Dubai Gem School, often abbreviated as DGS, is one of the oldest established schools in Dubai. It was founded in the year 1973. Initially, it started off as a private nursery for 20 students. Gradually, it grew into a well regarded institution both by the KHDA inspection team and by parents alike. The exam results and inspection reports also suggest alike with most students achieving above curriculum standards. Dubai Gem school is based in Bur Dubai and takes students ranging from the age of 3 to 18 years. Dubai Gem Private School is located in Al Hubaiba and it is one of the oldest establishments there. It entails students of lower and upper nursery children. Most of these children end up going to Dubai Gem Private School. According to the introduction on their website (
https://dubaigem.ae/), the school’s vision is :
“To be an exemplary 21st century inclusive learning community whose students are empowered to excel in a complex, interconnected, changing world; to develop life-long learners upholding the core values of the school. Its Mission – Dubai Gem Private School seeks to create a challenging and inclusive learning environment that encourages high expectations for all students. The school community is committed to developing students who are resilient and adaptable, equipped with the knowledge, skills, and disposition to continue their education and become personally fulfilled, interdependent, socially responsible adults.
The school has adopted Core Values of:
Dignity and Integrity – Respect and honesty in all our endeavours in an environment that embraces change, new ideas, respect for the individual and equal opportunity to succeed.
Generosity of Spirit – Empathy and tolerance for every individual and embracing differences with respect which creates a culture of magnanimity and kindness.
Pursuit of Excellence – Perseverance in identifying challenges and striving to overcome them.
Sincerity and Commitment – Students are encouraged to be diligent, develop sound work ethics, and become inventive and resourceful.”
A total of 1200 students are currently enrolled in the school. To cater to the needs of these students, a total of 126 teachers and 24 teaching assistants are also present there. As per the KHDA reports, most of the students enrolled there are of Indian nationality. The student-teacher ratio in the school is 1:25 overall. In secondary school, the classes are of smaller size which aids the students with appropriate amounts of academic and social support. Teachers appear to be happy with their employment at the school; staff turnover was 11% two years ago and fell to zero in 2019-20 – well below the Dubai average of 20-22%.
What about the curriculum?
The school follows the English National educational program prompting IGCSE assessments (in Year 11), ‘AS’ (in Year 12), and ‘A’ levels (in Year 13). The language of guidance and correspondence is English. Arabic is obligatory from FS2 to Year 9 and discretionary from Year 10 onwards. Islamic Studies and the Quran are compulsory for Islamic students while non-Islamic students study Social Studies. The school gives little data about the scope of extra subjects accessible, expressing just that English, Mathematics and Science lie at the core of the educational plan in the Primary school. In Secondary school, students study Mathematics,
English, Science (Bio/Chem/Physics), History, Geography, Art and Design, Information Technology, Arabic, Islamic Studies/PSHE and Physical Education in Years 7 to 8. Hindi, French or Urdu are offered as extra language choices from which students may pick one.
Abnormally, IGCSE are concentrated more than three years, as opposed to the typical two. Necessary subjects incorporate English Language and Literature and Mathematics. students may pick five extra subjects including Accounting, Arabic, Art and Design, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Economics, Environmental Management, French, Geography, History, Islamiyat, Physics and Urdu. Albeit to a great extent zeroed in on Commerce and Science (as is regular in UK educational program schools whose students are dominatingly from Asian families), more uncommon subjects incorporate Child Development, Sociology and Travel and Tourism. Arabic, Islamic Studies and Physical Education are non-analyzed, yet obligatory subjects.
The school has a liberal methodology towards subject alternatives for AS and A Level students, intended to empower them to browse a remarkably adaptable menu of courses, permitting students to choose the most fitting choices. In contrast to numerous schools, DGS doesn’t begin with a foreordained rundown of choices, yet plan the schedule every year to oblige the desires of students. Most students study four subjects at AS Level prior to proceeding with three for A Level.
Choices incorporate Art and Design, Accounting, AICT, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Economics, English, Environmental Management (AS just), History, ICT, Mathematics and Physics. Nonetheless, the school noticed that not all alternatives might be accessible, driven, apparently by student numbers.
