# Cambridge School Dubai



## aababy1 (May 30, 2010)

Hello

Myself and my family will most probably be moving out to Dubai in August. We have been looking at the schools through websites. There seems to be a vast range of fees depending on what school you look at. We definately want a Britih School and I have just found the Cambridge School. Does anybody have any comments about the school??? We will be visiting the schools towards end of June beginning July .

Thank you


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## IrnbruEv (Dec 18, 2009)

aababy1 said:


> Hello
> 
> Myself and my family will most probably be moving out to Dubai in August. We have been looking at the schools through websites. There seems to be a vast range of fees depending on what school you look at. We definately want a Britih School and I have just found the Cambridge School. Does anybody have any comments about the school??? We will be visiting the schools towards end of June beginning July .
> 
> Thank you


Hi, aababy1
We are from Australia and I tried to contact Cambridge by email but got no reply. When I got here I contacted them by telephone but they didn't want my kids because it was mid year and they wouldn't accept kids from other countries. We ended up at the Aussie School in Sharjah.
There are a lot of Brit Schools around Dubai, but schools finish here end June so make sure your trip isn't a waste, (school wise). Would be contacting them now if you can.
Cheers
Ev


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## aababy1 (May 30, 2010)

Thank you very much Ev for the advise. Yes we are trying to plan our trip over now to visit the schools asap
Thank again


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## dallan (Oct 24, 2008)

aababy1 said:


> Hello
> 
> Myself and my family will most probably be moving out to Dubai in August. We have been looking at the schools through websites. There seems to be a vast range of fees depending on what school you look at. We definately want a Britih School and I have just found the Cambridge School. Does anybody have any comments about the school??? We will be visiting the schools towards end of June beginning July .
> 
> Thank you


Hi There

If you are talking about Cambridge International School in Garhoud I personally wouldnt send my children. We visited this school about 18 months ago when like you we were looking to relocate. This was the only school that could give me places for all 3 of my children (15,13,7) and the fact the fees were good I thought I had landed on my feet. However when I visited I then worked out why!!! I didnt like the school, the classrooms were small, buildings not great and I certainly wouldnt class it as a "British School" they follow the curriculum for England but thats as close as it gets to being British.

Depending on the ages of your children you will find it very difficult to get them started for September - most schools have waiting lists - again depending on ages you maybe lucky if you have older children as again when we were looking we could get places for the older children it was the youngest we had problems with. Also the fact that they do close at the end of June wont help.

I don't mean to sound negative as we have been in Dubai for over a year and the children are all very settled in school and are having a great time and we were lucky that we got places for all 3 in the school that we decided that we wanted, Dubai British School in the Springs. However it is all about perseverance and loads of mails and calls to Admittance Officers etc, I would have a list of schools and appointments ready for you to visit asap when you do get here and then take it from there. All schools have registration fees that you have to pay in order for you to go on any waiting lists, most schools will also say to you if there is absolutely no chance of getting a place so as not to waste your time or money. If I can help any further PM me and I will answer any questions you may have.

Hope your visits go well.


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## lilyhollow (Jun 21, 2010)

dallan said:


> Hi There
> 
> If you are talking about Cambridge International School in Garhoud I personally wouldnt send my children. We visited this school about 18 months ago when like you we were looking to relocate. This was the only school that could give me places for all 3 of my children (15,13,7) and the fact the fees were good I thought I had landed on my feet. However when I visited I then worked out why!!! I didnt like the school, the classrooms were small, buildings not great and I certainly wouldnt class it as a "British School" they follow the curriculum for England but thats as close as it gets to being British.
> 
> ...


Very helpful info Dallan....we are looking to come out to Dubai in the next 3 months so I am busy researching schools and am reading all posts related!


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## dallan (Oct 24, 2008)

lilyhollow said:


> Very helpful info Dallan....we are looking to come out to Dubai in the next 3 months so I am busy researching schools and am reading all posts related!


No probs if I can help you in anyway with schools let me know - hope your researching goes well!


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## zahnas (Jun 29, 2010)

*looking for school in springs*

Hello forum,
i have been offered a job in Jeble Ali in Dubai and i have been told that The Springs is a nice place to live. i have been looking at schools and the dubai briish school has come up. i am planning to land in Dubai on 3rd october and looks like school would have started already. my boy is 4 yrs old and we are in london at the moment. 
does anyone know whether the school will accept kids after the start of the academinc year. it will be a shame that my son loses out a whole year because of 2 weeks. 
also i have emailed the school and they told me that there is a waiting list. tried to phone but got nowhere and i was hoping that someone could guide me as to the process i should follow. 
are there any other schools around The springs?
if i am put on the waiting list and got accepted, when do i have to do the assessment? 
landing on the 3rd october will that mean losing out a whole year?
thanks a lot


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## neetaad (Jun 30, 2010)

aababy1 said:


> Hello
> 
> Myself and my family will most probably be moving out to Dubai in August. We have been looking at the schools through websites. There seems to be a vast range of fees depending on what school you look at. We definately want a Britih School and I have just found the Cambridge School. Does anybody have any comments about the school??? We will be visiting the schools towards end of June beginning July .
> 
> Thank you


By july , all schools will be closing , pls check dubai college , jumeriah primary school , jumeriah college , kings school , dubai international academy and dubai american academy . cambridge is not very highly rated .


