Dubai: One of the biggest success stories to emerge from the latest round of Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) inspections concerns GEMS Wellington International School.
The Al Sufouh-based establishment climbed one category from "good" to "outstanding" in this year's assessments.
Mel Curtis, Principal and Chief Executive of the school, said: "We have worked incredibly hard and we have had a clear focus on learning this year.
"However, just because we have been rated ‘outstanding' does not mean we cannot improve on certain things. We want to improve our Arabic education and we need to look at sharing our best practice, which schools are not necessarily good at."
Michelle Givanakis has two children, eight-year-old Lilianna and six-year-old Gabriel, enrolled at the school. She said: "I am particularly pleased for the teachers and staff because they have obviously worked very hard to achieve these results. I am content because my children are learning and achieving. They are also happy, which is the most important thing. To be honest, the KHDA report is probably more important for the powers-that-be ..."
Leanne Braithwaite, mother to 15-year-old Devon and nine-year-old Tyler, said: "We are very proud of our school because everyone has worked hard to achieve this result. We were a little bit disappointed last year when we did not get placed in the ‘outstanding' category. But the school has worked exceptionally hard.
"It took me a little while to get used to the schooling system here because we come from the southern hemisphere ... The school is very supportive when any issues arise and as a family we have been exceptionally lucky. My son is in Year 10 and he is doing fabulous subjects including things that would not be offered elsewhere."
