is bearing. 1,250 students aged 3 to 18 benefit from the holistic education the school provides with its emphasis on individuality, respect for others, tolerance of all faiths and peaceful resolution. The result is that the school consists, unusually in Lebanon, of children from all faiths and socio-economic backgrounds.

We have come out of the pandemic now and been back to face to face education this academic year albeit with social distancing and mask wearing measures in place. Academic programmes, including the Lebanese Baccalaureate, the International Baccalaureate, IGCSEs and A/S levels have all been revived and strengthened. All sporting and cultural activities have been restarted. Amongst our greatest successes this year have been the Model United Nations Programme through which our children carry out research and debate representing countries around the world on fundamental issues which affect us all, such as clean air, clean water, global warming, support of the poor and the destitute, freedom and justice, and how these can be achieved by peaceful means. Our gardening club, at a school situated 750 metres above Beirut on Mount Lebanon, has begun again with many participants, symbolic of the regrowth which we hope for in the country where the financial crisis has led many to lose 95% of its value and reduced our staff to earning salaries which are largely meaningless.

However, for all Lebanon's travails, education and Brummana High School remain its hope for the future and parents invest trust, confidence and all the material wherewithal they have in their children's future. We have no shortage of students and have waiting lists for places, but we are desperately short of resources and need to fundraise to acquire these, and to be able to supplement our staff salaries so that they can live decent lives and so that we can retain and attract their services. 40% of the children here are in receipt of financial aid, in a country in which 75% of all children have to attend private schools, because the Government public school provision is very limited.

Your help will make a difference to the lives of children for whom education means escaping from poverty, bestowing dignity and in the long-term the ability to build democracy. Many of our children will work in areas in Lebanon and around the world concerned with improving the societies in which they live. Now we are preparing them for the challenges which they will face in that brave new world. Your help in enabling us to do that is greatly appreciated.