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Must Read: New rules for public schools in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi - The main change is that from now on, grade nine students are rolled into second cycle, meaning they will be taught subjects such as Mathematics and Science in English language for the first time.

 The new academic year in Abu Dhabi is starting with new rules for public schools. On Monday, (29.08.2016), the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has announced the second cycle of restructuring public education which is now complete and the third cycle is about to begin.
The main change is that from now on, grade nine students are rolled into second cycle, meaning they will be taught subjects such as Mathematics and Science in English language for the first time.
The 10,000 grade nine students across the emirate will also be introduced to Digital Technology and Innovation, which will be a core, compulsory subject from this academic year, teaching technology and digital literacy.
"We want our school graduates to have the right level of experience and the right personality for their chosen path," pointed out Dr. Karima Al Mazrouei, ADEC's acting executive director for P12 (grade 12) schools.
ADEC has initiated the Abu Dhabi School Model (ADSM) in 2010 with three cycles of restructuring education. The first cycle was up to grade five, the second cycle was grade six to eight and, from this academic year, grade nine as well, and the third cycle is for grades 10 to 12.
"Since its initiation, the ADSM has helped pave the way for schools on how to deliver student-oriented methods as per 21^st century teaching and learning skills. These hands-on applied methods of learning will not only help youth excel in their higher education subjects, but will also prepare them for future challenges and prosperous career paths," said Dr. Al Mazrouei.
In order to cope with the new changes, ADEC has trained over 12,000 educators in this past week, hired new English speaking teachers over the summer and prepared the new curriculum and text books.
Pupils up to grade nine also have to attend health, sport, art and music activities in schools, and so do grade 10 to 12 students, but they are yet to be introduced to music and arts.
The third cycle of ADSM is bringing several changes for grade 10 to 12 students too. One of them is a unified subject system. For grade 10 students, all subjects - English, Arabic, Social Studies, Maths, Science and Islamic studies - will be compulsory, but students will have a choice to study them on two levels - general or advance level.
"We have two levels in Maths and Science for each subject, whatever the student and/or parent feels is more applicable for the individual student will be considered alongside the student's overall performance level in that particular subject. All learning outcomes are benchmarked against international standards," said Dr. Al Mazrouei.
Additionally, 29,000 students from Grades 10, 11 and 12 will be offered Career Guidance classes in efforts to further support them in selecting their further education and career path.
This will also be a core - compulsory - subject, "taught" by psychology teachers, who have received special training in this respect.
"Teachers will sit with students for one hour weekly and help them decide their future career, and also address the weaknesses in students' personalities," mentioned Dr. Al Mazrouei.
For the first time, grade 11 and 12 students will receive textbooks on Geo-Science, an elective, not compulsory subject related to UAE matters, anything from astronomy and climate change to economy.
All supplemental subject curriculum material is now available online for more than 120,000 students across all grades. Teachers, students and parents are granted access to online subscriptions in Mathematics, Literacy and Numeracy.
"These online subscriptions will provide school principals, teachers and parents accurate and live data on how a particular student is performing in Mathematics, Literacy and Numeracy," said Dr. Al Mazrouei.
According to the latest educational research, if students spend as little as 30 minutes each week on these online interactive resources, their overall performance improves by two levels.
The Abu Dhabi School Model

• Introduced in 2010 with three cycles of restructuring education
• The first cycle up to grade five,
• Second cycle was grade six to eight. From this academic year grade nine has been included in this level
• Third cycle is for grades 10 to 12
• Over 12,000 educators trained in this past week
• New English speaking teachers hired over the summer

• Grade nine rolled into second level
• Unified subject system for third cycle. For grade 10 students, all subjects - English, Arabic, Social Studies, Maths, Science and Islamic studies - will be compulsory
• Students have a choice to study them in two levels - general or advance level.