[This review is currently being updated….]
Back Story
Universal American School was shortlisted for the Top School Award for Best American School in the United Arab Emirates 2023-2024. We rate the school very highly, particularly in the context of its new Ivy League not-for-profit status, this following transfer of management from ESOL Education to the Al Futtaim Education Foundation. The school is ranked by the KHDA, Dubai’s official regulator of schools, a Very Good school with Outstanding features, placing it firmly within the class of highest performing, Tier 1 US curriculum schools in Dubai. the school has retained this ranking consistently since 2017 and was last inspected in February 2023.
School Leadership
Universal American School Director Kevin Loft was appointed in January 2022, taking over from Janecke Aarnaes, who had led the school from September 2020.
Kevin Loft has worked in the international education sector for over 25 years in both the public and private sectors in New Zealand, the United States, United Kingdom and the Middle East.
Mr Loft holds a master’s degree in educational leadership, Bachelor of Education, Diploma of Teaching and a Post Graduate Diploma in Behaviour. He has held both Executive Principal and CEO roles within Dubai and led Royal Dubai School from Good to Outstanding. Alongside this he has been a committee and academy member of The Varkey Foundation, a global charitable foundation focused on education and highlighting the centrifugal importance of teachers and developing initiatives to support the profession globally.
Mr Loft has a keen interest in nature, sustainability and the environment, owning a small farm in New Zealand. A keen musician, Mr Loft plays both guitar and drums, and sings.
Mr Loft is married with three children.
Curriculum
The Universal American School (UAS) provides a hybrid, parallel stream, mixed, co-educational FS – Year 12 US-International Baccalaureate education for around 1030 pupils between the ages of 4 and 18 years. The school is set in beautifully landscaped and maintained grounds.
The Early Years (Elementary) curriculum follows the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme [IB PYP] and New York State Standards (NYSS).
The Middle Years curriculum, between Grade 6 and Grade 10, follows an in-house curriculum with historical roots in the “This We Believe” (TWB) curriculum created by the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE). The curriculum remains aligned with New York State Standards (NYSS).
In Year 10, students choose between one of two alternative pathways for their final two years of study in Years 11 and 12. The choice reflects the qualifications UAA students will eventually achieve on graduating the school.
Graduation Option 1
The first option available to students for their studies in Years 11 and 12 is an in-house, New York State Standards US education built on Common Core and Next Generation standards, with the important addition of study for Advanced Placement. Students graduate with a traditional US High School Diploma and Advanced Placement qualifications. Advanced Placement qualifications are accepted by universities worldwide as a higher-level, pre-university qualification. Currently 9 AP options are offered covering English Language and Literature, the Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science disciplines:
- AP English Language and Composition
- AP English Literature and Composition
- AP Biology
- AP Chemistry
- AP Physics
- AP Precalculus
- AP Calculus AB
- AP Computer Science Principles
- AP Computer Science A
We would like to see in future years further AP options made available to students drawn from the History, Social Science and Arts areas offered by the College Board.
Graduation Option 2
The second option available to students for their studies in Years 11 and 12 is an International Baccalaureate programme. Two options are available. The first is for students to study for the full International Baccalaureate Diploma. The second is for students to study for individual International Baccalaureate courses. This is fairly standard, although all IB Diploma Course students take the Global Citizenship course rather than the IB Diploma Program Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course. The school stands out for also offering IB Course students access to an array of Advanced Placement options, effectively the gold standard equivalent to A Level within the US system. All students in Option 2 also graduate with a High School Diploma.
Parents should note that UAS does not currently provide students with an option to study for the International Baccalaureate Career-related Diploma (IB CP). Increasingly, the decision not to offer this technical stream alternative to students makes UAS something of an outlier. Neither of its existing options offer a higher level vocational/technical stream pathway option for students.
Full information can be found below:
Graduation Options 2023 Universal American School DubaiFacilities
Facilities at UAS are Tier 1. They include a fully digital campus; landmark multipurpose hall (“MPH”) including a 546-seat theatre with acoustic panelling and theatre quality stage lighting and sound; band rooms; choir/choral suite; theatre and drama rooms/spaces; multiple ICT suites; Elementary Library; prayer rooms; IPAD & Laptop stations; a main library; science labs by specialism; and, technology rooms.
Gallery Spaces. Numerous Gallery Spaces exist throughout the school celebrating the achievements of students in Art and Design.
Pre-KG/FS Shaded Playground
Sporting facilities, generally a priority for US parents, have breadth and quality, if not quite matching those of the ultra-premiums. They include a six-lane, 400-meter all-weather track; 100 X 65 all natural grass soccer pitch; climate controlled, six-lane, 25-meter pool; multi-purpose gymnasium with roll out bleachers and a divider creating two regulation-size adjacent basketball and volleyball courts; and, a dedicated fitness, strength and conditioning room with the spectrum of ellipticals, ergo rowing machines, kettle-bells and free weights.
Extensive real grass playing fields (near unheard of in the UAE) and extended athletics tracks covering all major athletics running distances.
