Type Private Chairman Samer Shehadeh Website Official website Motto "ENTER TO LEARN" Gender Mixed-sex education | Established 1869 Director Joyce Ajlouny Headquarters Jerusalem Founded 1869 | |
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Profiles | ||
The Ramallah Friends Schools are two private schools founded by Quakers in the city of Ramallah, in the West Bank. The Friends Girls' School was inaugurated in 1869; the construction of the Friends Boys' School began in 1901 and the school opened in 1918. The Schools were run by American Quakers. The schools 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. During the First World War the Boys' School was commandeered by Turkish troops for use as a hospital during Allenby's assault on Palestine.
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Background
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.
Curriculum
The Friends Schools have offered, in both Arabic and English, 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.
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.
Notable Alumni
Location
The Lower School and kindergarten (Friends Girls' School) is located near the centre of the Old City of Ramallah.The girls' school is located at 31°54′13.28″N 35°11′57.54″E The upper School campus (Friends Boys' School) is located along al Nahdha Street, al-Bireh The boys' school is located at 31.9054°N 35.2081°E / 31.9054; 35.2081
Swift House
The Friends International Center regularly hosts meetings with other NGOs such as the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and the Christian Peacemaker Teams.