March | ExpatWoman.com
 

March

March
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 14 January 2016 - 20:24
Always hard to compare across curricula. DC for example, has 19 accepted at Oxbridge this year but has more of a British focus so you can't compare with say ASD where far more will apply to US colleges.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 28 November 2015 - 20:21
Tessa, from the terminology you use in your post about Christmas I gather that although a Catholic you also have some connection with the Anglican church. Just to say that this also happens here amongst western Catholics who, from a cultural point of view enjoy aspects of the Anglican church (thinking Jebel Ali in particular) whilst also maintaining religious observances at the much larger catholic churches.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 08 October 2015 - 14:19
No up to date information I'm afraid. When I was there the recommended schools were, The English School, Fahaheel The English School, Salmiya (only up to year 8) Kuwait English School British School of Kuwait I lived in Ahmadi which was very nice but I don't know about compounds there at all. As I say things have probably changed now.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 02 October 2015 - 12:57
To be fair to him I think he really was good but not having an easy time with the powers that be, administration etc. Maybe in all good conscience his position became untenable. I know it's not great to leave but I guess we never really know what's going on for people.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 July 2015 - 19:44
I have good memories of living there years ago with small and later not so small children. We lived in Ahmadi and they went to English School, Fahaheel which was on the sea front in those days but I've heard they've relocated inland now.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 June 2015 - 14:36
In my experience 'track and trace' does not work. It tracks the letter so far, I then hear that the letter arrived but it never shows this on track and trace.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 June 2015 - 20:24
http://www.felinefriendsdubai.com/ This is the Feline Friends website. Check out the section on 'stray cat info' for how to get help with this. good luck!
March
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 June 2015 - 14:47
Having a look at the website this Ranches Primary school is going to use a Cambridge curriculum which is the exam board most popular in India for the British Curriculum. The website also has an English as a Second Language (EAL) section which will be a good thing as EAL is not often offered in Dubai. So I wonder, this or the Jebel Ali School which will be across the road in Akoya or continue the search.... SugarMama, what grade and year do you want to apply for? I have already started to feel desperate. I was very much interested in JAPS and wanted to get a place in reception (FS2) in 2016, but it seems students for that academic year are already admitted! Do you know they are opening FS1 in 2015? Children from FS1 and siblings of existing students have secured places for 2016, so there is a very little chance for the others :cry: I checked RPS website and...excuse me, is it really OK and fair enough for a brand new school with no academic history to ask 55K for Year-1-6 (45K for FS) ?! But does it cost less to run a school with no history. Still have to pay for good teachers (so that you get a good reputation), facilities, resources, DEWA etc. etc. same as a school that has a table of good results to show. Or is it mostly profit? How much profit do these for-profit schools take?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 01 June 2015 - 18:12
I am an ex Foremarke parent. I strongly advise you to look past the pretty building, cause I would say that would be their strongest asset except for the fact that a big portion of the school is not finished yet ( swimming pool won't even be ready next year). We were promised that the facilities would be finished by the first year and of course that was not the case. They refused to give us our 200000 facility fee back when we pulled our child out of the school. I find that the professionalism of its staff and its management are lacking from our experience. The experience we had was very tormenting on my child that I would not want it for anyone, especially little ones!! Remembering what happened still makes my blood boil!! I wish my child had a place in such an outstanding school as JESS. I strongly recommend that you go by reputation and years of excellence rather than a pretty unfinished building and being sweet talked into it, but in reality, lack of care of our precious ones, and lack of professionalism, knowledge and morale!! PS: I am not a newbie. I just forgot my old username as I have not written on here for a long time. An unfinished school, now where have i heard that previously? I am not sure what you mean? I think she's referring to Foremarke's senior/sister school Repton which opened some years before Formarke but had some difficulties in completing the building on time.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 April 2015 - 17:10
But aren't they aiming to open in Sept 2016, not this September.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 March 2015 - 15:44
Green Community has also been mentioned! Guess they can't really call it Jebel Ali if it's based no-where near JA :) Though there are branches of Jebel Ali nursery nowhere near Jebel Ali and for a while even the original Jebel Ali nursery was not open in Jebel Ali, JESS at Arabian Ranches has kept the original name too. I wonder if another school will open on the Muntazah site.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 22 March 2015 - 19:45
www.learnfrenchinfrance.com This one is more academic than many and also more expensive! I would say though that if your son is not the academic type he might hate it and possibly be put off french altogether and a more social camp even with less french might be better. Home stay with a french family who do not speak English would give him a good reason to just to get on with it and speak French. If you are in the Uk in the summer the Institute Francais de Royaume Uni in London do intensive GCSE revision classes of a more academic type.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 February 2015 - 20:14
