Established in 1968, GEMS Our Own School is located in Al Warqa. It is a private school run by GEMs Education and currently has 9000 students on its register (up over 1200 places since last year), looked after by 420 teachers (up from 356 in 2011/12). The school has been on a new campus for just over one year.

The school follows the Indian Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum.

Classes are mixed through to Grade 4 and then girls only from Grades 5 to 12. The similarly named Our Own High School, also in Al Warqa, and also run by GEMS, offers the CBSE curriculum for boys.

The school achieved a ‘Good’ rating in its last KHDA inspection, the fourth year in a row it has done so. The report notes outstanding attainment and progress in secondary English and science; the attitude and behaviour of students, particularly in the middle and secondary phases; and students’ understanding of Islam and appreciation for local traditions and culture.

It notes the need to build on the improvements seen in Arabic lessons, the number of opportunities for students to learn independently and to think critically; to develop the expertise of staff members so that all students with special educational needs receive targeted support in all lessons; and to evaluate teaching, learning and assessment more accurately to identify areas for improvement; as well as to reduce class sizes in the Kindergarten to comply with Ministry of Education requirements.

The school clearly produces the goods when it comes to exam results, and helpfully publishes the university destinations of its students. The majority head to India for higher education, but a significant number also go to UK, Canadian, and US institutions. It does not publish a percentage of students that go onto higher education.

It does however provide stats on educational attainment for students sitting external exams (CBSE). Year 10 information can be found here, and Year 12 here. The school is proud of its results and progress.