Since it opened in September 2005, GEMS Royal Dubai School (RDS) has been building on its commitment of offering an exceptional quality of education from foundation stage to year six.
Situated in Mirdif, RDS holds the distinction of being the only 'Outstanding' rated primary school in the area that offers the national curriculum for England, taught by experienced, British-trained teachers who have been chosen for their ability to create a motivational, child-centred environment. It also holds the honour of being among the first schools in the UAE to be globally accredited with the 'World Class High Performance Learning' (HPL) status.
The school has been certified with the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and combines the best of British educational standards and methodologies with an awareness of the local cultural and regional context. The school has been recognised as 'Outstanding' by the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) and certified as a British School Overseas (BSO).
Building on the success of the last 17 years, RDS has been reinvigorated with a new executive leadership, led by Jan Steel, the school's principal and CEO, supported by Jenny Evans and Graham Walmsley in their roles as deputy principals. Drawing on their combined experience of more than four decades of teaching, both in the UK and the UAE, the team is committed to improving outcomes for students, based on the input received from all stakeholders.
Speaking about putting the needs of children front and centre, Steel says the executive leadership is committed to providing children with the tools needed to be successful learners. The school aims to ensure students are given every opportunity to experience exceptional learning opportunities in enabling environments that are safe, happy, challenging and successful.
Propelled by the theme of 'Achieving Excellence Together', the school's administration is geared towards making students, staff and parents feel proud of their efforts and achievements in order to inspire others to drive forward and reach their goals and to never give up.
The school, in consultation with all stakeholders, including parents and students, has built its vision around four pillars. These are Driving a High Performance Culture, Ever-Lasting Learning, Student Centric and Community Focused.
"Children are at the heart of everything we do," says Steel, adding that their safety and well-being is of the utmost importance. "As we come out of Covid-19, it is important to remind our students that they are the drivers and maintainers of standards," she continues. In this regard, the school has introduced a new hashtag, #RoyalStandard, through which the school aims to inculcate high standards in all areas, be it their behaviour, uniform, punctuality and more.
RDS students enjoy the use of multiple facilities including foundation stage and primary libraries, a multi-purpose hall, outdoor basketball, netball and tennis courts, an innovation lab, a science
laboratory and two swimming pools. In addition, all classrooms are equipped with interactive boards and students have access to PCs, laptops, iPads and iTouch devices. Details of all apps used at GEMS Royal Dubai School are also shared with parents to enable children to continue their learning at home.
With a diverse student body made up of students hailing from more than 68 nationalities, the school administration makes a conscious effort to work with parents and children as partners to ensure an inclusive and diverse environment, working hard to develop effective home-school partnerships. This includes regular communication and opportunities to listen to each other as well as an exciting mix of school performances, exhibitions, competitions and sporting events.
Working alongside the school's UK-trained teachers are RDS' Arabic and Islamic teaching staff, who are all highly qualified and focused on imparting effective communication in both English and Arabic to students. There is also a high focus on other subjects such as music, performing arts, creative arts and social studies. Since English is a second language for most RDS students, the school purposefully provides a curriculum that enables immersive learning through a language-rich environment that accommodates and encourages learners to step outside their comfort zone.
We are so happy that the
school has spent time reaffirming standards of dress and quality of work at the start of this academic year. Our children come home talking about the #RoyalStandard and are excited to go to school each day ready to learn. As parents, we are pleased to hear that the leadership at RDS places value on standards and we look forward to a wonderful academic year."
Parents of Year 2 and 3 students