Dubai Gem offers just a restricted scope of co-curricular exercises. These incorporate Educational and Field Trips which are embraced each term to help the learning of students. The Environmental Awareness Program is run in a joint effort with Dubai Municipality and the Emirates Environmental Group. students are urged to participate in different ventures including the Can Collection Campaign, Recycling Newspapers and Magazines and Clean-Up Campaigns. students, the two young men and young ladies, of Year 9 onwards, are offered The Duke of Edinburgh International Award Program, setting them up for the Bronze and Silver Awards. Campaigns, journeying and setting up camp projects are coordinated which support camaraderie, kinship, independence and an awareness of others’ expectations. The Dubai Gem Scout Group focuses on students to foster their full physical, scholarly, social and otherworldly potential. The Scouting program empowers students to foster themselves as coordinated, dependable, and proactive residents of their networks.
What about Academic results?
Dubai Gem Schools is one of the very few schools that published its exam results. While we do not condone that a school should be judged solely on its results. We do agree that the exam results are an important measure for parents. Therefore, Dubai Gem school is willing to share the success of its students with everyone to see. For the year 2019-20, results were centre-assessed (that is awarded by the school itself through a submission process to the examining boards) and its students achieved the following:
“A Level – 100% pass rate, with 78% of exam entries at A*-B. 39% of students achieved passes graded A*-A, and 59% of students achieved passes at A*-B. The school does not reveal the number of students who took the exams, nor the number of exams taken – important in the context of school size in comparison with others. We would also like to see a further break down of grades awarded to entries – most schools report A*-A, A*-C and A*- E at a minimum. Having said that, with over three-quarters of entries graded at A*-B, this was clearly a high-achieving cohort.”
“AS Level – a 97% pass rate, and with 84% of entries graded A-B. 63% of students achieved at least one A-B grade, whilst 28 students obtained 4 A grades at AS Level. However, let us remind you that there is no mention of the amount of exams taken or the total numbers of students.”
“IGCSE – a 100% pass rate, with 60% of exam entries at A*-A, and 81% at A*-B, 64% of students achieved at least one A*-B grade. The school does not reveal the number of students, nor the number of exams taken. We would like to know the number of passes at A*- C including English and Maths, the most common measure used for comparison by UK curriculum schools.”
For students belonging to Dubai Gem school, university destinations include one of the top rated university and graduation programmes across the world. These programmes include Heriott Watt University, Scotland, King’s College, London, Loughborough and Warwick, Australia, the Universities of California (USA) and British Columbia in North America.
What about facilities?
The school has a good scope of offices including four Computer Laboratories, an E-learning focus utilized by both Primary and Secondary school students , three Laboratories for Physics, Chemistry and Biology, three Art Rooms, two well resourced Libraries, and a Multi-Purpose Hall utilized for gatherings, music exercises, indoor sports,and assessments. studentsies likewise approach a Sports Center – the school employs the ‘Iranian Club’, adjoining the school – for the utilization of its pools, sports oval and courts. There are additionally two Medical Centers staffed by 2 attendants and a specialist. The school has put resources into the IT foundation over ongoing years.
What do the inspectors say?
The school has accomplished a KHDA positioning of Good throughout the previous ten years. During the 2019-20 examination that occurred in February 2020, the DSIB review group discovered the qualities of Dubai Gem Private School to be: (Source:
https://www.khda.gov.ae/en/)
- “The work ethos of the students, their behaviour and the respect that they show to adults and to one another
- Attainment in Islamic education, mathematics and science in the post-16 phase, and in English, mathematics and science in the secondary phase
- Students’ understanding of Islamic values, and their awareness of Emirati and world cultures
- Students’ progress in Islamic education in the primary and post-16 phases, in English, mathematics and science, in the secondary phase, and in mathematics and science in the post-16 phase
- The school’s commitment to inclusion, the quality of older students’ learning skills, and the individualised high-quality guidance on learning and career pathways.”
Dubai Gem Private School has checked all of the six criteria pointers given by KHDA. This alone, stands to prove that school has the potential to achieve Very Good accomplishment in various regions. Dubai Gem is unmistakably a school of two parts from a Student Achievement, Personal and Social Development and Innovation Skills, and the Curriculum viewpoint. While the Foundation and Primary stages are evaluated Good across practically all regions, the Secondary and post-16 areas are appraised consistently Very Good. Understudies across the school are appraised Outstanding as far as their Personal turn of events, while Secondary and post-16 understudies also accomplished the most elevated rating for their Social duty and advancement abilities.”
