# School Advice Please!



## LorettaM (Jun 14, 2016)

Hello,
I'm a mum of 2 girls aged 6 and 4 moving from Australia to Dubai next month and would be grateful for any advice or recommendations regarding schooling options.
We've decided on making our home in Arabian Ranches and have narrowed schools down to either Safa Community School or Sunmarke in JVC. 

I understand Safa is only a short drive away and Sunmarke will be about a 15-20min drive however we're happy to drive the extra distance if the school is much better.

I would LOVE absolutely any information, reviews or advice from parents or friends of either school (or even Regent International as its Sunmarkes sister school). 

Thanking you in advance!

Regards 
Loretta from Newcastle, Australia


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

Don't go to Gems, they're only interested in money, go to one of the not for profit schools that have been around for years. I wouldn't trust a new school - it's probably not even finished yet.

Also get a feel of the mix of kids there, some schools are skewed to various nationalities....


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## LorettaM (Jun 14, 2016)

I've heard the same thing about GEMS schools too... Thanks for your advice!


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## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

Taaleem schools are also worth considering


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

I assume you have looked at the KHDA inspection reports - if not, take a look. 
Whichschooladviser is a good resource too. 
Random googling helps too because of discussions on various expat forums.

I have a different POV about for profit schools - as long as they provide good education, and has good teachers, there is a space for them. The for profit nature gets reflected in the fees, and up to us to decide whether or not to accept the fees.


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

rsinner said:


> I have a different POV about for profit schools - as long as they provide good education, and has good teachers, there is a space for them. The for profit nature gets reflected in the fees, and up to us to decide whether or not to accept the fees.


80,000 a year, they have 2,500 staff, they wanted to move from their site just off Al Safa road to a place in the desert so they could sell/build on/save rent and make more money.

Yeah right. Despise gems with a passion - and yes, I pay them.


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## ficklemiss (Apr 22, 2013)

Sunmarke are due to open in September so you will have to take a few things on faith -how well did the admissions and management team come across in any meetings or emails? We chose a new school a few years ago and it's worked out well for us but any new school will have teething problems.

Safa Community is up and running with good feedback from parents in general, although they tend to mention how they focus on the whole child etc so if you are very, very academic you might struggle with their approach.

The Ranches is another new school in Arabian Ranches 2, I've heard good things about that one too and teachers that I know seem to hold that management team in high regard. It's still very small but growing slowly. Also moving to the area is Jebel Ali Primary School (JAPS) which has always had a good rep although this will be new premises for them as they have outgrown their old place. 

Hope this helps


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## LorettaM (Jun 14, 2016)

Thank you everyone for all of your advice. I've been very impressed with communications with the Sunmarke admission team but that's all I have to go off as the building is still under construction and being such a large school made me question whether my little ones would get overwhelmed by the number of students and size of facility. Would they become another number in the system? Safa is appealing in that it's smaller and closer to where home will be (Arabian Ranches). I would like to send my husband over to inspect both schools when he arrives in mid July but realistically I'll have to apply to one if not both beforehand to avoid going on another waitlist.

Does anyone have any experience or comments about large school environments vs smaller ones? My husbands view is that the larger ones seem to have more facilities (some have tv stations, tennis courts and recording studios in them!) and therefore would be exciting for the child to have access to such a diverse range of options. 

Thanks again for all your comments


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## LorettaM (Jun 14, 2016)

rsinner said:


> I assume you have looked at the KHDA inspection reports - if not, take a look.
> Whichschooladviser is a good resource too.
> Random googling helps too because of discussions on various expat forums.
> 
> I have a different POV about for profit schools - as long as they provide good education, and has good teachers, there is a space for them. The for profit nature gets reflected in the fees, and up to us to decide whether or not to accept the fees.


Hi there, yes I have looked at the report. Safa received a good review but as Sunmarke has not yet opened, there's no information yet uploaded. Nord Anglia seems to also have great reviews but we applied quite a while ago and are still on the waitlist, and have been advised not likely to open up by August 2016. Thanks for your information.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

LorettaM said:


> Thank you everyone for all of your advice. I've been very impressed with communications with the Sunmarke admission team but that's all I have to go off as the building is still under construction and being such a large school made me question whether my little ones would get overwhelmed by the number of students and size of facility. Would they become another number in the system? Safa is appealing in that it's smaller and closer to where home will be (Arabian Ranches). I would like to send my husband over to inspect both schools when he arrives in mid July but realistically I'll have to apply to one if not both beforehand to avoid going on another waitlist.
> 
> Does anyone have any experience or comments about large school environments vs smaller ones? My husbands view is that the larger ones seem to have more facilities (some have tv stations, tennis courts and recording studios in them!) and therefore would be exciting for the child to have access to such a diverse range of options.
> 
> Thanks again for all your comments


Hi,
Class sizes, teaching quality and facilities are more important than headline figure of student totals.
You can have small class sizes in a big school and large class sizes in a small school!
Cheers
Steve


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

LorettaM said:


> Hi there, yes I have looked at the report. Safa received a good review but as Sunmarke has not yet opened, there's no information yet uploaded. Nord Anglia seems to also have great reviews but we applied quite a while ago and are still on the waitlist, and have been advised not likely to open up by August 2016. Thanks for your information.


Sunmarke is the "new" secondary campus for Regent International School (which will turn into a primary only school). Hence that should give you an idea.


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## mrbucko (Mar 3, 2016)

I visited 15-16 schools last month and we then opted to send our 4 year old to Victory Heights Primary School, flew back to take him for an assessment a few weeks later, and he was accepted.

Safa Community was shortlisted though. It has a nice atmosphere, good facilities, and I've heard great feedback from existing parents. Our slight apprehension was due to them building a secondary school on the plot over the next 12 months and how that might impact the subsequent feel of the school.

VHPS is relatively small in size and primary only which we prefer. The teachers were all lovely and it had a good blend between older more established staff and younger teachers who had more recently arrived. It also seemed to offer good value from a fees perspective. You can get similar value from the non-profit and older schools (i.e. the original DBF) but they were all full at FS2 and we didn't fancy the uncertainty of a waiting list.

I was also very impressed by Horizon but the location didn't suit us.

Sunmarke will be a nice campus that's for sure and Arcadia around the corner was also impressive but there is an element of risk without being able to view them when they're active and sense the atmosphere.

The bottom line is that I'd have been comfortable sending my child to every single school that I visited. The standard was high throughout. Good luck.


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## BringBackBuck8 (Sep 20, 2013)

I'm not a fan of the GEMS bashing, theyre a company and as such exist to make money; that's the reality. You have to view it as with purchasing any service, is it good value?

I'd visit Jumeirah Primary School, whenever I have been there it felt like a British primary school, it certainly has a good reputation academically and I believe the fees are lower than other GEMS schools.


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