The Best School for Technical Education in the United Arab Emirates 2023 – 2024 Revealed. Top Schools Award Winner. Official.
The Winner
The SchoolsCompared.com Top Schools Awards for
The Best School for Technical, Industry and Vocational Education in the United Arab Emirates 2023 – 2024
is awarded to:
Dubai English Speaking School
&
Dubai English Speaking College
Our view of Dubai English Speaking School and Dubai English Speaking College
Dubai English Speaking School
Web: https://www.dessc.sch.ae/dess/welcome-from-the-headteacher
KHDA: Outstanding
Review: https://schoolscompared.com/primary-schools/dubai-english-speaking-school-dess-oud-metha/
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/dubai-english-speaking-school/
Dubai English Speaking College
Web: https://www.dessc.sch.ae/desc/welcome-from-the-headteacher
KHDA: Outstanding
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/dubai-english-speaking-college
The most award-wining school in the Emirates, and justifiably so, our view of this beyond-outstanding school starts with a vital point. Many believe, misguidedly, that Technical Education is an area of the curriculum that finds its first true focus in Secondary education only: Dubai English Speaking School (DESS) proves that they could not be more wrong.
If there is a single abiding shining star of an aspect of this absolutely exceptional school for younger children it is in its Design Labs – an absolute whirlwind centre for adventure in construction, building, design, innovation with every conceivable tool for making reality out of imaginations that we have seen in any school in the UAE. The richness and ambition of the journey that young children take in the basic building blocks of Engineering, Science, Technology and Mathematics at Dubai English Speaking School (DESS) set the benchmark in Early Years Education. Because of the exceptionally high investment in the most outstanding teaching, and in its child to teacher staffing ratio – and because of its whole culture of instilling in children a sense of purpose and responsibility, children use “real” tools, not plastic-make-believe.
Dubai English Speaking School is every bit the outstanding achiever here for children in STEAM and technical education as its slipstream Dubai English Speaking College.
This, of course, is highly strategic. DESSC is, to its core, an inclusive school. Deserved joint winners of the overall Best School in the UAE bar none at The Top Schools Awards in 2019-2020, the schools’ single minded purpose is to ensure that every one of its children achieves every ounce and more of their singular ambitions, potential and talents – and no child, ever, gets left behind.
Matthew Davies – Director of Vocational Education, Dubai English Speaking College, speaking of the ultimate destination, told us:
“Our Sixth Form curriculum at DESC is bold and British, rich and varied, and created to provide infinite pathways for our diverse students. Enhanced and enriched by a Super Curriculum the overall Sixth Form experience is one designed to ensure academic success alongside extraordinary experiences.
DESC prides itself on delivering what we believe to be the best vocational provision of any British curriculum school in the Middle East. We have taken care and the necessary time to grow our vocational provision to make sure it is world-class.
Our Technical/Vocational Stream courses have been carefully selected and resourced to ensure they are of the highest quality.”
In practice, DESC offers three pathways – Academic through A Levels, Technical/Vocational through BTEC and RSL, or a mix of the two. “Super curriculum” options can be added to this of which the Extended Project Qualification is a powerful fit for technical stream students.
Technical stream qualifications depend on practical and real-world application and, depending on the qualification pathway chosen, DESC has an exceptional network of industry placements and contacts.
In 2022 -23, 87% of all DESC BTEC/RSL grades were either Distinction (D) or Distinction Star (D*) and 100% of students passed their chosen qualification pathways:
“Both statistics are significantly above UK averages and testament to our commitment to providing bespoke pathways for our students.”
DESC students choosing the Technical/Vocational pathway choose from 8 BTEC/RSL (Rock School London) qualifications which, dependent on Level chosen, can be combined with an A Level, the EPQ or both.