Indoor multi-purpose Sports Hall. Worth noting the displays of artwork, telling of the interdisciplinarity approach to learning running throughout the curriculum at UAS.
Core sports include, volleyball, soccer; badminton; swimming, basketball, Golf, Rugby 7s, soccer, Cross Country and Track & Field (including Distance and Throwing).
ECAs are extensive and include Band, Arabic Newspaper production; Computer Science/LEGO Robotics/TETRIX; IB art immersion; Book Club; SAT Prep; Peer Tutoring; Sailing; Student Council; Girl Guides; Yearbook; Golf; Fine Arts Booster Club; Tennis; Cheerleading; Yoga; Fitness Boot camp; Blue Fest; Ab Blaster; a Chess Club; and, Model United Nations.
Transparency
We rank school communications excellent and a million miles from the school we first reviewed some five years ago. The school shares the examination performance of its students, celebrates their achievements and regularly updates its communications channels with parents.
KHDA Inspections
New ownership by Al Futtaim Education Foundation, driven by not-for-profit investment in children, has seen quite remarkable changes to the school. These are reflected in the Dubai Schools Inspectorate awarding of Very Good School with Outstanding Features status for the last three years (2017-20). This followed a period of the school standing still for some eight years following its launch.
Core achievements noted by the KHDA include:
- Stand-out achievement in IB Diploma English Language and Literature
- Stand-out achievement in IB Diploma Arabic A
- Outstanding KG provision
- Outstandingly well-resourced school and facilities
- Outstanding while child development and “first class” care of children with a caring ethos that defines the relationships between children, teachers, parents and school leadership at every phase.
- Highly supportive parents that are engaged in school life
- Ambitious leadership with a defined path towards Outstanding school status
- Systematic culture of innovation across the school
Key areas that need development, and which account for the school just falling short of Outstanding school status, fall in the area of Mathematics and Science in which the achievement and progress of children does not match the heady heights achieved by the school in English (and impressively for an international school, Arabic A).
As a US curriculum grounded IB school we believe the commitment to Advanced Placement is a stand-out hugely creditable feature of the school. Too few US curriculum schools offer it. More on why Advanced Placement is so important can be found here. Whilst we do think the school should be offering the IB Career-related Programme, it can argue, with some justification, that by offering both Advanced Placement and IB Courses-only tracks they are, at the least, providing serious and credible alternatives for its students to the Diploma.
The latest KHDA Report follows:
Universal American School KHDA Report 2023Prospectus
Fees
For an IB and Advanced Placement education at this very highly performing and resourced standard, we rate the value proposition here as outstanding.
Grade | KHDA Fees
AED |
Discounted Fees AED |
Pre-KG | 38,450 | 34,605 |
KG1 | 41,657 | 37,491 |
KG2 | 47,235 | 42,512 |
Grade 1 | 62,958 | 53,514 |
Grade 2 | 62,958 | 53,514 |
Grade 3 | 62,958 | 53,514 |
Grade 4 | 62,958 | 53,514 |
Grade 5 | 69,915 | 59,428 |
Grade 6 | 69,915 | 62,924 |
Grade 7 | 69,915 | 62,924 |
Grade 8 | 69,915 | 69,915 |
Grade 9 | 78,968 | 78,968 |
Grade 10 | 78,968 | 78,968 |
Grade 11 | 78,968 | 78,968 |
Grade 12 | 78,968 | 78,968 |
Investment
Ongoing investment by the school is significant, both in terms of capital expenditure, but also, as importantly, within the curriculum. In 2023, the school opened a landmark, 18000 ft² new cafeteria, atrium and linked green play areas. The school has also expanded its breadth of AP subjects provision.
Awards
Best American School-American Community School of Abu Dhabi-Finalist CertificateBottom Line? The SchoolsCompared.com verdict 2023-24
There is huge potential here for an outstanding school – and it is time that is needed more than anything else.
We would like the school to publish the full curriculum booklets outlining the subject choices and breadth students can expect at different phases of the curriculum. We also think UAS misses a trick in not producing a comprehensive prospectus – evangelising the many ways it inspires its students and sets itself apart from competing hybrid US-IB schools. The School Handbook (published above) really does not convey just how impressive this school is, or its ambition for students.
We would also like to see, as above, development in IB provision of the Career-related Diploma. This is being adopted by many Tier 1s because it resolves the inherent exclusivity of the Diploma and its impact on more vulnerable lower and mixed ability students in schools with inclusive intakes. It is telling that the SEN intake to UAS has dropped – with the IB CP in place UAS could begin to genuinely meet its published ambition to be more inclusive. The IB developed the CP for a reason – it is genuine shame that UAS has not caught up. We know that Ms Aarnaes has spoken passionately about how the Diploma should be seen as inclusive – and that this was always the intention of the IB. However, the Career-related programme reflects the reality of that many students are technical. BTEC, which is the general hub qualification of the IB CrP, recongnises this. Further, not every child is a natural linguist – and the Diploma, unlike the CrP, inherently works against children who are not proficient n a second language.
