Community profile: Mark Loader

Where is “home” for you?

While my childhood was spent in Brighton (UK), often referred to as London by the sea, home for me for is Gloucestershire, UK.  I met my wife there on our first day at university and we have lived there ever since, aside from a wonderful 4 years with Nord Anglia in Thailand.
 
What do you do in Abu Dhabi? 

I have joined the school as an accountant, working closely with the Nord Anglia School Dubai and wider NAE family to ensure our accounting and finances are ultimately supporting us to provide the very best we can for our students, staff and community.
 
What brought your family to Abu Dhabi?

My wife is an IT and Computer Science teacher in the BIS Abu Dhabi Secondary School, and it was her role that brought us here.  We were both blessed to work in the Nord Anglia school in Thailand for 4 years and after a period of time back in Gloucestershire, we saw her opportunity arise and felt that was a sign for us to apply.  I had visited BIS Abu Dhabi previously for a conference where I met Mr. Horne, and was very impressed so knew that if we were successful then we would be in good hands.
 
Tell us something that few people know about you:

There are two things that few know about me. One of my hobbies is scuba diving, and over the years I have dived in many of the world’s most spectacular sites and wrecks and have achieved the Master Scuba Diver rating. The other is that since I started working in schools 9 years ago, I have been committed to making a difference alongside developing myself and others, this has been recognised by the Institute of School Business Leaders making me a Fellow of the institute.
 
What is your favourite thing about being a part of the BIS Abu Dhabi community?

When we arrived I was principally looking after our children, and with Covid it was not easy to meet anyone, but I must say that everyone was really friendly and welcoming and helped us settle in superbly.
 
What tips or advice would you give to new families joining BIS Abu Dhabi?

We moved here from a very small village with only 30 children in the whole school so for us, and especially our children, it was going to be a massive change. Initially the variety of systems and apps they use can be daunting but they quickly got used to it and the teachers paid great attention to making sure they got up to speed and settled in. The parent WhatsApp groups are a blessing and wonderful way of asking questions and getting information.
 
What do you enjoy most about living in Abu Dhabi?

As we only arrived in August we are still fresh faced and finding new things to do all the time. There are two particular favourites so far, one is heading to Yas Marina and of course all the theme parks in the area, the other is heading into the desert for a spot of time away from it all to absorb the majestic timelessness of the desert and dunes.
 

Mark Loader