DPS Dubai, The Delhi Private School, Dubai, has been consistently ranked “Good” by the KHDA, the Dubai education regulator’s second highest award. It is a branch of Delhi Public School Society in New Delhi which is widely acknowledged to be one of the best schools in India. DPS now has around 140 schools around the world – including branches across the Emirates.
Located in Jebel Ali Gardens, DPS Dubai opened in April 2003 and provides education for boys and girls from Kindergarten to Grade 12. There are more than 3,300 students registered at the school (a small increase over the previous year), and according to the KHDA it has an outstanding level of attendance. There are 266 teachers (up from 240 in 2011/12 and 253 last year) working full time, plus the Principal – who has been in the role for the last 9 years.
Students are almost exclusively from India.
The school follows an Indian curriculum and students complete the CBSE examinations in Grades 10 and 12. More specifically, the school follows the International (CBSE-I) curriculum for students in Grades 1 to 4, and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum in the other grades. Students take a range of national and international examinations including the All India Senior Secondary Examination (AISSE) in Grade 12, the All India Secondary School Certificate (AISSC) in Grade 10, and the International Benchmark Test (IBT) in Grades 3 to 9.
Students also participate in cyclical international assessments such as PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS.
The school promotes academic performance and is quite innovative in its use of ‘the carrot’ to encourage students. At the end of each academic year, it gives a Scholar Badge to students of Grade V and above, for achieving an overall grade of A2 and a grade point average of 8.5 and above
In addition, it awards badges for being an:
All-Rounder: Given for an outstanding performance in both academics and extra-curricular activities.
Academic Excellence Award: Given away to the highest aggregate percentage in all sections of that grade in a certain academic year.
Special Proficiency: Given to students who have excelled in any extra-curricular activities.
Subject Proficiency: Awarded to students who secured the highest marks in a certain subject in all sections of that grade in a certain academic year.
Students who achieve the Scholar Badge for three or more years are awarded Blue Blazer, Blue Badge, Blue Tie or Gold Medal.
Perhaps unsurprisingly bright students seem to do well: The KHDA notes outstanding attainment of students in English, mathematics and science pretty much across all phases of the school. Arabic and Islamic Studies however remain either only Acceptable or Unsatisfactory, again across all phases of the school.
Strengths of the school according to Dubai’s education regulator include highly effective leadership; high quality outcomes in Kindergarten; outstanding attainment in English, mathematics and science and outstanding cross-curricular planning which is said to have a positive effect on learning. However, as seen the school needs to further improve students’ skills in Islamic Education and Arabic; develop students’ investigative, and independent learning skills further ; improve referral, identification and curriculum modification in order to enhance the progress of students with special educational needs, and to develop self-evaluation processes to hold relevant departments to greater account for student outcomes
The school offers an array of facilities and extracurricular activities. There three computer labs, a physics lab, a chemistry lab, a maths lab,language labs, a library, an auditorium, a basketball court, a cricket ground, a multi-sports complex, an oval field for many sports, a cafeteria and two clinics, one for boys and one for girls. The clinics are operated by two nurses and a doctor.
The school organizes field trips to nearby places of interest in Dubai and Sharjah: Safa Park, The Dubai Mall, Ferrari World, Dubai Dolphinarium, Sega Republic etc. It also organizes excursions to Indian cities and towns like Shimla, Jaipur etc. for senior students.
DPS Dubai has teams for cricket, soccer, swimming, basketball, athletics, table tennis and badminton at different age levels. These teams practice on the three grounds, and the swimming pool of the school.
