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New IB-curriculum school to open in Dubai this August

Dubai - The Primary and Kindergarten School will have a capacity of approximately 1,500 students.

A new International Baccalaureate (IB) school predominantly for Emiratis, is set to open in Dubai this September.

The co-educational Emirates National School (ENS) located in Al Khawaneej I will open its doors in August 2021 with its Early Years and Primary Years School Programs from KG1 to Grade 5.

Mohammed Darwish, CEO of Permits and Compliance at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), in a statement said, “We’re excited to welcome Emirates National School to Dubai’s education landscape. The opening of new schools adds to the variety on offer in Dubai and empowers parents with greater choice.”

Andreas Swoboda, ENS principal told Khaleej Times that the school will have state-of-the-art facilities, with regular and specialty-purpose classrooms, impressive support and extra-curricular facilities and an advanced technology infrastructure and equipment.

Talking about the future plans, he said: “The Primary and Kindergarten School will have a capacity of approximately 1,500 students, at full capacity. During the 2022-23 academic year, ENS anticipates opening the ENS Dubai - Secondary Boy’s and Girl’s Campus (Grades 6 through Grade 12) in Al Khawaneej 2. This facility will host approximately 1,500 students when full capacity is attained.”

While registrations are now open, the school is accepting students of all nationalities. Since, May 2021, the school has hired 90 per cent of their staff for its Kindergarten and Primary School.

“All of our teaching staff, with the exception of our National Curriculum teachers, are native English speakers and come from countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa, to name a few.”

Swoboda adds, “Several of the staff, including the National Curriculum teachers, have transferred from other ENS schools in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Mohammed bin Zayed and Ras Al Khaimah. Teachers that have transferred from these campuses are all International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO)-trained Primary Years Teachers and have had two or more years’ experience teaching in the IB programs in their campuses.”

Meanwhile, the Kindergarten and Primary School, in Al Khawaneej 1, is in the process of completing the paperwork with the International Baccalaureate Organization to become an IB - Primary Years Program Candidate School effective August.

“All ENS campuses offer the Primary Years (PYP), Middle Years (MYP) and Diploma Years Programs (DP). ENS Dubai will be working with the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) to offer these three programmes and offer the International Baccalaureate Career Programme (IBCP) for students in Grades 11 and 12 as an alternative to the IB Diploma Programme. The content standards that we will use in ENS Dubai, with the IB Primary Years and Middle Years Programme Frameworks (Grades KG1 to Grade 10), are based upon the American Common Core Standards for English – Language Arts, Mathematics, and Next Generation Science Standards. All ENS Dubai teachers will be trained through IBO approved programs for their level (PYP, MYP, DP, CP)”, opines Swoboda.

nandini@khaleejtimes.com