Luke Brannigan; Celebrating Rockport’s first GCSE Arabic student
Before joining Rockport, Luke spent his early school years in both Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates where he attended International schools and studied a variety of languages including Mandarin, French, Spanish and Arabic.
During his time in the UAE, Luke showed a particular aptitude for Arabic and on returning to Northern Ireland, Luke continued his interest in learning Arabic through the Rockport Arabic enrichment programme, which was offered during his first year at the school. In addition, Luke assisted the school's promotional efforts in attracting expat families returning to NI from the Middle East, by featuring in Arabic editorial and marketing campaigns at various times.
Having successfully completed his GCSEs, Luke expressed a strong interest in pursuing an international business career in the Middle East post A-level and realised that improving his proficiency in Arabic would greatly assist him in achieving his ambition. Luke enquired if the school could offer him the opportunity to study Arabic as a GCSE alongside A-Level Spanish, Business and Sports Studies.
Interlingua NI, who previously delivered a beginners' course in Arabic at Rockport in 2017 as one of the school's enrichment programmes, were happy to facilitate GCSE Arabic, as well as incorporating the GCSE into Luke's A-level timetable.
This is a great example of Rockport’s ability to offer bespoke learning moulded around a student’s capabilities and ambitions. In addition, it also illustrates its commitment to the Round Square ideals of Internationalism and Spirit of Adventure, which is characterised by those who push themselves beyond their perceived limits and discover that they are capable of more than they think.
Luke is the first Rockport student to study Arabic as a GCSE and one of very few in Northern Ireland studying the subject.
We wish Luke the very best as he embarks on his Arabic course and wish him well in his pursuit of an International Business career in the future.
Pictured: Luke Brannigan (R13) and Ms Rym, Interlingua NI.
