DUBAI // Twelve schools in Dubai have been rated as outstanding by education inspectors for the second year in a row, a report has revealed.
The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau’s (DSIB) individual reports for the 2013/14 academic year showed that out of the 141 schools, 57 were rated as good, 64 acceptable and eight unsatisfactory.
Overall, eight schools have improved their ratings while the number of schools found to be unsatisfactory has decreased.
The number of schools rated good increased from 51 during the 2012/2013 academic year, while the number rated acceptable in the current academic year dropped slightly from 66 the previous year.
There was also a drop in the number of schools rated as unsatisfactory, which stood at 10 for the 2012/2013 academic year. In last year’s report, two schools were not inspected.
“Parents should be fully informed of the strengths and weaknesses of their child’s school and have a comprehensive understanding of its progress over the past year,” said Jameela Al Muhairi, chief of DSIB.
“We encourage all parents to read the school reports in full.”
The UK curriculum schools classed as outstanding were: Gems Wellington International School, Jumeirah College, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Dubai College, Gems Jumeirah Primary School, Dubai English Speaking College and Horizons English School.
Gems Dubai American Academy follows the American curriculum while The Indian High School Gems Modern Academy use the Indian.
The DSIB’s reports, which are now available online, give a detailed account of its inspection findings, looking at factors such as personal development of students, standard of teaching and assessment, quality of curriculum, health and safety, support available at school and leadership.
“We encourage all parents to read the school reports in full,” said Ms Al Muhairi.
The key factors analysed included social and personal development of students, the standard of teaching and assessment, the quality of the curriculum, health and safety, school support, and leadership.
More than 89 per cent of the student population attend 158 private schools in Dubai, which offer a choice of 15 different curricula.
Last year student enrolment increased by 8 per cent, with 243,715 students now attending private schools in the emirate. The schools found to be unsatisfactory were New Academy School USA,
Al Worood Academy Private School that follow the UK curriculum, Al Arqm Private School, Al Thuraya Private School, New World Private School that use the Ministry of Education curriculum, Crescent English School, Gulf Model School, that uses the Indian curriculum and HH Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistani School-Dubai, which teaches the Pakistani curriculum. Kings’ School Dubai, a British curriculum school, is the only one to have consistently remained ‘outstanding’ in the six years since inspections started.
English Language Private School and Grammar School, both UK curriculums, have risen from unsatisfactory to acceptable.
Six schools moved from acceptable to good, including Star International School and Dubai Police Kindergarten.
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