Naz Nessa
Posts 6

Wow this has been an interesting read to say the least! Just wanted to add my two cents worth. My Husband grew up in one of the roughest boroughs in London (hackney) and went to one of the worst schools imaginable (it doesn't even exist any more, they shut it down! However he was a naturally smart lad- and worked his ass off -(highest A level law, results in the country, you can c I'm v proud got into Oxford. My point being that of course we all want to give our kids the best chances in life and the best start- but ultimately it comes down to smarts, hard work and determination. Teach them that ethos and they will flourish no matter what life throws at them.

sniffmonster
Posts 81

Thanks again :-)

seoulgirl
Posts 88

tally-ho
Posts 908

Mmm thats a tough one. I think it depends on your personal circumstances, if your DH has a good job in Dubai and your happy there, then stay, especially if your child gets into JAPS. I would have preferred mine to have spent their education solely in the UK as I think the all round education suits them better, but at the end of the day its personal choice. Good luck x


I can include Oxford stats if you like LOL

sniffmonster
Posts 81

Thanks TallyHo. that helps. Out of interest, do you think that a few years of primary schooling here would do her harm? (as you can imagine she is already on the waiting list for the 'so called' best) or would you go back before she started school in the UK to make sure that she gets into an outstanding primary early on? BTW, not sure why you included all the Cambridge stats -Oxford is really all that maters. (joke) Thanks again for your insights ladies.

tally-ho
Posts 908

Redrec Tangle
Posts 826

tally-ho
Posts 908

More than half of students admitted to Cambridge last autumn, the year the A* grade at A-level was awarded for the first time, attended state schools, figures show.

Around nine in 10 (89%) of successful Cambridge applicants achieved an A* and two As at A-level, according to data published by the institution.

Last year was the first in which the A* grade was awarded and was used by Cambridge as part of its standard offer to help identify the brightest candidates.


Its statistics show that 59.3% of UK students admitted to Cambridge last year came from state schools, up 0.8% on 2009.

Overall, 1,609 state school pupils were admitted, down 4% on the previous year, along with 1,259 private school students, also down 4% on the previous year.

The university had 15,966 applications in 2010, a 2% rise on the year before.



People drone on about the state of the UK education system yet these children that are educated in state schools are achieving A* and are gaining places at Oxbridge. I wonder how many Oxbridge applicants were successful from the UAE !

Sugarbeach
Posts 2983

SM - I think the UK education system is a minefield to navigate, and who knows what the state will be in 5 years or even 10 years time. If you find the answers please email them to me, meanwhile some questions you may want to consider before you get too focused on grammar schools:

Even if you get a house in a grammar school county, you cannot bank on your child getting in with the competitive selection. Grammars are generally very academic environments, so if your child is hot housed and trained to get in, what are the chances of them being suited to the environment? Are grammar schools good because they are good, or because they cream off at the entrance stage?

Redrec Tangle
Posts 826

sniffmonster
Posts 81

I think in the UK state schools are not too bad, especially if you live in a rural/leafy areas. The problem is that in London they can be very rough and if you do not get into the popular oversubscribed ones (e.g Camden High School) then you can be allocated another one e.g Ackland Burleigh. Eek. I imagine the problems with schools here are different to those in London. At least there are no drugs or gangs. Or am I being naive? What happened to you this year LovinDubai?

LovinDubai
Posts 154

oh trust me after the year weve just had state schools are a billion times better than my kids so called premier british private school.

Redrec Tangle
Posts 826

Sorry to interject but wow, 1000 places for a 100 students? That sounds worse than Dubai! What happens to those who dont get in, do they have to then contend with a very poor education? From what I've read on this forum even state schools are very good in the UK.

sniffmonster
Posts 81

I have seen that in some cases grammars and selective states have as many as 1000 applicants for 100 places. Boo! Do primaries here prepare children for the 11+?

Sugarbeach
Posts 2983

Unless things have changed, I believe you cannot take 11+ from outside the catchment area, and the competition is tough. Although there are couple of exceptions, e.g. in Reading there is a boys' and a girls' grammar school, but Berkshire is not a grammar school area, so these 2 schools exist in isolation, not as part of the county's system which do the tests at primary and feed into them systematically. As a result the competition for these 2 schools is even tougher, as people from as far and wide as Ealing and Oxford apply to them.

sniffmonster
Posts 81

Sorry for opening up a can of worms!! Thanks Karen and Suze and everyone else. I have come to the realisation that the truth is we will probably have to live in the burbs, something that I could never have imagined as a twenty something but maybe with a family it is not that bad?? My questions is this - for those who know:
I have heard that the good state schools have a MASSIVE waiting list. If i went back to London when she was e.g 7,what are my chances of getting into a good school?
Also, can you take your 11+ from outside the catchment area? E.g Can I take the 11+ for Henrietta Barnett,Tiffin Girls etc from here and then move to that area if she gets in?

