British Council in Jordan celebrates achievements, bids farewell to Country Director Summer Xia

AMMAN — The British Council celebrated their achievements in building stronger ties between the UK and Jordanover the last 12 months with a number of key partners at a reception hosted by the British Ambassador to Jordan, Bridget Brind.

This was part of the occasion to bid farewell to Summer Xia, country director Jordan & Levant cluster lead as he prepares his move to Indonesia to head up the British Council in Southeast Asia, according to a British Council statement. 

In just a year, the British Council in Jordan has grown its partner school network by 10 per cent with “outstanding” results from the Quality and Compliance Assessment. The IELTS exam administered by the British Council has been made more widely available by introducing new testing and registration centres across the country.

The British Council Teaching Centre on Rainbow Street has also seen a huge increase after COVID, exceeding 1,000 students, and reopening their popular Summer School, the statement said. 

Through close cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the British Council continued to support the digital transformation and internationalisation of education in Jordan.

The key achievements include:

A new MoU signed with the Minister of Education to provide accredited professional development for 1,000 English teachers and establish English Learning Hubs;

The launch of the Study UK Alumni Awards to recognise the contribution Jordanians have made to their communities through their experience of studying in the UK;

134 schools participated in the British Council Connecting Classrooms programme focused on the development of core skills to achieve Sustainable Development Goals;

Development of a roadmap for Graduate Attribute Framework together with AQACHEI and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, with an aim to build stronger and more inclusivehigher education that supports economic and social growth.

British Council also contributed to the development of the Arts and Culture sector in Jordan through supporting emerging artists and cultural practitioners of Jordan and responding to local needs with their “Arts for All” Forum and the publication of “Arts in the Digital Age” report. This was further exemplified through the British Council Masarat Grants given to three local projects representing multiple art forms inside and outside Amman, whose work was showcased in front of Their Royal Highnesses the then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall during the Royal Visit to Jordan and at this year’s Jerash Festival. 

On his time in Jordan, Summer commented: “I feel extremely privileged to be able to call Jordan my home since I arrived and to lead the fantastic British Council team to do what we do best — building trust and establishing mutually beneficial partnerships between Jordan and the UK. The visit by our new Chief Executive Scott McDonald to Jordan earlier this year confirms the importance we place on our relationship with Jordan. As the British Council prepares to celebrate its 75th Anniversary in Jordan next year, I look forward to hearing more success stories from this beautiful Kingdom.”

Brind added: “I welcome the impactful partnerships the British Council has fostered and congratulate Summer Xia on successful efforts to lead and strengthen the cultural and educational links between the UK and Jordan, including the period marking Jordan’s centenary and 100 years of our friendship. The British Council has served this relationship for almost 75 years delivering world-class services and programmes across English, arts, education, youth and civil society, building understanding and trust between people in the UK and Jordan.”