Mesaieed International School

Mesaieed, Qatar

What makes Mesaieed International School an Advocate School

mesaieed school teacher and pupils

Mesaieed International School (MIS) has successfully embedded the Maths — No Problem! programme as a cornerstone of its mastery pedagogy. By prioritizing the "power of the Explore task" over rote calculation, the school has undergone a significant mindset shift, moving away from a focus on independent practice toward a deeper, more conceptual understanding of mathematics.

As a not-for-profit through-school operated by Qatar Energy, MIS serves a diverse international community. The school has become a regional leader in mathematics education, hosting Teacher Research Groups and influencing other international schools in Qatar to adopt the mastery approach. Through high-fidelity implementation and a commitment to professional development, MIS has fostered a culture where pupils are confident, articulate, and remarkably skilled at mathematical journaling.

"We can proudly say that Maths — No Problem! has had a big impact on the school. We’ve seen a positive change in our teaching team spending more time on the Explore task and understanding that the children having a go themselves at exploring independently has been really powerful in helping children understand the mathematical concepts. It was a mindset shift for teachers at first but our colleagues have really seen the power of this and seen the impact of this approach, and are now very keen to do it that way."
William MatkinMaths Lead

School at a glance:

Mesaieed School Logo

• 95% of pupils identified as Bilingual Multilingual Learners (BML/EAL)

• Not-for-profit through-school serving the energy industry community in Mesaieed

• High pupil attainment, significantly above the national average of England

• Official regional hub influencing math pedagogy across Qatar

• Uses Insights for robust assessment from Years 1 to 6

"We can proudly say that Maths — No Problem! has had a big impact on the school. We’ve seen a positive change in our teaching team spending more time on the Explore task and understanding that the children having a go themselves at exploring independently has been really powerful. We have very little maths anxiety now; the Explore task means we very rarely see our pupils afraid to make a mistake or have a go." —Will Matkin, Maths Lead

How Mesaieed International School is transforming math outcomes in Qatar through the power of exploration.

Located in an industrial city south of Doha, Mesaieed International School faces a unique demographic challenge: 95% of its 1,250 pupils are multilingual learners from across the globe. By maintaining high fidelity to the Maths — No Problem! curriculum, the school has seen extraordinary achievement data.

Beyond the numbers, the school has focused on "polishing" their practice—using the programme to build teacher subject knowledge and remove the fear of being wrong. The result is a student body that can articulate complex thinking through remarkable journaling and a community that values quality of understanding over quantity of calculations.

Read about Mesaieed International School
"Our children’s ability to articulate their thinking is one of the key things we have noticed — their journalling is remarkable. Children are able to journal and represent a number of ideas around the same topic or concept, or present a number of solutions to one problem. In most classes, we introduce the Explore task briefly and the children start journalling independently. How they can represent their thinking is truly amazing and remarkable. It took some time and training to teach them how to journal, but now that we’ve had the programme for a few years, children understand how to journal."
Lewis HutchinsonHead of Primary

School contact details

Contact names:

• Lewis Hutchinson — Head of Primary

• Will Matkin — Maths Lead

Address:

Mesaieed International School

Mesaieed

Qatar

Website:

Visit Mesaieed International School Website