Financial incentives are just one reason teachers are leaving the UK in droves to work in Abu Dhabi
Beverley Wade is poised to sever her final ties with Britain. She has sold her horse and her house in Kent. And got rid of the dog, too. It has been a heartbreaking process. Wade, an English teacher, saw no other way to clear her debts.
Wade is disillusioned with the cost of living and what she sees as a lack of respect for teachers. After 13 years teaching in secondary schools, she is also disenchanted with the education system. It has, she says, succeeded in building many "flashy" new schools, but failed to fix the more fundamental problems faced by many of the pupils inside them.
So Wade is off to the Gulf. Tempted by sunshine, a generous tax-free salary and a free furnished apartment, she has got herself a job in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Oozing with oil dollars, the UAE is an oasis of relative political stability in this troubled region.
"From the moment I step on their soil, they're going to be putting me up in five-star hotels," says Wade. "I'm thinking of staying as long as possible. I'll be able to save money. The weather will be glorious and there'll be horses, too."
More than 70,000 teachers have left the UK for sunnier climes in recent years. Usually, they head for the fee-paying international schools, the rapidly growing sector that caters for the children of expats or wealthy locals. But Wade is not destined for quite such a comfortable setting. She is going to work in Abu Dhabi's state system.
The emirates' 300-plus state schools are the focus of an ambitious 10-year plan, launched in 2009 by the ruling Sheikh Khalifa. He aims to raise a sophisticated and entrepreneurial workforce. A new curriculum is being introduced and all children are to become Arab-English bilinguals – which is where Wade fits in. A recruitment drive swept up 1,000 English-speaking teachers last year and is aiming for another 1,100 this year. The recruits are lured by tax-free salaries of up to £40,000, depending on experience, and free accommodation.
Should Wade ever meet the Sheikh, she would discover that he shares her passion for horses – though he is unlikely to have got backache mucking out a stable on a wet winter's evening after a hard day at school. Similarly, with a fortune in excess of £10bn, he would probably struggle to relate to her difficulty financing her hobby.
"When I had the horse bug, I didn't save a penny," says Wade. "But now I haven't got anything. I've got to start from scratch and be sensible. In England, saving money is so difficult. You're usually locked into a mortgage, trying to run a car and chasing your tail trying to pay everything off."
Wade should be able to save about half her salary in Abu Dhabi, according to Diane Jacoutot, general manager of Teachanywhere.com, the recruitment company scouring the world for staff. Aside from the money, she says, the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai offer a relatively westernised society, with beaches, malls, bars and restaurants – never mind the opportunity to try hang-gliding, scuba-diving and dune-bashing.
For teachers with at least three years' experience, Jacoutot says this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "It's really exciting and completely fascinating for a government to try to change its society through education."
Plus it's a good time for teachers to get out of the UK, according to recruitment expert John Howson. "We've been training teachers like crazy. Now there's a recession and secondary pupil numbers are falling. The era of plenty is over and people are being made redundant."
One of those is Sheelagh Lundy, another Abu Dhabi recruit. For nearly a decade, Lundy has worked teaching nine- to 12-year-olds at the Playing for Success centre at Manchester City football club. The after-school project, intended to raise standards in literacy, numeracy and ICT, ran at all the Premier League clubs for 11 years, but is now dead – a victim of the public-sector cuts.
"As a teacher at the top of the scale, I knew it would be hard to get another job in England," says Lundy. "My husband and I always wanted to travel – we're just doing it a little sooner than we intended."
Lundy says she is impressed by the way the leaders of the UAE "want their children to be able to compete with the western world and are willing to do what they can to achieve that.
"I'm not ignoring the financial incentives, but it is just as important for me to think that my skills are in demand."
Lundy concedes she is taking a big step – especially as not all the teachers in whose footsteps she is following have had good experiences. Some say they lacked support and were resented by Arab colleagues. Others complain about bureaucracy and the greed of the western companies helping to implement the 10-year plan.
The recruits also face the uncertainty of not knowing where they will be working until they get to Abu Dhabi. And the standard of state schools is variable. "You can get lucky and get a school that is well-resourced – the sort of school we're used to," says Alan Moody, who will be flying out with his wife and seven-month-old daughter. "I kind of hope I don't get lucky."
Before he qualified, Moody spent some time helping out at a Masai village school in Kenya. It made him determined not to work in an international school. "I need to be challenged," he says.
Since qualifying three years ago, Moody has worked at the outstanding Beeston Hill St Luke's primary in Leeds. But England was only ever going to be a stepping stone. "I grew up in Dublin and came over here to train as a teacher," he says. "I've always wanted to work abroad and, like everyone in public service, I want to effect the biggest change I can within my field. This is a great opportunity for me to be at the cutting edge of something new – a personal and professional challenge."
Is he worried about moving to the Middle East with a baby when parts of the region are in such turmoil? No, he says. "Though everyone else has a heart attack when we tell them. But we've always liked going against the norm and trying to prove people wrong."
Moody is not fazed by the prospect of walking into a classroom where no one speaks English. His experience in a multicultural primary has prepared him, he says, and he has had the foresight to get a Saudi Arabian friend to teach him all the swear words – "so I'll know what they're calling me".
In the longer term, Moody hopes his time in Abu Dhabi will help if he decides to do a master's in education reform. Lundy intends to use it as a springboard for more travel. Wade has different ideas. "I'm planning to save up and go part-time when I'm about 50. I'd like to settle somewhere warm – maybe Spain or north India. So long as I've got a home, a horse and some labradors, I'll be happy."