Dubai English Speaking College

History

Dubai English Speaking College was founded in 2005 by the first headteacher, Peter Daly, with just thirty-five Year 7 students. It takes its name from its sister school, Dubai English Speaking School, which is the oldest British school in Dubai. Originally located at the Oud Metha site of their sister school, DESC relocated to the Academic City in February 2007, where its facilities were officially opened by the Duchess of Cornwall and Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, Princess of Jordan and Sheikha of Dubai.

In 2011, Andrew Gibbs was appointed the new headteacher of the school, with the college doubling in size during that time.

In 2014, Andrew Gibbs was appointed the first principal of DESSC (DESS and DESC), with Chris Vizzard (previously the Deputy Headteacher) becoming the new headteacher at DESC.

Campus

Dubai English Speaking College is split into nine separate buildings. The campus also contains two pitches, a swimming pool, and three netball courts.

Four of the buildings are house buildings - each of the four houses (Desert, Earth, Sky and Coast) is taught in a separate building. There is also a 6th Form building where all the 6th Form students are taught. The other four buildings comprise one for the reception and the arts department, the auditorium, one for the canteen and the admissions office, and a separate building with the uniform shop.

Out of the 2 pitches, 1 is a Football pitch, named the "Astro" pitch; the second pitch is designed for Rugby.

Curriculum

The school offers secondary school courses for students starting from Year 7 (also known as Grade 6) - Key Stage 3, and leading up to the 2 year GCSE course starting in Year 10 (Key Stage 4). The students then proceed onto the AS and A2 (A Level) qualifications offered for Year 12 and 13 (Key Stage 5).

During KS3, the students study a general set of subjects.

As KS4 starts, students get the option of choosing their subjects. Some of the GCSE choices are compulsory, including:

For the last option, the subjects offered include Art, Drama, Music and G.R.O.W/L.I.F.E (a developmental program, aimed at developing skills for future life).

Key Stage 5: Students are allowed to either continue with the subjects they have taken during GCSE, and take them at the AS and A Level, or choose a new set of subjects, which isn't recommended. The expectations are to study four AS subjects in year 12, and then choose three of the subjects to study at A level in year 13 (It is possible to take more if one wishes).

The National Curriculum for England has undergone major changes. Previously, students took their AS level exams in year 12, and A Level exams in year 13, with both of the exam grades counting towards the final grade in year 13. However, this has changed - only the final exams in year 13 will count towards the A level grade. At DESC, the only two subjects where the AS level examinations will still count towards the grade (50% of the grade) are the Mathematics and Further Mathematics courses.

General Activities

A wide range of extra curricular activities is offered, with clubs including a Jewelry making course, a robotics club, multiple ecology-related activities, and several clubs aimed at the development of leadership skills (such as an enterprise club).

Duke of Edinburgh International Award

The International Award (sometimes known as the Duke of Edinburgh award) is an international youth awards programme, founded in the UK. As of December 2016, schools from over 144 countries are participating. The award recognizes adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises, aimed at bringing together practical experiences and life skills in order to equip those who participate in it. Dubai English Speaking College allows students from Year 10 up to Year 13 to participate in all three awards (Bronze, Silver and Gold).

Sports

Dubai English Speaking College maintains Basketball, Football, Netball, Rounders, Rugby Sevens and Rugby Union teams. Each team competes in four age categories, namely U12 (read as under-twelves), U14, U16 and U18.

KHDA Inspection Report

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is an educational quality assurance authority based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It undertakes early learning, school and higher learning institution management and rates them, based on the performance of both the students and the teachers, with ratings ranging from Unsatisfactory to Outstanding.

Below is a summary of the inspection ratings for Dubai English Speaking College from 2008-2009 to 2014-2015.

For the 2014-2015 rating, the inspectors have noted the school's main strength to be the students' achievements and progress (especially in English, Math and Science), the students' attitudes and learning skills, and motivation offered by the teachers in the school.

The main aspects which were said to need improvement in the school were the achievement in Arabic (a problem seen in the majority of private schools in Dubai), the monitoring of work planned for special learning needs/ disabilities (SEND) students, and the establishment of relationships with other schools in Dubai. The full inspection report can be viewed here.

Former Headteachers

1. Peter Daly - the first headteacher of the school, having founded it in 2005.
2. Andrew Gibbs - appointed as the headteacher in 2011. Under him, the school has doubled in size.
3. Chris Vizzard - previously the deputy headteacher; appointed in 2014 when Andrew Gibbs became the first principal of DESSC (both DESS and DESC).

Dubai English Speaking School

Dubai English Speaking School is a private British school, following the National Curriculum for England, and a sister school to the Dubai English Speaking College. DESS is Dubai's oldest English school, founded in 1963 and located in Oud Metha, Dubai. It provides elementary education to students from KG1 to year 6, and, as of December 2016, has around 900 students.