How sure are you about the 5 books? I don't know how it works at Repton but at other schools the year 11's have a day to take back their books and each teacher signs a paper to say they received the book. The whole paper is then signed off by the head of year or school secretary or whoever so you would know immediately if there was any problem. Ask to see the book return paper and any missing signatures, have they lost it maybe?? Did you have to pay a deposit when your daughter first started at the school? Have they returned that or is she continuing in the sixth form? Do you know what results she got? <em>edited by March on 27/02/2015</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 February 2015 - 19:00
I know you asked about Dubai but depending where you are living Sharjah English School is worth considering and they do A levels.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 February 2015 - 23:23
St. Mary's high school do A levels but with a strong emphasis on Maths, Science and Business.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 February 2015 - 14:28
Great News!! Is your daughter pleased? Happy to be going there next year?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 February 2015 - 14:23
DAA certainly used too and was very good from what I heard. (sorry this is from about 15 years ago so not at all recent but you weren't getting any replies.) <em>edited by March on 03/02/2015</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 26 January 2015 - 21:16
Also why did so many children move ? This I do not understand, yet I see it happen every year. Why do parents uproot children (sometimes mid school year) and join a new school. The same happened when new schools opened years ago, when parents left pretty established schools like DESS/JESS. A new school (no matter how well managed and funded), does need time to get their system ready. Be it working culture, staff rapport, PTA, logistics, ECA's etc. Yes, there are several moving to Nord right now, but it happens with every new school- Some parents rush for greener grass. - I still remember when DAA opened years ago and it was touted as the best thing then, then World Academy, Gems Wellington, Foremarke, and soon will be Hartland in September. So true. When Kings opened people left the non-profit schools for 'a proper prep school' only then Kings lost people to Repton which was 'really, really a proper prep school' and was lauded to the heavens on here but of course had to deal with teething problems. I think it would be good to wait a bit with Hartland, good principal and staff but let them settle down and form a good working relationship with the management.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 January 2015 - 17:27
I thought the new cut off would affect children born between Jan and Aug not those born between Sept and Dec. It would mean children tended to be older rather than younger when starting FS1 but would not affect the age an Oct. born child starts. I could be wrong!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 January 2015 - 17:17
And D.C. are quite open about this. From their website - '4. Tutoring Dubai College does not endorse tutoring for our entrance assessment. If you consider that your child requires tutoring to succeed at the entrance assessment, then you may wish to question whether this would be the right school for your child.' However, if your child is coming from a different curriculum I think they might want to look at some English National Curriculum SATS papers etc. to be more familiar with the approach and content.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 January 2015 - 16:06
Newbie, thanks for the tip re DESC. I've heard the same. It's a bit worrying really - I know some very (and I mean Very) strong candidates that didn't get into DESC without a lot of pleading. It seems they may reject the strong candidates they think will get Into/go to DC. And then they don't pass for DC and are left without a place anywhere.... Hoping DDs not so good that they reject her outright on that basis. In case you haven't seen Buddha has given some useful, up-to-date information about DESC admission policy on the thread about which school for a very academic child. It doesn't seem fair that pleading works presumably at the expense of those waiting patiently on the wait list, but that's life I suppose.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 January 2015 - 15:57
Thanks Buddha for up to date info.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 January 2015 - 15:46
DESC, contrary to what many people say is NOT academically selective and in fact they put out a message to that effect this week. . I feel there is some confusion here. The message they have given to JAPS is that admission priority after DESS students and siblings is 'according to assessment scores'. I understand that assessment is more than just academic (eg.they might look favourably on a sporty child), but it does sound from this that they are selecting academically too. Would you say that DESC is equally non academically selective as EC for example? DESC used to say they had placement tests, not to exclude children but to place them in the correct sets when they arrive but that (quite reasonably) seems to have changed since they have had more applications and can choose. So, how do they choose, is it according to when you apply? Some schools (not DESC in particular) claim to be selective (possibly to sound more exclusive) up until the moment exam results come out when they pat themselves on the back for doing so well despite being non-selective.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 January 2015 - 02:17
In its early days DESC gave priority to JAPS but in those days it was non-selective and with a different head. Now it is academically selective so I checked the position now and it says (in brackets) 'An element of priority given to JAPS students'.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 January 2015 - 14:20
I agree by and large with everything you say. However, how is it possible for primary schools like JESS, DESS and JAPS to be truly academically selective? They assess their largest in take at age 3/4. What are they looking for? A very shy and very difficult 3 year old might well be academically bright and focused by 11. A delightful, pleasant 3 year old who has happily learnt to recite her numbers etc. may not. Do they assess them differently from other schools WIS, Kings etc.? I've known JAPS students who were not particularly bright, did not even consider looking round DC let alone sitting an entrance test. I wonder just how selective they are compared to others.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 01 January 2015 - 18:04
