Al Mawakeb School Al Khawaneej, Al Mizhar 1 – The Review

Al Mawakeb School Al Khawaneej – exclusive SchoolsCompared.com new school first looks January 2018

Al Mawakeb School Al Khawaneej is a new all-through hybrid American/AMSI curriculum school mooted for opening in September this year (2018). The campus will run to some 15 acres and be the landmark school in the group with the range of premium facilities. The school’s design and build is being project managed by Al Rostamani Pegel, the company behind the iconic Dubai Frame and the Bloom Academy at Brighton College Al Ain. The school is in a developed state of build:

https://youtu.be/gLMVZT28Tnk

https://youtu.be/6imlZ4Oj-yA

Al Khawaneej itself is a largely Emirati populated area in Dubai, close to Mushrif Park which in the eastern part of the city and around a 20 minute drive from the new Mirdif City Center shopping arcade.

Al Mawakeb School Al Khawaneej is the second of two new planned school for Al Khawaneej to open in September 2018, the other being the alternative British curriculum Ajyal British School Dubai, reviewed here. Both schools are likely to target local families. This said, and somewhat confusingly, Al Mawakeb School Al Khawaneej is in fact located in Al Mizhar 1, very near Mirdif private School and directly adjacent to GEMS Royal Dubai School, reviewed here. The school will be around three times of its GEMS neighbour.

 

Al Mawakeb School Al Khawaneej is the fifth AMSI school (Academia Management Solutions International) in a group also comprising:

• Al Mawakeb School Al Barsha, Dubai
• Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud, Dubai
• International School of Arts and Sciences, Al Warqa’a 1, Dubai
• International School Al Koura, Lebanon

AMSI is a family-owned schools group – and there is no doubting the genuine, conviction-led educational commitment at the heart of all the schools to the care of children. The curriculum of all the schools is US – but parents should note that, with the exception of the International School Al Koura, there is no provision for Advanced Placement.

Advanced Placement, in our view, should be provided in all US curricular schools because the High School Diploma, in isolation, does not provide adequate gateways to higher education. Our Guide to the High School Diploma can be found here.

The basic model of schooling at Al Mawakeb School Al Khawaneej will be a combination of American and MOE curriculum with a strong, tri-lingual focus on languages: English, French and Arabic. This is a another major strength of all the schools, and there is significant innovation in the teaching of languages – and, in particular, the development of English language skills. The majority of children at Al Mawakeb schools arrive at school with limited knowledge of English.

The school provides reasonable levels of information for parents – and we are particularly impressed with the continued investment in their alumni network and area of investment we think can important benefits for children.. However, all the schools are let down by very weak investment in social media and direct, transparent celebration of children’s achievements. An example of the school’s own information can be found below which does set the scene for the school’s offer. What is missing is the depth of information on the curriculum that most parents will require to understand the offer beyond simple values and the promise of good intentions, and engagement from parents and children themselves.

Existing schools have all now secured KHDA “Good School” accreditation, the minimum expected of all schools in Dubai but remain some way off Very Good school status. The core strengths, for the KHDA, of all the AMSI schools, lie in their personal development of children and securing of the Arabic subjects curriculum.

https://youtu.be/9JltrTkv2a4

Bottom Line. The SchoolsCompared.com view 2018.

At this stage, however, our view is that the promise here is for the first premium school from AMSI with significant opportunities for local families seeking US curriculum schooling with a strong focus on languages.  We just hope that the obvious ambition of the owners for the education and care of children extends in the new Al Mawakeb School Al Khawaneej school to offering much greater post-16 pathways and flexibility than those available in its sister schools to date. The published aim of the school is to “provide the most comprehensive university preparatory education to students of all backgrounds and nationalities.” It now needs to deliver on this.