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## dallan (Oct 24, 2008)

zahnas said:


> Hello forum,
> i have been offered a job in Jeble Ali in Dubai and i have been told that The Springs is a nice place to live. i have been looking at schools and the dubai briish school has come up. i am planning to land in Dubai on 3rd october and looks like school would have started already. my boy is 4 yrs old and we are in london at the moment.
> does anyone know whether the school will accept kids after the start of the academinc year. it will be a shame that my son loses out a whole year because of 2 weeks.
> also i have emailed the school and they told me that there is a waiting list. tried to phone but got nowhere and i was hoping that someone could guide me as to the process i should follow.
> ...


Hi there and welcome to the forum.

My children go to DBS and is a great school - especially the primary school - it is still a pretty new school in Dubai standards. The quality of teachers are great and they are all very supportive and enthusiastic. With regard to your questions children are admitted to school all year round until May so arriving in October wont be a problem as the schools here arent starting till Sept 12 or 13th. The only problem is the waiting list - all schools will have waiting lists for the year that you are looking for as these are the most popular ones - I cant tell you for definate but im pretty sure you will really struggle to get your son in to DBS - but what a lot of people do is apply to a few schools and then if you get a place at one but isnt your first choice keep there name on the school's waiting list that you do want and wait till you do get a place. The most movement at schools is this term as people leave to go elsewhere. Kim Ward is the admissions offiver at DBS and she was fantastic and so helpful with us. However now school has closed for students till 12/13 Sept Im unsure when the staff go back - im sure the admissions/office staff do not have all this time off.

With regard to other schools in the area there are a few but are all international schools - now at your sons level this wouldnt concern me as personally I would get him in to any school that you got a good feeling about and then either if you are happy then leave him there or if you do really want him to go to DBS then move him when a place comes up. Schools are EIS - Emirates International School, DIA - Dubai International School, Regent International School. These are all within 5 mins drive - there are certainly more within 15 mins drive and these include Wellington International, GEMS World Academy, (both of which tend to have fairly high fees in comparison to the others. Also if you have been offered a job in Jebal Ali then I know the primary school there gets a fantastic reputation. 

My advice to you is to continue to research the schools on line mail the ones you like and either just as for you to be put on the waiting list and not wait till you can view them in October as by then it may still be a while till a place comes up - or you will have to do it the other way and go visit and then get put on waiting list you then may find you don't get a place before Christmas but as he is only 4 I am sure you could do activites with him and do some home schooling. I will say though for each time you place his name on a waiting list they will charge you a fee usually between 300-500dhs.

I hope you have found this helpful if I can help any further let me know - unfortunately the timing of your arrival makes things a bit more difficult for you but hope you managed to get things sorted.


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## zahnas (Jun 29, 2010)

Thanks 
this has been very helpful.
i will do a few application now. can i ask you a few other questions

Do you think that they might ask me to come an do an asseessment before october? or is it that because school is closing, the next assessment date will be start of school in september.

I saw on Wellington website that thet require copy of my resident visa to accompany the application. i do not have it and the company is working on it not sure how long it takes. is that a definite prerequisite?

thanks again.


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## dallan (Oct 24, 2008)

zahnas said:


> Thanks
> this has been very helpful.
> i will do a few application now. can i ask you a few other questions
> 
> ...


Hi again - I honestly wouldn't worry about the assessment for your son it will be fairly basic and just make sure he is going in to the correct year for his age (especially if he goes to an international school as I know there age ranges differs slightly to the one in England - any assessment would be done usually when the school know that a place is coming up or you have even been offered a place subject to assessment so I don't think you will have to do it before you get here in October but again that may be a question you may want to ask.

With regard to Visa - we didn't have ours when we applied to schools - you dont need this just to put there name on a waiting list - but if they are being funny about it I am sure a letter from your employer stating when you are due to start work etc would be enough. Most schools are fairly good about documentation as as long as they get it all by the time the children start all is good - we even handed stuff in after a few months of them being in school so please don't worry.

Feel free to ask any more questions


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## neetaad (Jun 30, 2010)

zahnas said:


> Thanks
> this has been very helpful.
> i will do a few application now. can i ask you a few other questions
> 
> ...


hi , i feel that you should wait till you come in october , dubai has enough schools and i seriously feel that you should come here feel the schools where you feel your child will be comfortable then go for it otherwise you are groping in the dark . Each child is different and has his or her own adjustment levels to the environment . dont worry this is not the old dubai where everything was hyped now there is no queue for anything .


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