Deira Private School is a combined first and middle school located in Al Twar, Dubai. The school follows a British curriculum for children, following the Cambridge International Primary Programme.

It currently has 225 children registered (up 60 on the last academic year and 120 over two academic years), catering for students from KG (from 3 years of age) to grade 6 (11 years of age). In total around 20 percent of students are Emirati, with the remainder coming from a mix of nationalities. The school employs 25 teachers – a small increase over the previous academic period, in spite of the rise in numbers of students. There are five teachers who shadow students identified with special educational needs.

Read the Deira Private School WSA Question and Answer interview here
The school has now been ranked Acceptable two years in a row by the KHDA, slipping one rating from the 2011-12 inspection..

In order to improve its rating Deira Private School needs to improve the attainment and progress of students in Islamic Education, Arabic and science in the primary phase; Ensure that students are more involved in their learning by encouraging their thinking skills; Improve the quality of marking in the primary phase to ensure that students know exactly what they must do to improve and review the time allocated to Arabic and ensure that the school is compliant with Ministry of Education requirements.

The report however notes good attainment, progress, teaching and learning in English and mathematics as well as the provision in the Foundation Stage; Students’ personal and social development is deemed Good; The curriculum, is “thoughtfully designed” to meet the needs of all students; and there are “outstanding arrangements” to ensure the health and safety of students and the support offered to ensure their achievement and well-being.

The site has provided access to its Cambridge “Primary Check Point” report. It makes good reading. Academically, this is a succeeding school, with with solid results in maths and English, and strong results in science.

The school offers a good range of educational field trips and extra-curricular activities, as well as a variety of sports, including football, cricket, karate, and yoga.

Fees range from 19,500 AED for KG1 to 30,475 AED for Grade 6.

The buzz

Parents we spoke to rated the school highly – in the main because the school’s students are a happy crowd. Several parents we spoke favourably of the quality of the leadership at the school.