Back Story and Introduction
"My role is to be an advocate for every parent’s interests from the age of 3 to 18. This means that no child at DESS and DESC will ever, ever, be left behind.
"Every single young man and woman will leave Dubai English Speaking College with whatever they need to meet their own potential and ambitions for their lives ahead.
"We are an inclusive school and we deliver for all children. No ifs. No buts. That is our unfailing, absolute commitment at Dubai English Speaking College.
"If we do not have what a child needs to meet their potential and ambition ,we will create it, build it, find it, discover it – we will do whatever it takes to make it happen for every one of our children.
"We invest in every single DESS and DESC child on their own personal unique journeys. Every child has unique gifts – and our commitment is to discover these and see them flourish. We will always and in every case deliver for every child, young man and woman.
"At DESS and DESC we deliver an extraordinary – and happy – education for every child..... and one that we believe is absolutely unequalled. "
Andy Gibbs
Principal
Dubai English Speaking School and College
Background
There is probably no better quote than that above in understanding both DESC and its slipstream Primary, Dubai English Speaking School, reviewed here.
Ask a parent what they want from a school and the answers, although varied, will ultimately be that their children are given the best education possible – instilled with the foundations to be successful in the world as they develop their careers.
The nuances of delivering this, however, are complex.Many schools pay lip service to this.
But to really deliver an education that concentrates on individual children, to ensure that every child meets their own unique ambitions and potential, requires an absolutely extraordinary school. It requires one that ''fires on every cylinder' in every part of the school with flows of communication, a shared conviction to treating all children equally and the investment in place to step in at any point to ensure that genuinely no child is ever left behind.
To do this in an inclusive school – one that welcomes children of all abilities and gifts, is so much more challenging than those schools which restrict intake to the most academically bright or gifted. There are no 'stacked decks' at the Dubai English Speaking College – and that is why we left from our SchoolsCompared.com visit this year with a view of the school that places it unambiguously as one of the most impressive, inspirational and highest performing schools for children in the UAE.
History
Established in 2005 with just 35 Year 7 students, the Dubai English Speaking College [DESC] takes its name from the much loved (and, in our view, equally as impressive) Dubai English Speaking School [DESS], of which it is a part; the oldest British school in the Emirate established in 1963. It is worth noting for parents that Dubai English Speaking College sees itself as integral to DESS – whilst physically separated (and deliberately so that younger children can be educated in an environment that fits their needs best), they are, for both schools, to all intents and purposes the same school – one that takes children on their whole journey from FS to graduation.
The College was built separately to its feeder school in Academic City, and takes DESS children who leave the school at age 11, as well as those joining the school for a secondary education for the first time.
Today DESC is a rapidly growing school, educating more than 1600 children between 11 and 18, parents inspired by the increasing value of its fee structure against a background of expensive new “elite” schools in the Emirate and DESC’s consistent achievement, since 2012-13, of an “Outstanding School” rating by the Dubai Schools Inspectorate, its latest in 2018. The school has more than doubled in size since 2011.
In 2017-18 Dubai English Speaking College annexed and renovated the entire Delhi Private School Academy land and buildings adjacent to it doubling the size of its campus and establishing a new (and in our view outstanding) stand-alone 500 student capacity Sixth Form Centre.
On our visit we found that the result is pretty much what you would expect in atop tier UK university with stand-out areas for both social and personal learning and a hugely inspiring atmosphere. The Sixth Form Centre has its own dining facilities; kitchen; zen garden, (outstanding) gym; and a yoga studio – as well as having access to the plethora of main school facilities including the spectrum of theatre, academic, sporting facilities and (fabulous) new library.
