Mr Simon O'Connor

Simon has been Principal of Jumeirah College since 2013 and is now one of the longest serving principals in British Premium Schools in Dubai.

Prior to joining the school, Simon taught History and Politics for over 20 years in a variety of different school contexts. In his last role in the UK, Simon worked as a school leader in a very successful grammar school in Kent. His role there was curriculum lead and was also responsible for the management of a teaching school and working across an academy chain of schools which he helped to found.

Simon’s key education interests are teaching and learning, curriculum design and assessment and leadership models across schools. Within this context, Simon is now an Associate with High Performance Learning and is leading the programme across ten GEMS schools, following Jumeirah College’s successful accreditation as a World Class School. Simon is also very keen to develop the wider student experience and this was the motivation for the recent link with ArtsEd theatre school. Simon is also a member of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC).

Simon studied for a BA in History and Philosophy at the University of Wales, College of Cardiff where he was a choral scholar at Llandaff Cathedral. He then studied for a PGCE at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was also a choral scholar. Simon also holds a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership, and a National Professional Qualification for Headship. He is currently working on completing a National Professional Qualification in Executive Leadership. Simon is married and has two daughters that attend Jumeirah College.