International School of Creative Science, Nad Al Sheba 3
Updated November 2016
The International School of Creative Science [ISCS] is a new Arabic-American dual curriculum faith school launching Phase 1 of its provision in Nad Al Sheba 3. The school is situated in the prime education corridor between Kings School Nad Al Sheba and Repton School on a circa 11-acre site.
The school has been established with the single aim of balancing the best of Western education, and its currency for later university and career development, with the protection, appreciation and nurturing of Muslim and broader Arabic culture, language, faith and morality within its role. It’s an East meets West equation that is far from simple to resolve and one that is firing the imagination of a number of new schools in the UAE– and parents seeking the best for their children within a global economy that too quickly can see some children lose sight of their roots and heritage.
https://youtu.be/6EqgKn7__3o
The school is launching initially to Year 6 but will eventually launch to all-through Year 13 provision to IGCSE and A Level. It is clear that very considerable thought has gone into the curriculum which is more transparently developed than its Creative Science American school curriculum counterpart in Al Barsha. We particularly like ISCS’s choice to follow the highly respected Cambridge Primary curriculum. This said, we would have liked to see much greater detail exploring what the school’s eventual mapping of IGCSE and A Level will look like. Prospective parents considering the school will not want to face the choice of leaving later once their children are settled and should have now a clear understanding of the breadth of choice at IGCSE and Al Level their children should expect.
We do have some detail, but not enough. For example, can we expect significant breadth of choice, to include, for example, law and psychology, or is the focus going to be more limited on the English Baccalaureate subjects? Can we expect a choice of BTEC or other alternative vocational course options to cater for students who are less academic or wishing fast-track entry directly into industry? Subject choice is a key measure of any school’s investment in the whole child – and providing the greatest possible choice to students in matching their individual needs and abilities. Without this basic level of information our hands are tied behind our backs in being able to benchmark the school and we hope given the clear commitment of the owners and Principal that this level of detail will be developed at which time we shall update our review.
Significant discounts are available to parents registering their children and we are impressed that these are guaranteed for the first 3 years of schooling. We would however, throw a note of caution that if discounts are not applied equally through a child’s lifetime at the school, later increases could be something of a shock to the system. This said, the baseline fees offer good value for a British curriculum based education, this notwithstanding additional fees for books discussed below. For a new school, ISCS offers good return on investment.
As with many schools in launch, there is just too much detail missing to make a certain calculation. Currently no information is given on class sizes, teacher recruitment (particularly in terms of nationality and experience (British teachers are significantly more expensive), ECA provision, SEN and EAL, facilities (quantity and breadth) as well as indicators that we think are telling of a schools outreach and maturity including bursary and scholarship provision. What we would say at the outset is that the International School of Creative Science is set to be one of the largest UK curricula schools in the UAE and, given the significant positive impact that has on revenue, we would expect significant breadth and quality in the curriculum.
The school has announced its founding Pincipal. Naveed Iqbal is an interesting choice with a background built in business. Mr Iqbal built on his degree training in Psychology and Management (Bradford) by developing his own businesses and consultancy in fields including mortgages and property development and further executive courses in project management and IT. His direct educational experience was built in his Founding Headship of The Phoenix Private School, Qatar, between 2012 and 2016, this following his taking a Diploma in Education (Hull).
Mr Iqbal was recruited in part because of his proven ability to deliver a circa 20% profit from the Phoenix over his tenure, growing an original student rota of 29 students in 2013 to some 450 students on leaving in 2016.
The Creative Science schools do not currently publish costs, if any, for further SEN or EAL provision, but do compulsorily require of parents fixed “book fees” of between 2300 AED at FS phases and 2900 AED at Year 6 per annum which we have listed within the fee structure below. We would hope that neither SEN, nor EAL would be chargeable, particularly given that English is likely to be an additional language for the majority of the school’s role and that in the rest of the sector SEN provision is only very exceptionally charged for in cases of exceptional heightened need. We will update this as we receive clarification from the school.
In summary, the key point to be taken from the Creative Science schools is that they have been designed to meet a genuine, and important need. They are part of a growing number of faith schools established to balance the opportunities of Western education whilst protecting Muslim and broader Arabic cultural identity. These include Next Generation and Smart Vision schools. In many ways, each is a pioneer in their field and the depth of information so obviously required by prospective parents is going to take inevitably going to take time to develop in line with the expectations rightfully requisite in established curricular.
