Best School for the Performing Arts and Broader Arts Programmes Nomination 2021:
Dubai College
Web site: here.
Our review: here.
Contact information: here
Email: Julia Jago, Registrar – [email protected]
Phone: +971 (0)4 3999111
Our rating: 
Background
On 4th May 1978 Dubai College was formally constituted to provide, within the Emirate of Dubai, a modern secondary education in the British style, to the highest academic standards for those families who are on short or long term contracts, and for those UAE children whose parents wish them to experience this kind of education.
Building on the founding mission, while recognising the responsibility for the future success of our students, the Senior Leadership Team, members of staff and the Board of Governors at Dubai College have an ambitious vision for the school in keeping with the 42-year heritage and growing global reputation; to be the leading school offering a British education overseas, this underpinned by its four value and ethical pillars of sporting, creative, philanthropic and academic endeavour.
“Our students do have a long track record of excelling academically and this year our GCSE results surpassed all previous records with an impressive 90% of students achieving grades 9-7. However, our enviable reputation stems from our consistent and sustained excellence in what we see as the four pillars of the College: sporting, creative, philanthropic as well as academic endeavour. We champion this broader holistic education in the great tradition of the British independent schools which recognize that by producing socially articulate and well-rounded students we are preparing them for their future far better than any exam ever will.
Art, Design, Music and the Performing Arts are integral to the whole Dubai College experience. Parents hoping for a single pointed focus on academic excellence need not apply.
For us creative expression and creative production are at least as valuable as outstanding academic results.
As a consequence, it is not surprising that in excess of 500 DC students take individual instrumental lessons both in and out of school, that around 355 students are involved in the annual drama productions, that the annual art and design exhibition attracts around 1000 visitors and that our departing students are as likely to pursue an art foundation course as they are to attend an Ivy league university.”
Michael Lambert. Headmaster. Dubai College.
“A quote that we regularly use at Dubai College is ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’. It lends itself in so many different ways, but in Art specifically we regularly refer to this idea of ‘playing’. Art is play; and it feels like playing. Playing is experimenting and exploring ideas. Playing leads to discovery and new ideas, however, whilst making art is fun, it can also be hard work that requires a great deal of commitment.
All great artists (including the ones at Dubai College) work hard and play hard.“
Alan Crawford. Head of Performing Arts. Dubai College.
Fees
Years 7-11: AED 27,494 per term, payable in advance.
Years 12-13: AED 31,133 per term, payable in advance.
Prospectus
Art: here
Music: here
Drama and the Performing Arts: here
Key features
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Music
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Performing Arts | Art | |
| Specialisms | Choirs, Bands, Symphony Orchestra, Guitar Ensembles, Flute Choir, Saxophone Quartets, instrumental and vocal tuition, academic music classes
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Drama and Theatre Studies and Music | Drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, textiles and sculpture. There is also a large focus on the History of Art and the analysis of artworks. Students at A Level go to the extent of producing their own timelines of the history of art.
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| Recent Achievement | Overall Winners of Young Musician of the Gulf and Runner Up prizes for the last two years. Keyboard and Small ensemble prize winners for 2018/19/20. Winners of Choirfest Middle East Senior School Choir 2017/18, and finalists in 2019/20.
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Two large scale successful musical theatre productions in our 900-seat auditorium (Guys and Dolls, The Little Shop of Horrors)
– One of students making it to Hollywood for the short and sweet festival -Students leaving to study Drama/Musical Theatre at Yale and Guildhall School of music.
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Each year, there are at least a couple of artists who achieve ‘highest performance/result worldwide’ from the Edexcel Examination board
Outstanding results annually, with 60-70% of our artists achieving the highest grade at both GCSE and A Level In the past 5 years, we have visited Venice twice for The Venice Biennale |
| Stand out features | Over 50 students take Music at GCSE. We offer over 35 music ECAs across the week with 5 choirs and 5 bands suiting all ages and abilities
Students in year 7 are provided an instrument to learn through the Beginner Band scheme. Over 55% of the school now learn a musical instrument. A focus on participation and performance ensures that music touches the lives of the whole school community |
900 seat auditorium
The newly built performing arts facility with a in built LED screen for digital devising. A purpose built green room and theatre with up to 140 seats Two custom made black box studios A wide range of skills taught and studied (DV8, Complicite, Kneehigh, Frantic Assembly, Stanislavski, Brecht, Berkoff, design elements of theatre, musical theatre). Drama specialist teacher of improvisation (Keith Johnstone) and the owner and founder of the Courtyard Theatre Director of Drama trained in Drama and Applied Theatre at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
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We encourage our students to stay up-to-date with the art world. Our students are constantly questioning what art is, its purpose, and challenging what it can be.
