I know we have thrashed this a bit but I really need to know...

Good Old Capt Higgins deserves a medal I think! It's truly a wonder how he manages the pick ups at the end of the day. At any other school it would be chaotic with that number of cars in such a small area. And he always looks so debonair too :)

Good Old Capt Higgins deserves a medal I think!

* discipline, is instilled and expected both for the pupils and [b'>[/b'>parents!! edited by noddy on 10/01/2011[/quote yes I like this but not the school for a parent who wants special parking rights or something.

Can only talk about DC. Have had 2 gone through and one still there, girls and boys! overall value-added to child - DC offers an academic challenging environement for the kids and they are generally mentored throughout the school with a lot of support during the younger years and in the senior 6th form years offer a much more mature independent facility to get the best from young adults. There is a thriving Duke of Edinburgh group along with the emphasis if not necessity of 6th formers to help out within the community with underpriviliged kids or at special needs schools. There is a thriving sporting and excellent art and music community. * schools stance towards PDA (public display of affection between students) - not sure about this one but I doubt they would tolerate any of the pupils being overly affection on or around school grounds * discipline, is instilled and expected both for the pupils and parents!! * instilling values, character-building, empathy, see above re community stuff * pride in wearing neat clean uniform; stance on wearing make up, jewellery etc - there is a general pride within the pupil community of being a member of the DC school. Uniform is expected to be neat, tidy etc but obviously this is not always the case but it is oeverall smart. Girls arer not allowed to wear make up until 6th form or at least it should be minimum before then and in 6th form discrete. Same with jewellery as far as I know. Boys up to the age of 6th form are not allowed longer hair and colours for both sexes should be natural or as close to! * sincere interest in child vs using child as a statistic, - interest is always on the child as far as I have experienced but others may say differently, everyone has different circumstances. Stastics though are also important and DC takes pride on its results both academically, musically, sporting etc. Check out the website where you will find most of this information along with all the newsletters that go out to parents etc. Sorry for the long post but hope this helps a little. <em>edited by noddy on 10/01/2011</em>

My DD is only in Juniors at Repton, but know several parents with kids in seniors at Repton all of whom are very happy. You need to go look and get a feel for yourself.

SQ, because JESS has no space AT all and Repton has already had quite a bit of comments on EW. But I would lov e to hear genuine constructive comments on Repton too. wouldn't we all !! LOL :)

@SQ maybe because JESS do IB not A levels and Repton do IGCSE? Just a thought.

Well DC is selective, results are good but they should be given they choose who they want. JC none of the kids I know there are in classes of 30. Gcse years are in classes of 16, more for lower years. They get good results almost as good as DC and they beat DC just before Christmas in football. EC low key, parents and students usually happy. DESC another low key school producing excellent students. Really you do need to go with your gut feeling after visiting. As for bullying, it goes on in all schools DC included, you only need to look at fb to see that. However my understanding is all the schools take it seriously. I know some schools have had specific issues which have been stamped on hard, however I would say that from the cases I am aware of maybe the child concerned was not in the best school for them, not that I condone bullying in any shape or form. Good luck with your search.

how DC, JC, Kings and DESC compare/rate on the following issues important to me in deciding between them (we have already determined academics rating through this forum). TIA * overall value-added to child * schools stance towards PDA (public display of affection between students) * discipline * instilling values, character-building, empathy * pride in wearing neat clean uniform; stance on wearing make up, jewellery etc * sincere interest in child vs using child as a statistic i get the feeling DC children are a bit stiff (umm...for want of a better word..snobbish??). Just curious to know why JESS is not on your list. ETA and REpton? <em>edited by Servants Quarters on 10/01/2011</em>

oops sorry....meant to write English College, not Kings :) EC, not overly academic, old buildings but those who are there seem happy enough.

DC, DESC & JC are secondary schools, Kings primary. Kings is fine, ticks all your boxes. DC is the best of the other two academically and possibly on the sports side as well. JC i hear have large class sizes (up to 30) and bullying, but does get results. DESC, is about to have a head change and hopefully will improve on its weaker areas. If you are that much of a snob and into education send your kids to boarding school, you'll never be happy with what Dubai has to offer. JMHO <em>edited by Jumeriah Jane on 10/01/2011</em>

Hi Koolestmum, Kings is only a primary school. I can only speak for JC but I find the school excellent. Quite strict and disciplined and they expect a high standard from their students. If you want to get an idea of uniform, makeup etc go and visit each school at the end of the day and watch the children come out of school. Some parents complained at JC at a meeting about how children are outside the school gates and at Park and shop, yet the school said they can't control how children behave once they are outside the school grounds. (kids holding hands, shirts untucked etc) They assured parents that this doesn't occur on school grounds.