New headteacher of JESS Jumeirah announced

 #EXCELLENCE   #COMMITMENT 

01/02/2022

Jumeirah English Speaking School is delighted to announce that Mr Luke Rees has been appointed as the new Headteacher at JESS Jumeriah from April 2022.

Mr Rees is a very familiar face at JESS who has spent over a decade as a key member of the JESS Jumeirah team and brings a wealth of creativity and drive.

As Mr. Shane O’Brien Director of JESS explains,

“I am delighted to welcome Mr Rees as the new JESS Jumeriah Headteacher. Anyone who has worked with him will know he has an incredibly creative mindset, passion and a strong work ethic. I know he will continue to drive JESS Jumeirah forward."

Coming from a background in Music, Mr Rees developed his leadership skills through Assistant and Deputy Head roles at JESS proving he is more than ready for this promotion. It is very reassuring that JESS has the confidence to appoint two primary Headteachers in the past two years from within our own ranks. In these uncertain times stability and continuity in leadership is crucial.  Mr Rees’ commitment to Jumeirah and the JESS mission is absolute.

Mr. Rees won the position following a rigorous interview process against a strong field of candidates from within Dubai and internationally, many of whom are existing Headteachers at excellent schools. 

Mr Asa Firth, at present in his seventh year as Headteacher and his thirteenth year at JESS returns to the UK in April.

“It's humbling to know that I am ready to step into the shoes of my mentor and friend, to lead the Jumeirah community as we provide a world class education for our pupils”
- explained Mr Rees.  

“I am in a unique position having spent ten years under the tutelage of JESS leaders who have developed my ability to be creative, resilient and to present my views to others with clarity.  I have the wellbeing of the JESS community at heart; I care deeply for the individuals that make it up and I will continue to put their needs at the foremost of my thinking, as I serve them, by becoming the next Head Teacher of JESS Jumeirah. My driver for this role will be one of legacy; I want to leave this great school in an even better place than it is now."

As Mr O’Brien explained, “we will be saying a very fond farewell to Mr. Asa Firth after thirteen years of service at JESS Jumeirah and I would like to pay tribute to the legacy of excellence he leaves and thank him personally for his unwavering support and strength in his leadership particularly during the past trying eighteen months of the Covid pandemic. 

Everyone at JESS would like to wish Asa success as he returns to the UK with his family to take up the Headship at Ashville Prep school in Harrogate – his beloved Yorkshire.”