'The classroom on the beach': Inside Abu Dhabi's oldest private school

St Joseph’s School was one of the few buildings on the Corniche when it was founded in 1967 - and it is still going strong

St Joseph’s School in Abu Dhabi, which opened in 1967. Victor Besa / The National

Sister Carmen, principal of St Joseph’s School in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

The first building for St Joseph's School opened in 1967.

St Joseph’s school in Abu Dhabi once had 50 pupils but now more than 1,200 study at its modern campus in Mushrif. Victor Besa / The National

Music teacher Shanthi Thinaharan, left, and Mariamma Rameshkumar, learning supervisor at St Joseph’s School in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Pupils in the playground at St Joseph's School in times past. Photo: St Joseph's School

Teachers at the private, Indian-curriculum Catholic school believe low costs, strong values and solid education have kept them going strong for more than five decades. Victor Besa / The National

St Joseph's Cathedral opened in 1964, while the school opened three years later. Photo: St Joseph's School

Pupils attend class at St Joseph’s school in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Pupils arrive at St Joseph's School across sand tracks in times gone by. Photo: St Joseph's School

Bishop Bernard G Gremoli addresses parents during an event at St. Joseph's School, Abu Dhabi, in 1987.

St Joseph’s School in Abu Dhabi has been refurbished and now is looking to the future. Victor Besa / The National

The facilities were often basic and the hours long, but the pay-offs were immense. Long before the UAE had branches of global schools and universities, pioneering teachers put down foundations that stood the test of time. They ensured pupils did not have to leave the country and they educated generations of youngsters. To mark the UAE's 50th anniversary, The National has profiled some of these schools.

St Joseph's School opened in an Abu Dhabi that few can remember.

Founded in 1967, its classrooms were once among a handful of concrete buildings on the water's edge at Abu Dhabi's Corniche.

Sheikh Shakhbut, the then Ruler of Abu Dhabi, had granted them the land and for 16 years it was fondly known as the school on the beach.

It started with just 50 pupils but now more than 1,200 study at its modern campus in Mushrif adjacent to St Joseph's Catholic Church.

“It was a small house near the ocean,” said the school's principal, Sister Carmen, 54. “We had just 50 students.”

Teachers at the private, Indian-curriculum Catholic school believe low costs, strong values and solid education have kept them going strong for more than five decades. St Joseph’s annual tuition fees are Dh5,000.

“This is a church school,” said Sister Carmen. “It is value-based, affordable and offers a good education. The values have not changed. Everyone who comes to the school should not be concerned about the fees.”

The growth has mirrored the growth of the country. The school has progressed, improved teaching methods, kept pace with the times and modernised the campus.

The old Mushrif building was demolished in 2017 and, today, St Joseph's has a gym, auditorium, an additional library and laboratories.

“Although we didn’t have all these facilities at the time, parents still wanted this school,” said Sister Carmen.

A Christian school that has been in a Muslim country since the 60s, its teachers were among the first to recognise how accepting and tolerant the UAE is.

Pope Francis visited St Joseph's church during his landmark visit in 2017, underlining the spirit of tolerance.

“Whenever I walk around the parks at night, I always pray and say I wish my country was like this,” said Sister Carmen, who is from India.

“We are expatriates but we don’t feel that. I mean this from my heart.”

The sense that the UAE and school are home are shared by the school's staff.

Shanthi Thinaharan, 57, has taught at the school for three decades. “I have seen five principals,” she says with a chuckle.

“I never had an idea of going anywhere. Whatever I needed I had here. I was happy to teach the young ones to sing and that acceptance encouraged me to stay here.”

Ms Thinaharan does not remember the Corniche property but has heard the stories of the good old days.

“I wasn’t there at the time but my husband’s family has seen it,” she said. “The school and the church used to be on the Corniche right where the St Regis hotel is now. The community grew and they needed more space for the school and the church.”

Her father-in-law came to the UAE when the only building on the Corniche was the Gray Mackenzie building, she said.

She clearly remembers her father-in-law boasting about her taking up a job with the school.

“He was very delighted when I joined as a teacher. He said, 'Do you know, our school is the first school here'.”

“Abu Dhabi has grown so much. The Corniche has become so beautiful. At the time the buildings were quaint and beautiful but they have grown so much. I have grown with the county.”

Chemistry and mathematics teacher, Mariamma Rameshkumar has been with the school for more than 33 years. The 63-year-old was awarded the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award in 1989 for teaching excellence.

“Abu Dhabi is excellent, you know why?” she asked. “because I came in 1985 and I’ve seen how it developed.”

“At that time it wasn’t as populated and it was quite peaceful.

“Wherever we reach, if we are humble then we will shine and that’s what the UAE is showing us.”