Parent Perceptions of Dubai Schools, Dubai British Schools
There is a strong correlation between the attainment of schools, and parent perceptions of Dubai schools, as captured in the ongoing Which School Advisor Survey.
Parents know and intuitively understand what is happening at a school.
The WhichSchoolAdvisor.com Survey is clearly more than a view on academic attainment however. The survey captures in many ways the feeling parents have towards a school, how much they feel included, and how well run they think it is.
Put another way, it measures to what degree parents think they have made the right choice. In this regard it deals with the classic marketing concern - buyer dissonance, the feeling of worry anyone has after they have made a big purchase.
In the survey we ask four questions we think are particularly relevant to this report:
- Would you recommend this school to other parents?
- How do you rate the academic performance of the school?
- How do you rate the feedback provided by the school?
- How do you rate the school's management of student behaviour?
Not all schools have yet had sufficient response in the survey to publish their specific results, however a sizable number have, and you can find the results below.
There are some clear leaders here. Parents who attend Sharjah English School, Dubai English Speaking College and Dubai English Speaking School, JESS Arabian Ranches, and Jebel Ali Primary School are a very happy bunch indeed.
There is a second set of schools that over time, and with more responses to the survey, we believe will fall in line with the first tier. These schools are: Dubai College, Jumeirah English Speaking School, and GEMs Wellington Primary.
All of these schools are clearly doing something right in how they communicate and interact with their parents, who clearly feel confident in the education being provided, the care their children get, and in the feedback they receive. These schools are not any cheaper than others on the list, in fact their average tuition fee will be above average, but they manage to instil in parents that money being spent, is being well spent.
There should be, and for the most part is, a correlation between whether parents would recommend a school, and parents' attitudes towards academic attainment, feedback and discipline, but there are examples where there is deviation.
There is also an interesting group of schools such as Repton, Horizon, Jumeirah College and Arab Unity where parents with children at the school would recommend the school to others, even though they are not completely satisfied with academic performance, discipline and feedback.
There will be many reasons for this but strong communications by the school, general happiness of children attending, the atmosphere of the school, and a strong school culture that parents buy into help define all of these schools.
Table: The WSA School Survey
| School | Parent Reccomending the school % (WSA) | Parent Satisfaction with academic performance | Parent Satisfaction with School communications | Parent Satisfaction with discipline |
| Kings Dubai | 87.50% | 87.50% | 62.50% | 75% |
| Sharjah English School* | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Dubai College | 86% | 100% | 92% | 100% |
| Dubai English Speaking College | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| GEMS Jumeirah Primary School | 100% | 67% | 67% | 76% |
| Horizon School | 100% | 67% | 67% | 83% |
| Jumeirah College | 75% | 50% | 50% | 75% |
| Jumeirah English Speaking School | 100% | 100% | 83% | 100% |
| GEMS Wellington International School | 33% | 50% | 33% | 50% |
| Jumeirah English Speaking School - Arabian Ranches | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Emirates International School - Jumeirah | 66% | 83% | 83% | 100% |
| Jumeira Baccalaureate School | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Raffles World Academy | 83% | 91% | 66% | 66% |
| Repton School Dubai | 100% | 75% | 50% | 50% |
| Cambridge International School | 50% | 50% | 75% | 100% |
| Dubai British School | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Dubai English Speaking School | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| GEMS Royal Dubai School | 25% | 66% | 66% | 66% |
| GEMS Wellington Academy - DSO | 60% | 70% | 60% | 70% |
| GEMS Wellington Primary School | 100% | 100% | 75% | 75% |
| Jebel Ali Primary School | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Regent International School | 33% | 66% | 16% | 83% |
| Star International School - Umm Al Sheif | 50% | 75% | 50% | 75% |
| The School of Research Science | 75% | 50% | 50% | 75% |
| The Winchester School | 67% | 33% | 50% | 66% |
| Arab Unity School | 100% | 67% | 50% | 33% |
Next > Best British Schools in Dubai: Nationality, Fees and Attainment
Jump to:
The Best British Schools in Dubai Part 1: Start Here
Best British Schools in Dubai: What We Measure
Best British Schools in Dubai: The Data we have Used
Best British Schools in Dubai: The Demand for Places
Best British Schools in Dubai: Post 16 Education
Best British Schools in Dubai: Secondary Education
Best British Schools in Dubai: Best British Primary Schools
Best British Schools in Dubai: Best British KGs
Best British Schools in Dubai: The WSA Survey, What Current Parents Think
Best British Schools in Dubai: Nationality, Fees and Attainment
Best British Schools in Dubai: A Final Summary
Best British Schools in Dubai Table: Contact Emails and Overview
