Headteacher ditches '£100k' Brit boarding school job for Dubai role

The head of Britain's biggest state boarding academy is leaving the school to take up a lucrative job in Dubai mid-way through the academic year, MailOnline has learned.

Zoe Fisher, Principal of Wymondham College in Norfolk, informed colleagues and parents in an email last month that she was leaving with 'mixed feelings' at Christmas to become head teacher and CEO of an international school in Dubai.

High-flier Ms Fisher, 44, will become one of the highest-profile teachers to join a massive educational 'brain drain' to Dubai, lured by generous tax-free salaries, often accompanied by free accommodation, free flights and school fees for children.

But her announcement came as a surprise to colleagues, and now the school will appoint two interim joint heads from within its staff for the rest of this academic year while trying to find a permanent replacement.

Ms Fisher is believed to earn between £100,000 and £120,000, according to the Sapienta Education Trust’s annual accounts. The highest-paid member of staff, CEO Jonathan Taylor, earns between £160k and £170k, according to the most recent accounts. Although not named as such, as deputy CEO, Ms Fisher is likely to be the next-best paid member of staff, receiving between £110k and £120k. 

The College, near Norwich and repeatedly rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted, takes boarders from all over Britain, charging £15,000 a year to cover accommodation. Their education is free of charge, as in other state schools. Day pupils pay no fees.

Parents with children at independent schools facing a 20 per cent hike in fees under Labour tax changes increasingly look to state boarding schools such as Wymondham as a cheaper alternative for their children.

State boarding schools are also exempt from the proposed VAT increase.

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In her email to staff, Ms Fisher, who has a child at the College herself, wrote: 'It is with mixed feelings that I am writing to let you know that I have made the difficult decision to leave the College at the end of the autumn term, December 2024.

'My family and I will be moving to Dubai where I will be starting a new role as Principal and CEO of an international school in the UAE.'

According to the website of Sapienta Education Trust, which runs the 20-school academy across Norfolk and Suffolk, Ms Fisher joined the Trust in 2018 as director of secondary, having been Deputy Head at the Trust's flaghship Wymondham College.

Before moving back to East Anglia, she began her teaching career in London and quickly gained leadership roles as Head of Department, Assistant Head of Sixth Form and Director of Faculty.

She completed a master's in education and has 'always been passionate about instilling a limitless attitude to learning and achievement and collaborates enthusiastically across the SET schools to foster this mindset so that our pupils and staff believe they can all achieve.'

Her husband James, who runs a graphic design company, was recently awarded the contract to 'rebrand' the Sapienta Trust and its logos.

On the website of his firm, he wrote: 'They wanted their new branding to embrace the expansion of the trust and encompass a brighter colour palette that reflects the unity and inclusion of all the schools.'

A spokesperson for Wymondham College said: 'Ms Fisher is not involved and never has been involved in any commercial or procurement decisions, which sit at Trust level.'

Earlier this year MailOnline highlighted the large numbers of British teachers quitting schools in the UK to head for a better lifestyle in Dubai as a classroom crisis looms back home.

Teaching vacancies are at a record high and recruitment firms are cashing in on the shortage, making millions by placing 'unqualified' supply teachers or 'cover supervisors' into classrooms on rates even lower than full-time teachers would earn.

One senior state school secondary teacher with 15 years' experience who recently moved to a job in a private school in the Far East told how 'cost of living, workload, challenging behaviour from children and a massive amount of stress' were factors in driving teachers away from the profession in the UK.

'The pandemic changed things for many parents and children and you've ended up with some children who just aren't socialised because they missed out on key stages of learning to get along with their peers.

'Their development is impaired. 'In some cases you've also got parents who expect teachers to take on some of the roles which rightly should be theirs. And if you don't do it, who else is going to?'

Former teacher Ruth Harron, 44, from Belfast, worked in a school in the UAE between 2008 and 2010, then set up her own business, recruiting others, called Teachers in UAE.

'They love the Brits and the Irish and we get 50 strong candidates enquiring each week, with many of them recruited throughout the year', she said.

With tax-free incomes, most teachers will receive double their UK salaries each month, often with rent-free accommodation, paid utility bills and flights home.

But Ruth says it's not just the money or the climate that lure people there.

'The push factors include overwork and stress in the UK, the cost of living and sometimes a lack of respect for teachers from students and parents,' she said.

'Teachers in the UK aren't allowed to say boo to a goose when they are faced with challenging behaviour, but in the UAE, you're backed up by colleagues if you're faced with difficult classroom management situations – and it just doesn't happen as often.

'Teachers are held in some esteem in the UAE, and they're treated well.

'There's extra pay if you organise after-school activities and you're encouraged to do your planning work during gaps in the day when the children learn Arabic and Islamic studies, so you don't have much work to take home.'