The AP stream is, however, stand-out and in its integration in school life and the IB as a dedicated stream unique in the UAE. It’s expensive to offer this. In many ways, APs are not dissimilar to A’ Levels in the British system. They offer a globally recognised pathway to top tier universities – and allow children to specialise. For us, this is an outstanding offer that sets a benchmark in UAE education and deserves much better celebration to parents within and outside the school.
This year the school welcomes its first scholarship students. We rare the commitment to scholarships outstanding.
Bottom line? The Universal American School of Dubai is a very high performing school. With its new found Not For Profit status, we expect even greater things to come from Al Futtaim Education Foundation in the years to come. For an already very highly performing school that is saying something. But is also the extraordinarily caring dynamics of this school that deserve praise, particularly in the context of a hugely demanding Diploma programme and a US curriculum pathway that arguably makes the transition more complex than that offered by its pure IB counterparts.
Finally, Al Futtaim Education deserves special mention. The investment it is making in all its schools – and the commitment to not-for-profit, we believe places it in the very top tier of educational organisations operating in the UAE. The commitment to delivering for students, parents and teachers is proven, impressive and very genuine.
Universal American School is a school on the up and teachers and students deserve to feel very, very proud of their achievements.
Highly recommended.
Further Information
Visit the official Universal American School web site here.
© SchoolsCompared.com. A WhichMedia Group publication. 2023 – 2024. All rights reserved.
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Very Good with Outstanding Features (2019-20)
Very Good with Outstanding features (2018-19)
Very Good with Outstanding Features (2017-18)
Good
Good
80%
76.6%
70%
66.6%
Private, not-for-profit
Pre-K: 29,864
KG1: 32,360
KG2: 36,680
GRADE 1: 48,896
GRADE 2: 48,896
GRADE 3: 48,896
GRADE 4: 48,896
GRADE 5: 54,304
GRADE 6: 67,880
GRADE 7: 67,880
GRADE 8: 67,880
GRADE 9: 76,670
GRADE 10: 76,670
GRADE 11:76,670
GRADE 12: 76,670
American:
US High School Diploma
US Common Core Standards (English, Language, Arts, Mathematics)
Next Generation Science Standards (Science - Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Technology, Engineering)
New York State Board of Regents (History and Government)
International Baccalaureate:
International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme [IB PYP]
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme [IB DP]
International Baccalaureate Diploma Courses [IB DC]
Advanced Placement
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA)
The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE)
Council of International Schools (CIS)
International Baccalaureate
Advanced Placement
Not published
Not published
Selective - limited inclusion
Notes:
(1) UAS admits students of any race, color, or national and ethnic background
(2) Entry to students requiring English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Special Educational Needs (SEN) "may be limited in line with program and staffing policies and defined academic requirements."
(3) Entry to PreKG, KGI, and KGII is subject to an interview
(4) Entry to Grades 1 to 11 is subject to passing an assessment test in Mathematics and English.
(5) School will review previous school reports and assessment test results in making a decision
(6) UAS will contact the applicant’s school when additional information is needed to give full consideration to his/her application
(7) Applicants must provide a photocopy of the final report card (current academic year)
(8) "A few students with moderate Special Educational Needs (SEN) are admitted."
(9) No students with severe Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are admitted for enrollment (KHDA)
(10) The school does not identify students who are gifted or talented (G&T) (KHDA)
(11) The number of children identified with Special Educational Needs after period of declining is now levelling off: (88:2015, 65: 2016, 2019: 70)
No
Not published
1030
1:8
US / American
31% (Above average)
2005
Al Badia, Dubai Festival City, Dubai
US / American (largest nationality)
Emirati: 88
Special Educational Needs (SEN): 70
Pre-kindergarten: 51
Age range: 4-18
total nationalities 75+
Approximate percentages by major nationality: US 23%, Canada 9%, Emirati 7%, Lebanon 7%, Egypt 7%, Indian 5%, Jordan 4%
Mixed, co-educational
Yes
Owner: After 13 years under the management of ESOL Education, the school has reverted to management by the building's owner, Al Futtaim, through its Al Futtaim Education Foundation. The school is resolutely not-for-profit.
Notes:
(1) Formerly Educational Services Overseas Limited / Esol Education
Mr. Walid Abushakra, Chairman
+971 (0) 4 232 5222 Ext 2110
80%
73.3%
66.6%
66.6%
80%
80%
73.3%
66.6%
60%
40%
60%
70%
50%
40%
50%
40%
40%
80%
100%
100%
70%
100%
85%
80%
75%
• School with significant potential and capacity to excel
• Pioneering, radical and inspirational new leadership
• Interesting mix of US and IB curricular
• Very good facilities
• Supporting investing governance
• Committed, supporting parents
• Outstanding whole child development of students
• Outstanding and pioneering commitment to Advanced Placement with a dedicated alternative stream option for students in parallel with the Dipoma
• Very high value fees
• Caring and happy school dynamics
• Developed and generous scholarship programme
• Lack of IB Career-related Programme limits post-16 options compared with the best schools
• Limited transparency across performance metrics
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