Regular trips to Bastakyia, The Jameel Arts Centre, Al Serkal Avenue and The Louvre We have attended ‘Art Dubai’ since it started, 13 years ago! Some of our past art students now work for Art Dubai and at the galleries in Al Serkal and Bastakyia. Last year, we visited Art Dubai with some of our artists and were given a tour by an alumnus! Each year we also hold our own art exhibition displaying works by GCSE and A level students. Each year the art teachers at Dubai College rewrite and reinvent the GCSE schemes of work. The purpose of doing this is to keep the art the students produce fresh, original and exciting. Themes include: “Bashed, Smashed, Broken and Trashed” – “Bones, Stones and Chromosomes” – “Let’s get Political” – “Food Glorious Food” – “Oh I do like to live beside the seaside” – “Building, Binding, Bonding’. We are hoping one day to collate them into a book to share with other art schools. At Dubai College, we pride ourselves on working with students on a one-to-one basis.
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| Facilities/
Infrastructure |
900 seat Auditorium, Recital Hall, 4 purpose built classrooms/rehearsal spaces, 24 iMacs with Sibelius and Logic composing software. 12 instrumental teaching rooms.
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900 seat auditorium
2 black box theatre spaces 140 seat theatre with LED screen.
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4 specialist teaching staff are highly qualified, enthusiastic, and passionate about Art.
4 spacious and bright studios, 2 are equipped with printing presses. A reading and research room which houses an impressive selection of over 500 art books, a massive collection of inspirational documentaries, as well as computers (which have paint on them). We subscribe to a number of monthly Art periodicals such as Modern Painters, Frieze, Crafts and Canvas.
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| Scholarship | Scholarships – Dubai College does not offer traditional scholarships in terms of discounts on fees, however, we will soon be launching a Pillars Programme. Contact Admissions for details.
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| Capital Investment | We invest in ownership of musical instruments to offer to Year 7s as part of our Beginner Band Scheme. The school now owns over 75 instruments.
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A new Sports and Performing Arts Centre of Excellence, equipped with a 140 seat black box drama studio, alongside rehearsal rooms, music practice rooms, two black box drama teaching rooms not to mention the 25m pool with spectator stand, the double width sports hall, spinning studio, aerobics studio, indoor running track, multi-gym and free weight zone and café Charlton’s, named after founding Headmaster Tim Charlton. The building completion certificate is due in mid-August meaning that we should be inside the SPACE for the start of the 2020-21 academic year. This really will set the new standard for school sports and performing arts facilities across the region.
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External examination partnerships:
ABRSM
What the Students say about Music
“Dubai College really is the reason why I am going to study music and drama at university next year. There is always something going on – choir practice, Jazz Band or Music Theatre rehearsals. There are so many opportunities to get involved with numerous performances in school and in the wider community, like at the Dubai Opera House. This has been my favourite way to decompress and balance out my academic studies!”
Casey Bell, student Year 13
“I loved my time at Dubai College singing in the Chamber Choir and taking Music as one of my A Levels. It is such a vibrant and inspiring department with an amazing team of teachers! I continued to read music at Manchester University and now have gained a full scholarship to study on the Opera course at The Royal College of Music.”
Zahid Siddiqui, Alumni Class of 2016
What the Students say about Art
“The art department at DC is like none other, mainly due to the infectious passion and excitement each teacher has for the subject as well as their commitment and support towards students. Here, art has no limits as we are constantly encouraged to innovate and mature as artists, which is highly reflective through the distinctive and extraordinary pieces created by students each year. As an artist at DC, I’ve been able to grow in confidence and express myself creatively in order to achieve my full potential, solely thanks to the unique and energetic atmosphere.”
Zainab Hussain, student Year 11
‘Dubai College lives and breathes art; it is built into DC’s very foundation. Time and time again, this is proven by the passion and enthusiasm of the DC art community. It is through their support that I’ve been able to fully explore the creative experience, from painting and sculpture to performance and film.’
Tarini Tipnis, student Year 11
“Personally, I feel that the art department in DC is one of it’s strongest. To be completely honest I didn’t have an interest to move to DC before I visited the art department, when I ended up joining the school I found that it really lived up to my expectations of it and I knew that if I were to pursue a future in this subject, DC was going to facilitate it best. From the teachers, resources, and space to the atmosphere and wide range possibilities.
Art at DC has really opened my mind to what art can be and changed me as an artist.”
Zeenat Javaid, student Year 11
Student Slipstream Graduating Institutions
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Holloway, Oxford, Royal Northern College of Music, University of Manchester, Royal College of Music, Arts Educational Schools, Urdang.
University Arts London (UAL – that includes Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea, the London College of Communication, the London College of Fashion, and Wimbledon), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nottingham, Loughborough, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, Cambridge (Architecture), Falmouth and Bath are just some of the Universities that our students have attended in the UK.
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Ryerson, Cornell, The New School (Parsons), Tufts and Brown are just some of the Universities that our art students have attended in the US.
Fine Art, Illustration, Graphic Design, Textiles, Fashion, Animation, The History of Art and Architecture are just some of the degree courses that our students have chosen to specialise in.
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