I think we are understanding different definitions for 'feeder school'. No one is suggesting that JAPS pupils have automatic entrance to DC.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 December 2014 - 11:46
Thank you March, that is interesting to know. Is this as a second language choice that leads to gcse/A'level would you know? gcse - yes. A' level - don't know
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 December 2014 - 13:28
As others have posted, it all depends on your allowances. The price variables are huge for schools and housing. Also which end of BB you are looking at, the airport end or the Dubai Mall end. For the Airport end you may look at Mirdiff, Festival city, DSO, Garhoud, The Villa for housing and schools in those areas. For the Dubai Mall end you could look at Jumeriah, Al Barsha, Arabian Ranches. When looking at Secondary school look at the after school activities and bus service provided. Some schools have really excellent sporting programs and teams, others don’t. Nord Anglia, DESC, Jess AR, JC, English College, Dubai British School or Dubai College are the main schools British expats tend to favour. There is also a site called, Which school Dubai and the KHDA website which rates schools based on yearly inspections, new schools are exempt for a a while so some schools may not have a rating. The difference between Outstanding and good should be noted. Fees range from 60K per year up, syllabuses are GCSE, IGCSE, both, then IB or A'level. Be aware that your children unless year 10 will have to have Arabic lessons each week, quite a few. These are compulsory. If you are Muslim, your children also have to partake in Islamic studies. Second languages taught in most schools are French, Spanish, German and a few are doing Mandarin. Latin is not available as far as I am aware. RE is not taught. edited by Lolacat on 28/12/2014 sorry can't see where OP is asking about Latin but just to say that it is taught at DC
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 18 December 2014 - 09:35
Nativty sets etc. are available in supermarkets here so no problem there. I have also seen some christian books in bookshops such as Kinokinea's in Dubai mall and others-obviously not books about evangelism, but pastoral, devotional books etc. There are several Christian bookshops selling books and artefacts, one at Holy Trinity church, Oud Metha, the Bible Society bookshop is attached to the Evangelical church in Jebel Ali and no doubt the Catholic churches too have things. I doubt you will have any problem. <em>edited by March on 18/12/2014</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 14 December 2014 - 10:46
www.coochycoo.net They are based in Jumeirah or at least used to be.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 December 2014 - 17:20
. 'Why? Because that is HIS responsibility within the marriage. That's why. Even when she works, the money is hers and he has no rights over it. I know in other societies and cultures things are different, but this couple is a Muslim couple and the responsibility of the husband is very clear. Regardless of whether they both work or not, regardless of what day and age we live in.' Have I missed something? I don't remember her talking about her religion or culture. <em>edited by March on 12/12/2014</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 December 2014 - 09:45
I hope not.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 December 2014 - 09:59
I think so much will depend on your individual circumstances. What school are you giving up here, what school are you going to in the UK. Some schools here have lots of sport and activities etc. as do some in the UK - you need to compare your 2 possible schools rather than the countries in general. Parts of UK are very multicultural and parts are not so it depends where you intend to go. You mention things like home help but that is your decision both here and there.Transport - metro, busses and now tram are good here and allow some teenage independance, you will find better public transport in parts of UK but in some rural areas you'll wait a week for a bus on market day! Materialism - having watched some Black Friday clips it seems rife everywhere.Jobs - probably easier to get unskilled work in Uk but as long as your children have the right skills/qualifications they'll be in demand here as someone else mentioned. Grandparents - how close will you be to them in Uk and how often do you/they visit at the moment. This could well be a reason for returning. Anyway, good luck with the decision - do your children have any opinion on it yet?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 November 2014 - 15:55
Dont you think this should be taken into consideration when moving abroad? I would not consider applying for home status when its a blatant lie. In my opinion its just as bad as a benefits cheat. Why do you assume that people are lying? Different universities ask for different things. Some ask for an incredible amount of detail and evidence to support it. Flight tickets or boarding pass stubs (you have to hang on to these things for years) going back at least 3 years and sometimes longer. Bills and receipts from UK , house deeds, work contracts or whatever. No secret is made of where your child's school is - they get a reference from the school, they know where the child was educated and therefore know that they must have spent a lot of the year in that country whatever else you say or don't say. I'm not saying that noone lies but that it's a huge generalisation and not necessary anyway to get home status depending on your circumstances and as others have said depending on the university. In my experience some have asked more questions and some less, all have know where the children have been at school and all have given home status.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 28 November 2014 - 20:33
Jones The Grocer
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 November 2014 - 17:22
