From kindergarten to the graduate level, the German International Schools of the United Arab Emirates, situated respectively in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, offer education “made in Germany.” They are part of a network of currently 141 German Schools Abroad in 72 countries all certified through the German Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK). They adhere to a worldwide quality standard and are recognised for this with the seal of approval “Excellent German School Abroad” signed by the German Federal President. All schools in the network are governed by the Federal Republic of Germany, which sponsors qualified teachers from Germany and financially support the schools.
German Schools Abroad do not only impart academic and language skills, but shape their students to become global citizens. In the UAE they are at the core of intercultural exchange and place a high emphasis on maintaining German and Arabic cultural assets in a strong school community. They follow a German curriculum, which is specifically supplemented and expanded by Arabic and social studies from the local curriculum.
They offer the German International Abitur (DIA); this diploma offers the highly qualified students the chance to not only study in Germany but also worldwide. The German International School in Abu Dhabi (GISAD) is a German-owned school that has a history in the UAE, having been founded in 1976. Since then, GISAD has established itself as a renowned international school that is regularly awarded “very good” from ADEK (Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge).
The student body is comprised of 400 students and benefits from a quality teaching staff in a multicultural environment, based on the Thuringian Education Plan. Their cultural awareness is strong and is extremely emphasised by the multilingualism of the teachers, the other students and the bilingual curriculum.
The focus on a multilingual education begins at the kindergarten level and offers language instruction in German and English. Furthermore, the school offers language integration classes for students with no prior knowledge in German but seeking a late entry into the German education system.
DISD, the German International School in Dubai, was founded in 2004, owned by the Consulate General in Dubai. Around 800 students from more than 30 nations study here in a respectful and open-minded atmosphere. DISD is located in Dubai Academic City and can be counted among the most modern German schools abroad. DISD fosters the unique German engineering spirit and aspires STEM excellence (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) from kindergarten to the abitur. The school offers an outstanding and inspiring learning environment with modern science labs, two libraries and state-of-the-art sport facilities to cater to the students’ needs in every category.
All primary and secondary school classes work with iPads, implemented with an innovative evidence-based approach. DISD students thrive in a multilingual environment and develop into true global citizens with the German language as a core competence. Many of the students reach a native speaker level in several languages, next to German, as well in English and Arabic. The city Dubai, region and the world serve as classrooms in stimulating national and international excursions and exchange programmes.
