The Ramallah Friends School is a private school in West Bank with campuses in the twin citiesofRamallah and al-Bireh.[1] The Friends Girls' School was inaugurated in 1869; the construction of the Friends Boys' School began in 1901 and the school opened in 1918.[2] The Schools were run by American Quakers.[3][4] Both campuses are now co-educational and divided into Senior and Junior sections; a Meeting House was built in 1910. The Swift Building, located in the upper School and named after Sara Swift of New England, was made the home of the Friends International Center in Ramallah after restoration work was completed.[5] During the First World War, the Boys' School was commandeered by Ottoman troops for use as a hospital during Allenby's assault on Palestine.[2]
| Ramallah Friends School | |
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Middle School Building in Upper Campus 2016
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| Location | |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Motto | "Nurturing young leaders and inspiring academic excellence" |
| Established | 1869 |
| Chairman | Omar Tesdell |
| Head of School | Rania Maayah |
| Grades | KG - 12 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Enrollment | 1569 students |
| Website | Official website |
The Friends Girls' School was originally opened as “The Girls' Training Home of Ramallah” and was renamed "Friends Girls' School" in 1919. Elihu Grant was the principal between 1901 and 1903. Both the Boys' and Girls' Friends Schools were designed and built by Dahoud Saah of Ramallah. The Lower School serves grades Pre-Kindergarten to fifth grade; the Upper School serves grades six to twelve.[6]
The Lower School campus and kindergarten (Formerly Friends Girls' School) is located near the centre of the Old City of Ramallah on Hal Tabqa Sadik Street. The Lower School campus is located at 31°54′13.28″N 35°11′57.54″E / 31.9036889°N 35.1993167°E / 31.9036889; 35.1993167 The upper School campus (Formerly Friends Boys' School) is located along al Nahdha Street, al-Bireh[7] The Upper School campus is located at 31°54′19″N 35°12′29″E / 31.9054°N 35.2081°E / 31.9054; 35.2081
The Friends Schools have offered, in both Arabic and English,[8] various educational curricula. As of 2011, they only offer the IB curriculum, optionally IB-no exam for those who wish to take the American SAT examination, but those students will have to apply through the AMIDEAST as it is no longer provided to students. The schools used to offer local governmental examinations: ‘Tawjihi’. The school was certified to provide the IB curriculum in 2001 by the International Baccalaureate organization.[citation needed]
During the first Intifada, the Friends School was closed by the Israeli authorities—as was the case with all schools in Ramallah—during the years of 1988 and 1989, but it was reopened after the intifada.[9]
The Friends International Center regularly hosts meetings with other NGOs such as the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and the Christian Peacemaker Teams.[10]
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