Secondary Schools in Dubai

[TextBook]

Can anyone please provide any guidance to which schools in Dubai follow the UK Cambridge education syllabus and would you recommend them? My son is about to finish Year 11 in New Zealand and has been studying the Cambridge syllabus. It would be nice if he could continue his studies in Year 12 following the same curriculum in Dubai. Any information regarding schools, both good and bad, would be greatly appreciated. He is familiar with the IB system as well but the preferred option is Cambridge.

[SOPS]

I think the question might also be, is a place available for him in the school of your choice in Dubai. My kids were never educated in Dubai, so I am not right up to speed on schooling, but I think others will tell you, places in good schools are hard to come by...and expensive.

[Wizofoz]

By Cambridge, do you mean GCE "A" level?

AFAIK the British schools are about 50/50 A level and IB.

[FlightPilot]

There's DIA (Dubai International Academy) that offers the IB. CIE exams, many schools. Gems Academy, Wellington, etc,. Again it depends on what you're looking at/expecting from these schools. If it's quality of education, you could look at the KHDA website that does school reviews and rating by the MOE, AE. Fees is another thing.

[Wizofoz]

Dubai College achieves the best results in A levels in the country (probably in the region).

They do take new students into sixth form (being years 12 and 13)and the fees are very reasonable, but it's competitive.

[fliion]

DC has had a dramatic drop in aspirants in the last two years (still oversubscribed) due a number of factors but primarily because IB is now considered a de facto accepted global curriculum and that parents say DC focuses a lot on top 10% academically.

A- Levels are quite Anglo focused but the UK MOE will move away from that system in the coming years.

When places are tight there is always a GEMS school being built at the end of the block and is an entry point for most. From there one can position for the 'right fit'. Most of the non native English speaking offspring do GEMS because they are not offered anything else. classes up to 28 in GEMS DSO with some kids not one word of English. Not ideal.

Top 4 generally speaking - seem to be DC, JESS, DESC, JC.

Repton, great Junior school, senior school many complaints, exhorbitant fees.

The two yank schools DAA & ASD - very good for Americans.

One ear to the ground Dads view - sure to piss off others.

A stress warning for your gal - School choice is a blood sport for the WAGS of Dubai - caveat emptor - it gets nasty.

f.

[ExpatBrat]

English College Secondary has worked for us so far. My eldest son is in year 11 there.

[Avid Aviator]

Second all Fliion's comments above, pretty spot on.

Getting a place in secondary is not as difficult as in primary, especially in the more senior years, many UK students leave at end of Yr 11 to do last two years in UK.

DESC or DC may suit a Kiwi more than JESS or JC, but where you live probably a more important factor to consider, none of them are bad.

Good luck.

[TextBook]

Thanks for all the comments. You have pretty much confirmed what I was thinking and the link to the schools ratings certainly helps in the decision making. Now the fun of enrollment and seeing if places are available begins...

[Vortex Thing]

Oddly enough for once I actually agree with almost everything fliion said!!!

I have two children at one of the schools mentioned but one thing you need to be very wary of. All that glitters is not IB.

One of the reasons that many schools have gone that route here is that it is in vogue. It is however a rubbish qualification for anyone who has a UK professional degree in mind.

I.e if your plan is to be a barrister or a surgeon you would have to be exceptionally bright to secure a pace at Oxbridge or a Russell Group university. If you want to just get a place at a university and your not really fussed about the rat race that is Russell Group Uni places (or perhaps if your're not planning on working in UK for your first 3-5 postgrad years then it doesn't really matter.

The IB is very broad compared to A Levels and as such it is harder to acheive a grade that makes you instantly interview materiel on what are some of the most competitive courses in the world.

Look at it this way. Is the IB a better more rounded qualification? Without doubt yes. Will it prepare your offspring better for uni and then life? Errm again yes. Is it held in high regard internationationally and will it get you a place in a good European or Western University? Again all the above yes!