And COMPLETELY off topic. Having done a bit of snooping around, I think that Oxford would be amazing. It ticks so many boxes in terms of culture, nice housing stock, good state schools.. Now, does anyone know of multinationals there DH and I could apply to? Giving myself a few years to find that perfect job. ha ha!
Also, nothing against private schools, I went to one myself, but just think that even 10 years of tax free income would not be enough to pay for two children to go to private school in London and afford a house that they wouldn't be embarrassed to take friends back to. How sad is that??

sniffmonster
Posts 81

tally-ho
Posts 908

tally-ho
Posts 908

TBH I cant be bothered to waste my time writing something out.
Its MY opinion that school in the UK are better from MY experience in THREE of Dubai’s top school compared to UK state schools. I look after my niece and nephew every day they attend a local state school, I get to see what they’re doing on a daily basis the work is almost on par with UK private school. My niece has been learning about BODMAS and algebra in Mathematics (she’s 9 years old) she has had the opportunity to take part in District sports which has enabled her to be picked to run for the county. My nephew’s class have a meet the teacher day every Wednesday to discuss any concerns with the teacher. They also have 2 workshops a week after school for children who want to get better or children that need a little extra help.
These are just a couple of examples to the care thats given to children in the UK, in Dubai you are just a number they don’t care about the children, they don’t care about the child getting the best education that they can because most of the teachers and headmasters wont even be in Dubai in the next couple of years.
Yes there are a couple of really good schools in Dubai but how many people get their children into these schools?
Im not even going to touch on UK private schools because there is absolutely no comparison whatsoever.

Sticky Wicket
Posts 2626

MissUnderstood
Posts 155

SW the Gulf News is not even allowed in our house, it is a paper well known for it's poor content
Like I said on another thread, carry on spamming because that is what you are doing on every thread school related. You sometimes make good points, but more often than not you spew sweeping statements and it is getting a tad tedious.

KarenBlixen
Posts 454

To Sniffmonster:

Well done for looking into this so early on. I'm no expert on the topic *but* have heard that Barnet has a good reputation (e.g. Hendon, where I once lived, has some good schools - possibly due to the cultural background of its inhabitants). But unfortunately boroughs nearer to central London have lesser standards (e.g. a friend of mine was raising her dd in Islington and ended up putting her in a private school totally against her principles as she wasn't learning anything). Interestingly, the Blairs lived nearby and yet sent their kids halfway across London to a grant-maintained school, so they can't have been v impressed by local schools either. And this is from the PM who chanted 'Education, education, education'.

Like you I lived in London as a 20-something and never really had to think of this problem. But I used to wonder why British ppl tended to leave central London once they got into their 30s and started having children. I guess one reason is the low school standards. My sil moved to Bucks when her eldest was a baby as she couldn't face putting him in a Sth East London school. Bucks have the 11+ exam and grammar school system which is excellent (provided your kids can get in).

The problem in central London is that although it is a real melting pot of cultures and backgrounds amongst 20-somethings, there tend to be huge disparities amongst families. In Kensington & Chelsea, 80% of kids attend private schools. THis means that the only ones who go to state schools are likely to be those who simply cannot afford v high school fees - e.g. those who live on council estates (there are some tucked away in posh areas). There are v few 'middle class' ppl in these areas as property prices are so high, hence v few educated parents willing to send their kids to state schools.

For this reason you need to go further out to find 'good' state schools... leafy, middle class areas with more 'affordable' housing (e.g. less than 1 million for a house lol). Think home counties... Surrey, Kent, Herts etc. If you have a look on findaproperty.co.uk you can look at areas and the related school standards.

Good luck!

Sticky Wicket
Posts 2626

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Gulf News

Dubai: Six out of 136 private schools in Dubai were ranked as outstanding by the emirate's Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) on Monday, based on inspections of schools this academic year.

The schools ranked outstanding for 2010-11 are Dubai College, Jumeirah College, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Jumeirah Primary School, GEMS Wellington International School.