There is no distinction made between the value of each route – each, in terms of UCAS entry, can be constructed to deliver the same equivalency:
| ACADEMIC PATHWAY | CODE AA | 3 A Level Subjects = 3 |
| VOCATIONAL PATHWAY A | CODE VA | 1 BTEC Diploma (worth 2) & 1 BTEC Sub Diploma (worth 1) = 3 |
| VOCATIONAL PATHWAY B | CODE VB | 3 BTEC Sub Diplomas (worth 1 each) = 3 |
| MIXED PATHWAY A | CODE MA | 2 A Level Subjects & 1 BTEC Sub Diploma (worth 1) |
| MIXED PATHWAY B | CODE MB | 1 A Level Subject & 1 BTEC Diploma (worth 2) = 3 |
| MIXED PATHWAY C | CODE MC | 1 A Level Subject & 2 Sub Diplomas (worth 1 each) = 3 |
| HYBRID | CODE H | Bespoke mix of BTEC/RSL & A Level |
The Technical/Vocational/Industry specialist stream qualification pathways at Dubai English Speaking College (DESC) include:
- BTEC Level 3 Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
- BTEC Level 3 Hospitality
- BTEC Level 3 Sport
- BTEC Level 3 Travel and Tourism
- BTEC Level 3 Applied Science
- BTEC Level 3 Creative Media
- RSL Level 3 CAPA – Creative and Performing
- RSL Level 3 MUSPRA – Music Practitioners
Stand-out in our view is the latter Music Practitioners qualification MUSPRA introduced for the first time to the UAE by DESC faculty. Students can follow any pathway within Performing, Composing, Music Technology and Music Business. The range of available units allows students to specialise in a specific area of study, or undertake units in a range of disciplines to broaden their skillsets. Examples of units available include: Composing for Interactive Media; Listening to Music; Music Stage Management; Composing for Adverts & Television; Session Musicianship; and, Live Sound Recording.
The depth and breadth of the subject and qualification technical stream specialist pathways are outstanding – but the icing on the cake is the sheer vibrancy of life at Dubai English Speaking College at British Sixth Form. Students are given the freedom to explore their future and grow as young men and women, Sixth Form facilities are beyond-outstanding and hugely warm – and the sense of purpose here, that something extraordinary is taking place as each student approaches their graduation, is something to behold. And no student, ever, is left behind – the commitment is for every DESC student to graduate with a future – and all the tools to make it one that sparkles.
Dubai English Speaking School and Dubai English Speaking College are an absolute… inspiration.
Award Presentation
Best-School-for-Technical-Education-Joint-winner-Winner-Certificate
The Top Schools Award for the Best School for Technical, Vocational and Industry Education in the United Arab Emirates 2023 – 2024 will be presented to Dubai English Speaking School and Dubai English Speaking College at a special Breakfast Celebration at The Emirates Golf Club on the morning of 16th November 2023. At the event the recipient of The Top Schools Awards 2023 – 2024 for Outstanding Contribution to Education will be revealed.
Historic winners of the Outstanding Contribution to Education in the UAE Award include H.E. Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, recognised for his era defining leadership of Education in Dubai as a force for good; and the Varkey Family, for their instrumental role in shaping education in the UAE, and ensuring the life chances for generations of children, following the founding of GEMS Education in 1959.
Our Finalists.
Our extraordinary Finalists and those schools which have achieved outstandingly in so many ways for children in the Best School for Technical Education category follow. Each of the following schools are recognised for their profound contribution to UAE Education in the Field of Technical, Vocational and Industry learning:
Cranleigh Abu Dhabi
KHDA: Outstanding
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/cranleigh-abu-dhabi
GEMS International School Al Khail
Web: https://www.gemsinternationalschool-alkhail.com/en
KHDA: Good with Very Good and Outstanding Features
Review: https://schoolscompared.com/all-through/gems-international-school-al-khail-dubai-hills-review/
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/gems-international-school-al-khail
Safa Community School
Web: https://www.safacommunityschool.com/
KHDA: Very Good with Predominant Outstanding Features
Review: https://schoolscompared.com/new-schools-in-uae/safa-community-school-dubai-al-barsha-south/
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/safa-community-school
The British School Al Khubairat
Web: https://www.britishschool.sch.ae
KHDA: Outstanding
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/british-school-al-khubairat-abu-dhabi
Review: https://schoolscompared.com/curricula/a-levels/the-british-school-al-khubairat-al-mushrif/
A final note.
The Top Schools Awards takes over a year to produce. It engages with parents, students educators and educationalists over countless months, and the work invested in these Awards is the stuff of sleepless nights and deeply felt responsibility. We produce these Awards to celebrate our amazing schools, our magnificent teachers – who are the centre of the universe, our school leaders, whose lives will be judged by their impact on children, and the amazing students that they build a future for. These Awards are only about recognising this – in a world in which our schools and educators have far, far too little recognition. If, on exploring these Awards, you do one single thing, it should be to reach out to each and every one and thank them for all they do, each and every one of our schools, teachers and school leaders. You have absolutely no idea how much that would mean.
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