Now Eton, Harrow, Charterhouse, Shrewsbury, Rugby, Westminster, Winchester (i.e. The original Clarendon/UK public schools) i.e the best education money can buy. Do they do do IB errmm not a hope and wont for some time. Do thy achieve a disproportionate amount of Oxbridge and Russell Group uni places and moe CEOs of FTSE100 firms than any other institutions in UK. Well yes! So ask yourself why that is and then decided what you thnk best.

The choices made for a UK privately educated child aged 7 up basicaly determine what they will be doing when they are 40yrs old. Ignore the facts and hope they will be ok at your peril. It's rather like rugby. It isn't life or death it is far more important than that.

[donpizmeov]

By the spelling I think Vortex Thing must be an ex Army Helo pilot. Not smart, but they can lift heavy things.


The Don

[Jack D]

2 girls both completed the Ib in the uk.... One is now a surgeon and the other a barrister... Courtesy of Cambridge and Ucl.... Fillion is correct in as much as Some public schools resist the qualification and also correct as subjects are not so rigorously specialised...but it has been "en vogue" for quite some time circa 20 yrs ! My daughters are in their mid 30's .... Don,t underestimate the qualification but choose the school carefully ... In the end only one school is taken seriously for the sort of university that Fillion has in mind ,that is DC.. Unfair but it has a little history and stuffy uni admin people admire that. Think Ek HR ! And I always enjoy the thought that Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Richard Branson etc .were drop outs... The child's happiness is key.
Good luck !

[Vortex Thing]

Ladies & gentlemen apologies the post was written in my haste to go swimming. The spelling was terrible and I was a touch embarrassed on rereading this morning before heading off to work.

However the sentiment is still easily proveable. Jack D you will please note that I did not say it wasn't possible. I did state that you would need exceptionally bright children. You clearly have those, lucky you! And well played them. However it is as always a case of the exception rather than the rule.

Some children wherever you put them will succeed, think Billy Elliot/Slum Dog Millionaire style stories. Do Richard Branson, Alan Sugar et al prove me wrong. No they prove that it is not a black and white science. No one said life was!

Just look through FTSE 100, parliament and the defence of the realm at the top players online. 75% of our captains of industry and CEOs or senior post holders came from the same alma mater and schools that do not offer IB.

The child's happiness is important but secondary to thier success. You can leave them Montesorri style to discover what they need at their own pace and make them a well rounded person but isn't that the job of parenting versus schooling or you can put them in an environ where they, like most, become the average of thier peers and by choosing an easier path you give them choices in life that may otherwise have been denied to them.

I'm not saying the IB doesn't do a good job of educating. I am saying that statsically should you be targetting the level I am talking of then A levels are a more sure route and if your child is outstanding it will make no difference at worst but if they are a little below that then it may make all the difference.

Personally I would and will in our case board them in UK as I think that the senior schools in Dubai just can't do what we get at home.

Good luck! VT

[TextBook]

Just re-reading one of the earlier posts regarding many year 12 and 13 students going back to the UK to finish their studies. Why is that? Are the schools in Dubai not as well equiped to deliver a suitable level of education at that level?

[Avid Aviator]

You need two years UK schooling to be able to attend Uni there as a local student rather than have to pay international fees. So end of Year 11 is a good time to go, some go earlier.

[Hairbus]

Repton Dubai

[Aluminium shuffler]

I understand that to qualify for UK domestic uni fees, rather than foreign student rates, and for the student loan, the student has to have been a UK domicile for the preceding three years, not two, and that merely attending a UK school is insufficient - boarding schools do not qualify; the student must have been fully domiciled, which means living with family of friends in the UK permanently. It's part of the effort to claw back money from UK citizens who are not paying UK taxes. I am also led to understand that Repton's results an not the most salubrious.

[Wizofoz]

As,

Technically true, but there are "ways and means" to establish normal residency.