A report based on the inspection of the schools by the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau at KHDA, between October 2010 and April 2011, was released yesterday.

The full list of schools and their individual performances, however, will only be published this morning.

Forty-nine schools were rated as good, 85 as acceptable while 16 were deemed unsatisfactory. With over 187,905 children enrolled in the 136 private schools, they account for more than 86 per cent of Dubai's student population.

Initiated in 2008 by the KHDA, the inspections programme seems to be working for schools, with a marked improvement in their performance.

The number of private schools which secured an outstanding rating is up from two schools last year and four the previous year.

Among these schools, 51 follow the UK curriculum, 31 US curriculum, 21 Indian curriculums, 15 Ministry of Education curriculum, 6 International Baccalaureate (IB) and 12 follow other curricula such as French, Pakistani, Filipino, Japanese, Russian and German.


Students benefited

Interestingly, over the three years that the inspections have been conducted, all the private schools rated outstanding have been UK curriculum schools. The reason is the presence of a higher number of schools following the UK curriculum, officials said.

"Almost 44 per cent of the children in Dubai's private schools, 82,360 out of 187,950 children, are now going to schools rated good or outstanding, which shows a significant improvement in the city's education landscape," Dr Abdullah Al Karam, Director-General of KHDA, said.

"As compared to last year, 20,000 more children are now at schools rated good or outstanding."

As many as 19 schools improved their rankings from last year.

Inspection bureau chief Jameela Al Muhairi said: "We can see a trend towards a healthier education system in Dubai."

Overall improvement

She said that overall improvement in levels of achievement in English, Mathematics and Science were seen this year, along with improvements in the quality of teaching, learning and also in self-evaluation.

"Leadership has improved, as have arrangements schools make for the protection of their students but teaching of Arabic still needs improvement."

Six outstanding private schools

•Dubai College, Jumeirah College, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Jumeirah Primary School, GEMS Wellington International School
Six outstanding public schools among 80 in Dubai

•Six schools out of a total of 80 public schools in Dubai were also ranked as outstanding by KHDA yesterday. The full inspection report of public schools, however, is scheduled to be released only later this year.
•The six public schools ranked outstanding are: Al Bara'ah Kindergarten, Al Manhal Kindergarten, Al Nokhbah Model School, Al Qeyam Model School, Childhood Development Centre, Kindergarten; Umm Suqeim Primary School.
School inspection results for the previous year

•For the academic year 2009-2010, 209 schools were inspected by the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB).
•Five schools were rated as outstanding, 73 were classified good, 106 acceptable, and 25 as unsatisfactory.
•Breaking those figures down into public and private schools, the categories are:
•Public: 3 outstanding, 30 good, 37 acceptable, and 8 unsatisfactory. Total: 78
•Private: 2 outstanding, 43 good; 69 acceptable, and 17 unsatisfactory. Total: 131

Sticky Wicket
Posts 2626

MissUnderstood
Posts 155

The thing with statistics is that people throw figures left right and center and all of a sudden something that some idiot quoted becomes gospel.

I agree that we all share our experiences to contribute to discussion, but some posters are h e l l b e n d to create a terrible picture of Dubai which is not right. I understand that their personal disappointments feed their smear campaigns, but in all honesty they are increasingly overstepping boundaries and lash out at new posters looking to gain deeper insight, and older posters who dare to take a different stance.

Yes there are appalling schools in Dubai. There are also excellent ones.

The dyslexia thread is a point in case. Some just lash out at the first change of opening anything school related and others share alternatives and possibilities. I certainly learned from reading that thread and was surprised about some of the schools mentioned. There is hope

And that's all for now folks

Sticky Wicket
Posts 2626

fido
Posts 1109

Sticky Wicket
Posts 2626

simpleasabc
Posts 7271

My friends' and family's experience chime with Suze63's. There are a few boroughs in London which still have grammar schools and children have to pass the 11+ or equivalent exam to get into them. A friend's son sat entrance exams for various state/independent schools in the South London area a couple of years ago, including Tiffin's Boys in Kingston-upon-Thames (same sort of area my bro moved to Vancouver from because he wanted good state secondary education for his children and the chances of getting it were slight), where I believe something like 1,200 boys were competing for 100 places.
Yay, MissUnderstood, you go girl
edited by simpleasabc on 16/05/2011

MissUnderstood
Posts 155