Lucy Blanchard of Citizens School receives recognition at the prestigious GESS Education Awards, winning the Judges Commendation in the Creative Educator category for her innovative approach to curriculum design, marking a significant milestone for the Dubai school and reinforcing its mission to prepare learners for a rapidly changing world.
For a school built around human centred learning, the award is not simply a moment of celebration. It is validation that a different approach to education, one rooted in empathy, real world problem solving and family partnership, is delivering meaningful impact.
In a year where the UAE places renewed focus on family cohesion and shared responsibility through the Year of the Family, Citizens School’s model demonstrates how schools and parents can work together to build future ready young people.
A Curriculum Designed for Real Life, Not Just Exams
The award recognised Citizens School’s innovation in curriculum adaptation. While rooted in the British National Curriculum, learning is redesigned so students apply core subject knowledge to real world challenges through project based learning and entrepreneurship.
English, mathematics and science do not exist in isolation. Instead, learners use these skills to identify problems, design solutions and create viable ideas that respond to real needs.
Entrepreneurship Week offered a powerful demonstration of this approach. Learners as young as three moved through the full design thinking cycle, empathising with users, generating ideas, prototyping solutions and pitching concepts to founders and entrepreneurs. One challenge even saw young learners proposing designs for a new playground swing, complete with user research and financial pitches.
At Citizens School, even three year olds learn to empathise, design solutions and pitch ideas to solve real world problems.
Skills That Begin with Empathy
At the heart of the Citizens School philosophy are six core skills embedded across the curriculum: empathy, resilience, self awareness, problem solving, critical thinking and creativity.
Lucy, who leads curriculum innovation at the school, says the development of empathy among learners has been one of the most powerful outcomes.
“Seeing the empathy in the children has probably been my proudest moment. When they can see situations from other people’s perspectives, I know that’s a skill that will set them up for life.”
In a fast-paced city like Dubai, Lucy believes empathy is especially important.
“We explicitly design lessons to build empathy. Watching learners come out of a lesson with a different viewpoint is more than I could ever want as a mentor.”
Empathy, resilience and creativity are treated as essential life skills, not optional extras.
Families and Staff on the Same Journey
Innovation does not happen in isolation. Lucy notes that mindset shifts have taken place not only among learners, but also among staff and families as they embrace a new model of education.
“There has been a shift in mindset, not only in staff and mentors, but most importantly in learners, and also their parents. That is very unique.”
The school partners with global design thinking organisation LUMA, using human centred design frameworks not only in classrooms but also in leadership and operational decision making. Staff increasingly slow down to understand problems through empathy before jumping to solutions, modelling the same thinking expected from students.
Families are also part of this process. As parents see learners developing confidence, adaptability and independence, trust grows in an approach that looks beyond traditional academic pathways.
Citizens School places learners and families at the centre of every decision, not just the curriculum.
Preparing Children for an Uncertain Future
Lucy believes traditional education alone cannot prepare learners for the future workplace, particularly as technology and artificial intelligence rapidly reshape industries.
“Rather than children coming out with only qualifications, we are teaching resilience and adaptability. Those are the skills that will determine their success.”
Technology, including AI, is embraced as a tool rather than a replacement for thinking.
Children need to use AI as a tool, not let it replace their own thinking.
For 2026, Citizens School plans to deepen its entrepreneurial learning model, aiming for students to develop marketable products by the end of the academic year, further connecting education with real world opportunity.
A Shared Responsibility Between School and Family
Citizens School’s recognition arrives at a time when the UAE is encouraging stronger family and community bonds. Lucy sees this alignment as natural.
“It was always the founders’ mission to build a school that is inclusive but also focused on the skills children need for an ever changing world.”
That journey now involves staff, learners and families alike.
“This award validates what we set out to do. It confirms that what we are building is working.
At Citizens School, learning is a shared journey between learners, educators and families.
Education That Grows with the Community
For Citizens School, the award is not the end point. It is motivation to continue evolving alongside families and the wider community.
As Lucy puts it,
“We cannot keep doing things the way we have for the last twenty years. We have to embrace change and teach children skills, not just knowledge.”
In doing so, Citizens School is not simply preparing learners for exams or university. It is helping families raise empathetic, adaptable and confident young people ready to shape the future they will inherit.
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