School system: British
Current rating: Outstanding
Grades admitted: PK-6th grade
Address: Umm Hurair
Dubai English School (DESS) is very proud to be the oldest British school in the United Arab Emirates, established by the British Embassy in 1963 on a site gifted by Sheikh Rashid, the former ruler of Dubai. Dubai English School is one of only a few not-for-profit schools in Dubai and, as such, is governed by a Board of Directors who ensure that the school is generously reinvested on both a long-term and short-term basis. This ensures that the school's facilities are excellent and the school continues to improve, being rated Outstanding.
At Dubai English School, the school offers three stages:
Foundation Stage (FS1 - FS2, 3-5 years old)
Key Stage 1 (Years 1 to 2, 6-7 years old)
Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6, 8-11 years old)
1.The Foundation Stage at DESS includes FS1 (3-4 years old) and FS2 (4-5 years old).
The school is very proud to provide a solid foundation for each child's learning journey through a play-based, fun and exciting approach to learning while following the UK EYFS Early Years Curriculum. In addition to play, children have maths and phonics lessons every day at FS2, as well as daily reading and writing lessons. The curriculum is enhanced by an appreciation of the local culture of the UAE, as well as the children's family culture. We also offer a range of specialist courses including music, dance, swimming and PE.
2.Key Stage 1 at DESS includes Years 1 and 2.
The school's creative and child-led curriculum is based on the UK National Curriculum. Current and cultural concepts related to the United Nations Global Goals are used to enrich and engage children in different ways. The curriculum engages learners through thoughtful planning.
The school makes learning purposeful through Continuous Provision (Year 1) and Project Based Learning (Year 2). This gives children the opportunity to challenge themselves through purposeful learning experiences. One day children may be creating a museum of artefacts related to a concept, and the next day they may be sewing clothing for soldiers in need.
At Key Stage 1, the school teaches children to become confident, collaborative and critical thinking leaders, allowing them to thrive in the child-centered environment provided for them by the school, allowing them to choose where and how they learn best. The school encourages children to learn about the culture they live in as well as their own culture. Children at the school are taught to be leaders of their own learning and to support others in their learning.
3.Key Stage 2 at DESS covers Years 3-6
The school has rich extra-curricular opportunities and many activities, and children represent the school in sports, performing arts, languages and academic activities, covering a wide range of subjects and interests. The school believes in competition to enable all children to succeed, regardless of their interests, passions or abilities.
At Key Stage 2, children begin to build a sense of self and identify their place in the world. At DESS, they are engrossed in discussion, debate and activism based on knowledge and experience; they begin to see themselves as guardians of the planet and become independent-minded, motivated global citizens.
At DESS, the school is fully committed to developing the whole child. The DESS 6Cs Manifesto is the school's promise to the DESS child, detailing the school's commitment to their holistic development. The 6C learning skills include: critical thinking, empathy, creativity, communication, collaboration and curiosity.
1 Arabic
FS: Arabic is not taught at this stage
KS1: Children officially begin learning Arabic as part of their first year of curriculum, with a focus on learning the Arabic language through active learning and singing. In the second grade, children continue to learn through the use of various resources and begin more curriculum based courses through positive strategies adopted by teachers. The children entered the ability group starting from second grade. By the end of the second year, most children can read and write simple phrases in Arabic.
KS2: In KS2, children continue to learn vocabulary and grammatical structures in various contexts as part of the thematic curriculum. All language skills are integrated into children's learning, but the focus is on developing reading and writing skills to provide children with good Arabic knowledge and lay the foundation for secondary school learning.
2 French
At DESS, starting from grade 3, one hour of French is provided per week. Children can also participate in popular French clubs. In the curriculum, the school's teaching methods rely on active learning, using sports, music, and drama to support students' vocabulary learning. The children quickly constructed 4th grade difficulty morning sentences and wrote down relevant paragraphs. DESS focuses on conversations about writing skills, believing that if children can say a sentence, they can also write it down.
3 Geography
The geography curriculum of Dubai English School is based on the framework of the UK national curriculum, catering to the various needs of the international school community.
4 History
High quality history education will help students gain an understanding of the UK's past and the wider world, including the UAE. The history course is based on the framework of the UK national curriculum and caters to the various needs of the international school community.
5 Islamic education
According to the requirements of the Ministry of Education, Islamic education is provided weekly by high-quality and experienced teachers to all children in grades 1 to 6.
6 Mathematics
Mathematics courses enable children to establish mathematical understanding and provide them with opportunities to enjoy learning and persevere in challenges.
7 Arts
The school provides after-school activities, including KS1 and KS2 choirs, samba, brass bands, and guitar clubs. Then encourage children to participate in all annual activities, including the DESS festival, the UAE Arts Festival opening ceremony, and the annual choir competition.
8 Sports
The DESS PE department has 8 employees. As a department, set goals, develop lifelong habits for children, and maintain physical health. The focus of this department is to enhance the physical activity potential of each child. All fields of PE include swimming, gaming, athletics, gymnastics, and dance.
9 PSHE
PSHE is about personal, social, and health education for children. DESS's PSHE course aims to provide students with the necessary knowledge, understanding, attitudes, values, and skills to unleash their personal potential.
10 Science
In science courses, students cultivate skills in planning, hypothesis, prediction, observation, measurement, classification, interpretation of data, inference, and communication. In the course, ensure contextual relevance, make student activities relevant to their learning, and better understand the world around them.
11 Reading and Writing
Reading and writing are essential skills, and children can make outstanding progress in both course areas.
DESS's curriculum covers the 2014 UK national curriculum system, ensuring strict spelling and grammar teaching methods.
All areas of PE include swimming, gaming, athletics, gymnastics, and dance. The school provides a variety of pre class and post class activities. The school will also hold annual sports and competitions to allow children to apply the skills and knowledge they have learned in competition. At Dubai English Speaking School, competitive sports are very popular. In recent years, there has been significant improvement in the performance of all major games and tournaments. These can now be listed as outstanding sports.
Application fee: AED 525
FS1 tuition fee: AED 41,427
FS2 tuition fee: AED 51,269
Year 1 tuition fee: AED 51,269
Year 2 tuition fee: AED 51,269
Year 3 tuition fee: AED 51,269
Year 4 tuition fee: AED 51,269
Year 5 tuition fee: AED 51,269
Year 6 tuition fee: AED 51,269