Hi Tringlady She should be fine if she is British, the grant will however be dependent on your household income. The tuition fee loan and up to 65% of the maintenance loan can be applied for without looking at household income but if you want the rest of the loan and the grant to be considered they will look at parents and student income. The grant is kept for those with a lower household income. Hope this helps? thats not correct.... you have to be back in uk for 3 years residency before you start uni and not just for educational purposes, there are ways and means tho if you have house, bills, etc etc but when you fill out ucas forms the universities will ask all that information and it will be down to them if they give you home status or overseas status..... i know a lot of people who have no phsyical ties with the uk, ie house etc and they now have to pay overseas rates, even though they are british and born there etc there is no hard and fast rule, all down to the year, the course and the university, but you will know when you apply as ucas/unis will say if home/overseas rates etc. in a lot of cases the overseas rates are not much different to the english rates the only difference will be you will have to pay your tutition fees up front and not get a loan etc no grants anymore. There are still grants for maintenance. As long as you complete in detail all your financial information with evidence for Student Finance England and it is below a certain amount your child will be given a grant which is made up to the full amount with a loan. There are also scholarships in some unis but you have to go for the right courses, languages and science subjects in particular and good results. Also , if you tick the box to say you don't mind your financial information being shared with the universities then in my experience once your child arrives they are offered a bursary to help, even if they have already been given a scholarship. So, it's still an expensive business but there is some help available if you need it. This is all assuming you are granted home status because you have remained linked with the UK. <em>edited by March on 28/11/2014</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 25 November 2014 - 10:05
It's the year before reception (so essentially pre-school) in the English National curriculum. Age 3-4.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 24 November 2014 - 15:47
I don't think it matters much what we think. You need to sit down and discuss it with your husband to make it work.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 November 2014 - 13:00
They generally ask for a terms notice or a terms fees in lieu but check with the relevant school as may be different.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 November 2014 - 17:10
The best is of course Foremarke but it costs a small fortune. Is Foremarke the junior school for Repton Dubai (as in Foremarke Hall, UK)? Are they both linked with the UK schools?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 November 2014 - 10:36
Do you have to buy a separate ticket or can you use a NOL card?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 October 2014 - 11:43
Have you considered Emirates International School, Jumeriah at all? I don't know about their wait lists but their fees are comparable and even less than some British schools.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 18 October 2014 - 10:44
I heard they were looking at opening in Sept. 2016 but I don't know if it's true or if it will happen. Other public schools have been keen to open here and then you hear no more after a while, for instance what happened to Oundle in Jumeriah park? Though it is amazing just how many schools do seem to open across the board here each year and how what I think of as new schools are now considered established because there are more new schools.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 11 October 2014 - 09:13
I've heard good things about Sharjah English School
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 October 2014 - 13:09
OP sorry to hear about your predicament, try to remain calm I know its easier said than done :-) Recently went for an interview at Gems and the hours were 7:30-16:30pm with a salary of 6300.00 AED. 52 days holiday and these are bookable throughout school year. Flight after 2 year service and medical insurance. Reduced working hours on Thursday and school holidays. No other reductions/perks were discussed. Apparently this is a set package across the board with Gems for Reception staff. Is it across the board for Gems schools or just for their premium schools?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 September 2014 - 15:17
Have a look at Cambridge International School.
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Latest post on 02 September 2014 - 14:48
Yes I agree with all you say. Given that they are allowed to take him it's a shame that they didn't tell the hospital that they were going to and had made provision for the food and equipment he needs to keep him comfortable. The hospital were obviously very concerned for the child's comfort as well as life and that was conveyed to the police. I'm surprised that the police didn't appeal more for the family to just get in touch and reassure the hospital that they had the necessary equipment especially as the older son seems to actively communicate through social media.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 August 2014 - 13:21
If you call K9 friends on 8878739 between Sat-Thurs 9am-1pm they'll tell you their location and make an appointment for you to visit. You can check out their dogs and puppies on their facebook page.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 28 August 2014 - 14:19
Head to a pharmacy and get a product called Absolute Dry - honestly the best thing I've ever used. You just apply once a week and that's it. It's brilliant. Does it not wash off though during the week? How does it work?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 26 August 2014 - 02:22
The best/most popular schools have already been mentioned but there are others that do IGCSE/GCSE and AS and A levels like Regent International School and Cambridge International School (GEMS). Many others do IGCSE/GCSE's and then IB (so you would have to move him to one of the other mentioned schools to do A levels in 2 years time if you didn't want IB.) These schools include the GEMS Wellington schools and Repton School.
 
 
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