British Ambassador John Casson last night attended the launch of Malvern College Egypt to highlight how Britain is investing in Egypt's future by investing in the education of Egypt's young people. Malvern College Egypt will open in 2016 and it will be the first time any top British school has opened an international branch in Egypt. Amongst those who attended the event included Prince Michael of Kent, cousin of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, former British Prime Minister the Rt Hon Tony Blair, members of the British Parliament's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Egypt, as well as some of Britain's best acting and musical talent from actress Liz Hurley to singer Gabrielle who provided the evening's entertainment. It has been organised by Dr Khaled Azazy, Chairman and CEO of the Azazy International Group, which runs a number of independent schools in Egypt and Future University. Speaking in advance of the event, Casson said: "The lifeblood of Britain's strong and vibrant relationship with Egypt is people. Everyday, thousands of Brits and Egyptians learn, do business, enjoy holidays, create music and films together. "Education is at the heart of this: the key to Egypt's future and an area where Britain leads the world. Tonight we are launching a world class new school with British roots and an Egyptian future, the latest in a long line of British investments in Egypt's greatest resource – its young people." The launch of Malvern College Egypt comes just as President el-Sisi announced this weekend a new initiative to build an Egyptian society that: "Learns, thinks, and innovates." Britain is already investing heavily in education in Egypt. For example, the newly-launched Newton-Mosharafa fund brings together British and Egyptian scientific research and innovation sectors to find joint solutions to the challenges facing Egypt's future. It will be worth 20m pounds(237m LE) over five years and this month applications were opened for up to 60 young Egyptians to win scholarships and study for their PhDs in the UK. Moreover, this year the number of places available to young Egyptians on the Chevening Programme, which offers scholarships to postgraduate students studying for Masters' degrees in the UK, was doubled to 60. And finally, the British Council offers young Egyptians top quality English language and business skills training as well as building rich, two-way partnerships between the British and Egyptian educational systems at all levels. SOURCE UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office