Tragically, the appraisals for Arabic stay Acceptable across the school. Instructing and Assessment and the Curriculum are the regions which are unmistakably those for extra concentration if Dubai Gem wishes to raise its in general KHDA rating to Very Good. While there are components at this level in the Secondary and post-16 areas, all vital markers in this setting are evaluated Good in the Foundation and Primary segments. The insurance, care, direction and backing of understudies was considered to be Good across the school except for Care and Support (evaluated Very Good) for more established understudies who profit by viable enthusiastic and scholastic advising and from uncommon further training direction. Albeit the school invites understudies with SEND prerequisites, its rating for this pointer was minimized to Acceptable from Good in 2017-18. The school accomplished an improved rating to Good again in the latest assessment, with the report taking note of that “the arrangement of a lead representative for comprehensive instruction, and the advancement of an engaged activity plan, are prompting improvement.” However, the investigation tracked down that restricted resourcing diminishes the general adequacy of the school’s arrangement.
The school’s zones for advancement in the course of recent years have been identified with overseeing instructive changes in organization with the school local area, the improvement of instructing approaches that make free students and enhancements to the language abilities of understudies examining Arabic. Given that the Principal and Senior administration group all joined the school in 2016, the way that they have had the option to keep up predictable guidelines is a recognition for them and to the staff of the school. The most recent examination report takes note of that the administering board incorporates the proprietors and delegates of the school local area.
“Recent additions bring important expertise and knowledge, which help in the effective review of all aspects of the school’s performance. The board regularly seeks the views of students, staff and parents. Governors actively support school leaders to help the school to meet its commitment to parents, and to ensure that statutory requirements are met.”
Dubai Gem School converges its focus on academics. But, it also has a very strong awareness with social and community support. The school leadership takes a keen interest in maintaining and improving the standards all across school. These community endeavours are supported by a stable teaching staff that enables students to achieve strong academic results at the higher end of the school.
The inspection team advised the following changes to be made by the school:
- “Improve attainment and progress in all subjects, but especially in Arabic languages.
- Build greater consistency in the ways in which teachers appropriately challenge and learn to meet the needs and abilities of students.
- Strengthen the purposeful use of technology to support and extend learning.
- Increase the number of opportunities to promote students’ independence, inquiry, problem-solving and higher-level thinking skills, in all subjects and phases.”
The Buzz
The assessment report found that guardians are exceptionally strong of the school and of senior pioneers, who draw in them adequately as accomplices in the life and work of the school. Guardians report that the school treats them appropriately and follows up on any worries that they raise. Pioneers utilize a decent assortment of techniques to speak with guardians. Subsequently, most guardians feel educated, particularly about their kids’ learning and advancement.
Of the 229 guardians who reacted to the KHDA pre-examination overview, 94% said that they were happy with the norm of training given by Dubai Gem Private School. Practically all guardians are happy with the nature of instruction given by the school. They feel that their kids are protected. They consider that the school treats their perspectives appropriately and frequently follows up on them. There have been just a predetermined number of reactions to the WhichSchoolAdvisor.com Parent Survey. There are the standard grumblings over expenses. half of respondents had considered moving their kid to another school, with the very level of guardians saying that they would prescribe the school to different guardians (contrasted with a UAE normal of 72%). 14% (contrasted and the normal of 12%), said they would not, while more than 33% were perched vacillating and were unsure with respect to if to suggest the school.
What about the fees?
In terms of the school fees, it is relatively affordable in comparison with the other UK curriculum schools. But, the school fee is high mid-end for a school catering to the needs of Indian community. The school fee ranges from from AED 16,885 for new students in FS1 to AED 27,355 for current students in Year 13. For the new students joining the school, the fee is approximately AED 3,500. Moreover, there is an additional registration fee of AED 735 for new admissions. Lastly, students in Years 9, 10 and 11 also pay an additional ‘equipment charge’ for each additional subject selected for IGCSE, whilst those in Years 12 and 13 pay an additional AED 500. If you can afford it, Dubai Gem Private School is the best place to pave your child’s future.
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