GEMS Wellington International School

Curriculum

Wellington International School follows the British curriculum. The school offers iGCSEs, GCSEs and the International Baccalaureate. Science, English and Mathematics are compulsory subjects throughout the school. Students begin their secondary school years in Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9), following the National Curriculum of England and Wales, and then move into Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11). During KS4 they sit a range of UK national exams GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education). If students achieve the required grades they can go onto an advanced level of study which is a prerequisite for university. This course is done in the last two years of school (which are non-compulsory) and are spent in Key Stage 5.

Academics

Regarded as one of the best schools in Dubai and amongst the top recognised British curriculum schools in the world, Wellington International School has consistently produced strong academic results, with students scoring exceptionally well in both GCSE and International Baccalaureate examinations.

In 2014, 97% of students achieved the GCSE passing grade of A* - C, compared to 68.1% in the United Kingdom. 3 students achieved perfect A* grades, with UAE's top GCSE scorer, Tanishk Shanker, achieving 12 A*'s. 80% of their students passed the IB Diploma, 2% above the World IB Averages.

Student body

As of 2010, the school had 1,868 students. About 50% originated from British families.

Facilities

The facilities include an indoor, air-conditioned swimming pool, a soccer field, a gym, multiple science laboratories, an astronomy observatory, a recording studio, an underground music floor, a music room, media room and an auditorium. In addition, there is a library and five computer laboratories with over 120 computers. There are separate wings and playgrounds for each division and a separate common room for their Post-16 students called the Falcon Centre.

Extracurricular activities

Significant extracurricular activities participated in by Wellington International School include Model United Nations, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, and F1 in Schools.

Model United Nations

The school has regularly participated in local Model United Nations events. In 2015, the school started hosting their own event, Wellington International School Model United Nations. WISMUN 2015 was the inaugural annual conference, which had over 11 schools in attendance and featured 3 committees: General Assembly 1, Human Rights Council and Security Council.

TEDxWIS

Since 2011, the school has hosted annual TEDxWIS events featuring key speakers from students throughout all grades in the school.

Musical Production

Every year, Wellington hosts a musical production with students participating in every year group. Recent performances include Grease and Hairspray.

Golf

Students from Wellington International School annually create a workforce of over 100 people from years 10 and 12 to perform scoring duties the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, the season-ending event of the European Tour.

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 schools on Dubai based on their performance. Schools can achieve from Outstanding to Unsatisfactory. Wellington International School is one of only two schools in Dubai to achieve Outstanding in the last 6 annual KHDA inspection reports.

A summary of the inspection ratings for GEMS Wellington International School:

A summary of all the schools in Dubai's ratings can be found at KHDA School Ratings.