Rotten Apples

Dear Mina,
First of all, yes, I had the misfortune to teach at Newton and in fact I was in Qatar for five years altogether. Before I go on (and on!) about the negatives, here are a few positives.

Firstly, my wife and I both had some fairly serious surgery while we were in Doha. The care we received was excellent and it did not cost us anything. 

Secondly, we did save a bunch of cash. I have to be honest and say I do not know how much exactly, but we did manage to build up some fairly good savings (not something that most teachers in the UK can do, alas). We had some nice holidays (Sri Lanka and Malaysia) and we were running TWO cars as well.  

Thirdly, the accommodation was, on the whole, not too bad and the school picked up the tab for the utilities (electricity and water). 
Fourthly, there are some fun things to do in Qatar, although not that many (it is quite a small place, after all).

Now onto the negatives. The Newton Empire was founded by Madam Afaf and her main aim seems to be to make lots of money (and then some more). All of the premises are rented, as she cannot be bothered to buy or build anything. Staff turnover was (and probably still is) pretty dreadful. 

Teaching Qatari teenage boys is a horrible experience and there are some real discipline issues. On top of that, the Newton schools are supposed to be "international" and they are not. Most of the students are Qatari and that means that they have Qatari parents. Bad news. 

There is also something called the SEC, the Supreme (And Absolutely Perfect) Education Committee. If any Qatari parents do not like something, they just pick up the phone and have a chat with their uncle or cousin or nephew in the SEC. Then the school has to jump over backwards. 

When I was teaching at Newton, there was no clear salary scale and so there was an atmosphere of distrust. In my final year, I was given a significant pay rise because I had been put on the wrong level on the school's pay scale. (Well, how was I supposed to know where I was meant to be on the school's pay scale, since no one had ever given me a copy of the pay scale?) It was nice to get the pay rise, but it was never backdated. This meant that Madam Afaf swindled me out of nearly six thousand pounds.

There is a bit more about the joys of Newton on my blog bulgariawithnoodles.blogspot.com and you can also read some horrific things about Newton on the ISR and www.qatarliving.com

Some teachers naively think, "Well, perhaps that was all years ago and now it must be the case that all of the Newton schools have improved!" No, I do not think so, as the same loonies are trying to run their own asylum.

Have you thought of teaching in Bulgaria instead?
Best wishes,

Simon Hill (aka the hippo)