As it stands parents will have to share in the inevitable risks and teething issues that come with all new schools, as well as something of the pioneering spirit of the schools themselves. Maybe it is something of a leap of faith, but the rewards and demand if the Creative Science schools pull it off will be quite something. Watch this space.
It is worth quoting in full our summary of its US curriculum counterpart:
“Finding the perfect meeting of East and West, and building the bridges needed between the two, is an ambitious and impressive trajectory for any school. It is not an easy task. We are certain, however, that this is the genuine intention of all the Creative Science schools – and words, in this case, have been backed by very serious, substantive brick and mortar investment in Dubai.
What is needed now, however, is detail to fill in the many gaps. Class sizes, inclusivity, teacher backgrounds and profiles, levels of SEND support, scholarship and bursary programmes, detailed curriculum information and ECA detail. We need all this and more. In short we need a finished school. The intention and potential is all here, and the ambition is very impressive – we wish the school well.”
FULL REVIEW COMING SOON on WhichSchoolAdvisor.com HARD HAT TOUR on WhichSchoolAdvisor.comPrivate, for profit
FS1: 33,500 (+2,300 books fee)
FS2: 33,500 (+2,300 books fee)
YEAR 1: 37,500 (+2,600 books fee)
YEAR 2: 37,500 (+2,600 books fee)
YEAR 3: 37,500 (+2,600 books fee)
YEAR 4: 44,000 (+2,900 books fee)
YEAR 5: 44,000 (+2,900 books fee)
YEAR 6: 44,000 (+2,900 books fee)
YEAR 7:
YEAR 8:
YEAR 9:
YEAR 10:
YEAR 11:
YEAR 12:
YEAR 13:
National Curriculum for England / Muslim faith based dual curriculum
Notes
(1) Early Years Foundation Stage (Cambridge Primary)
(2) IGCSE
(3) AS Level
(4) A' Level
EDEXCEL
Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)
Not published (school in phased launch)
Not published (school in phased launch)
School in phased launch
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School in phased launch
12+
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Mathematics
English Language
English Literature
Geography
Art & Design
Business Studies
Arabic (First Language)
Arabic (Second Language)
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
Yes
Notes
(1) FS1 & FS2 entrance by interview
(2) Year 1 to 6: entrance by computerised examination, interviews, entrance and CAT4 (Cognitive Ability) testing
No
Not published (school in phased launch)
All-through capacity: 4000+
Launch capacity: 1100
Not published
Not published
Not published (school in phased launch)
2016-17
Nad Al Sheba 3, Dubai
Arabic (largest nationality) (projection)
Notes
(1) Muslim dual curriculum British curriculum school
Mixed, segregated
Yes
Bukhatir Education Advancement and Management
Educational Investments International
800 BEAM(2326)
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
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School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
School in phased launch
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School in phased launch
• Ambitious and impressive school values
• One of a number of new schools seeking to bring together the best of East and West, pioneering new and highly valued ways to guarantee children the opportunities of Western qualifications whilst protecting and nurturing the Muslim faith and broader cultural heritage of the Arabic world
• Scale should allow significant levels of investment in capital build, quality, reduction of class sizes and investment in inclusion
• Serious and committed investment in Dubai
• Inevitable teething problems of any launching school likely
• Lack of detail across a range of key areas including curriculum, teacher profile, SEN and whole child investment
• No advertised scholarship and bursary programmes
My son was enrolled in FS1 at the International School of Creative Science. I had decided to enrol him because of the many reviews I had read regarding the school’s high standards of teaching the Arabic language and the Quran. What I found, however, in practice was a disaster. The way the school treats children in Arabic classes and the quality of teachers was disappointing. The issues came to light in online classes provided by the school during the Covid pandemic. The quality of Arabic taught by the school was so bad that we has to remove our son from the classes. The rules of accepted grammar were not respected at all. We also faced issues with the Finance Department. After we chose to withdraw our son from the school, they have delayed refunding the fees. The school administration changed the rules and said that they would not refund the discounted 20% for the third term if parents withdrew from school. They would offer a refund – but only if we registered him again to return to the school in the next academic year. Trust has completely broken down. Worth noting too that the way that Arabic is taught here led my son to hate listening to the Quran. He developed a phobia in which he now covers his ears every time he hears the Quran. This was the last straw for us as parents and we decided to withdraw him permanently from the school.