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I am moving to Dubai with my family at the end of the year. Please can anyone advise the British curriculum schools with the best reputations. There appears to be a large choice of school, but determining the quality is difficult without first-hand knowledge. We know Dubai reasonably well (I travel there on business occasionally and we lived in Abu Dhabi 1997-99 but did not have school-age kids then!) and expect to live somewhere in the Jumairah - Jebel Ali corridor (narrows it down a bit!)

1.) The schools can be divided into non-profit or privately owned.
I prefer non-profit, because then I can be assured that the children come first. But there are some good privately owned schools as well.

The non-profit schools that I know of are:
Dubai English Speaking School (DESS)
Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Jebel Ali Primary School
Emirates International School?

These are also the most popular schools, but they are all quite old and dated. JESS Arabian Ranches has the best of both worlds... A brand new, non-profit school.

Other schools in your area are:
Jumeirah Primary School (JPS) and
The English College (There is a new primary bit that I don't know the name of).
JPS is a GEMS school, which I would steer clear of, but I have not head anything bad about this one in particular... other than teachers complaining about it.

benwj wrote:1.) The schools can be divided into non-profit or privately owned.
I prefer non-profit, because then I can be assured that the children come first. But there are some good privately owned schools as well.

The non-profit schools that I know of are:
Dubai English Speaking School (DESS)
Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Jebel Ali Primary School
Emirates International School?

These are also the most popular schools, but they are all quite old and dated. JESS Arabian Ranches has the best of both worlds... A brand new, non-profit school.

Other schools in your area are:
Jumeirah Primary School (JPS) and
The English College (There is a new primary bit that I don't know the name of).
JPS is a GEMS school, which I would steer clear of, but I have not head anything bad about this one in particular... other than teachers complaining about it.

DESS has a new secondary section. Those schools may be old (40 years for DESS) but I'd hardly call them dated.
EIS is a profit making institution and has a new section in the Meadows. Not as good as the first three on your list.

I thought English College was K-12 ever since it opened?

I wouldn't diss GEMs schools outright but be aware some of them have a poor reputation - perhaps more from teachers.

More info here and here ...

http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=1609#1609 - school ratings.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=6710 - teaching jobs and link to schools list.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=5793 - JESS and Chouiefat.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=423 - DAA, DC and AIS brief comment.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=8064#8064 - list of schools/websites
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=6187 - Al Salam British School and link to colleges.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=5065 - Chouiefat and general comments.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=7278 - Kings, DIS, Carmel, Chouiefat.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4247 - no teaching qualification.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=8196 - Applying for School Places (without correct visas).
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=8262 - Queen International School and supply teaching.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=8572 - Wellington International School and GEMS.
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=8966 - Wellington International School (again)
http://www.dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9431 - ASD vs DAA
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewforum.php?f=30 - UAE teaching jobs forum

sharewadi wrote:DESS has a new secondary section. Those schools may be old (40 years for DESS) but I'd hardly call them dated.

Yes, dated is the wrong term. It just looks that way. But what it lacks in, appearance, it seems to make up for in quality of teaching and dedication.

sharewadi wrote:I thought English College was K-12 ever since it opened?

No, The new primary school is the multi coloured lego blocks thing just next to it.

sharewadi wrote:I wouldn't diss GEMs schools outright but be aware some of them have a poor reputation - perhaps more from teachers.

Yes, most of the teachers are proffessional enough to ensure that your child with still receive a very good education, even if the boss is an asshole.