Our Community
TKS is a vibrant, multinational community of learners, teachers, and staff. The faculty consists of almost 400 teachers, support staff and administrators. Seventy percent of the faculty have advanced degrees and most of them have international school experience. Our school maintains classroom ratios of no less than one teacher for every 15 students in Kindergarten and one teacher to every 18-22 students in Elementary and Secondary.
Community Facilities
School staff live in the KAUST campus community, near the fishing village of Thuwal. The campus is 80 kilometers north of Jeddah, a cosmopolitan city which provides numerous opportunities for cultural experiences and exploration. The campus community is more of a small-town environment that features safe, attractive neighborhoods, with retail, recreation, and entertainment facilities. Many activities center around the school and these activities are a focus for community interest, such as musical and theatrical performances, team sport tournaments, academic competitions, and various exhibitions.
Recreation centers include a bowling alley, as well as a golf course, a marina, several beaches, tennis courts, playgrounds, a cinema, indoor racquet sports, and lots of wide-open spaces. There are also children’s summer camps available. Summers are hot and humid and it’s cooler and drier during autumn, winter and spring.
Parent Ambassador Committee
Parent Ambassador Committee
We are so grateful to have such a supportive and involved parent community at TKS! We believe that successful parent engagement occurs when the TKS leaders, faculty and parents work together to provide a positive school culture. We are excited to continue working together with the TKS Parent Ambassador Committee (PAC) towards the common goal of supporting and celebrating all students.
The PAC is made up of four sub-committees; one for each division (Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle and High School). Each sub-committee is comprised of a diverse group of parents and division leaders, who meet four times a year to discuss the day to day life of the school.
Alumni
Alumni
Our TKS Alumni program will continue to serve students long after they graduate from TKS. As a valued member of our TKS family, we warmly encourage students and graduates to stay in touch.
There are great reasons why! Here are just three of them:
Spirit Activities
BLUE WAVES
On Blue Wave Days, the entire school is invited to wear blue to represent our TKS School Spirit. These happen on the last Thursday of every month and for special events - such as The Tidal Wave.
TIDAL WAVE
The Tidal Wave is an event that happens three times per year - once for each Athletic Season. The purpose of these events is to showcase our athletic teams, build a pipeline of future athletes who are interested in the sports we offer, and to build school spirit through a fun community-wide event.
Networking and Career Development
We want to help you advance your career with professional networking opportunities, both here at KAUST, and with other TKS alumni who may have opportunities for you as you begin your career.
Friendships
We want to help you advance your career with professional networking opportunities, both here at KAUST, and with other TKS alumni who may have opportunities for you as you begin your career.
Mentoring
Share your experiences and give back to the KAUST community. A few ideas: you could become a mentor, share your story, advertise an internship, or represent your university as a brand ambassador. Not only does this support and inspire our students here, but it’s also great for your resumé!
What Our Alumni Did Next
What Our Alumni Did Next
Our recent TKS graduates are going from strength to strength, here at KAUST and further afield.
Blake hits all the right notes at UC Berkeley
Blake Remington, from our Class of 2021, now attends University of California, Berkeley, where he is studying in the College of Environmental Design with a focus on landscape architecture.
While at TKS, IB Design and IB Physics were two of his favorite classes, and these courses inspired him to pursue a major in university that allows him to continue to explore these areas.
Blake had a number of co-curricular interests in High School including sports, Model United Nations, boy scouts, and choir. As a sophomore, he auditioned and was selected for the Berkeley Chamber Chorus, which is the premier concert choir for the university.
Only 35 singers are competitively selected and participation in the Chamber Chorus prepares students to sing with professional ensembles.
Music by the Chamber Chorus is available on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.
The wild life beckons for Bethany
Bethany Nason graduated from TKS in 2020. Now based in the UK, she’s studying Psychology at Durham University. She’s been busy since she started university, particularly with various extracurricular activities outside her degree, and has gained recognition for her abilities.
“I was awarded a scholarship for research and leadership where I got to work with a postdoc over the summer looking at cognition in monkeys, Bethany explains. “I was at the zoo every day, which was such a cool experience! Aside from that, I now tutor for a company called Lanterna which is aimed at supporting IB students through their MYP and DP years. I also play in goal for my university water polo team!
At school, Bethany took Higher Level Psychology, Biology and English Literature. She took Economics, Maths, and French at Standard Level.
STEM student contributes to science paper
A Class of 2021 graduate has contributed to a paper published in a science journal on targeted therapy in cancer treatment.
Jenna Sleiman’s work featured in the American Chemical Society’s Applied Nano Materials, following a placement she undertook at KAUST when she was still a TKS student.
Niveen M. Khashab, Professor of Chemistry at KAUST, said: “It was such a pleasure to host Jenna in our lab. She is very interested in biomedical nanotechnology and she asked me if she can run some experiments for her school project.
“She did an amazing job in the lab and so I think High School students who are interested in pursuing a career in STEM should approach the TKS Outreach Coordinator and get started early on towards their career goals. Our KAUST Provost, Prof. Carin, is very keen on establishing this link between the school and the University.”
Jenna is now studying in the United States at the University of Virginia. .
Read the paper here
Community FAQ’s
Community FAQ’s
Current enrollment is approximately 1,700 students with 73 nationalities represented. Comprehensive demographics https://tks.kaust.edu.sa
The start times vary slightly for each division, ranging from 7:50 am to 8:15 am. K1 students finish their day at 12:00 pm., K2 at 1:00 pm, and K3 at 2:00 pm. Students in Grades 1-5 finish at 3:00 pm, and Grades 6-12 at 3:10 pm. Tuesday is early release day: KG ends at 12:00 pm, GES at 2:00 pm, and GSS at 1 pm. School holidays for the current academic year are listed on the TKS School Calendar.
TKS families live on the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology campus.
Yes, for KG and Elementary students. TKS's bus transportation provider is SAPTCO.
No, students can wear clothing compliant with the dress code. Secondary School students wear PE uniforms starting in Grade 6, which are available for purchase at the Matjar Store on the Spine.
TKS conducts a new student and parent orientation as well as divisional transition programs from the Counseling Offices.
TKS is a not-for-profit private school governed by the Executive Committee and is part of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
TKS has no “sister schools" but is a part of the Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA). TKS collaborates with other NESA schools in a variety of areas.