New Chinese School in Dubai, Opens September
The first Chinese school in Dubai is set to open this September. Located in Mirdif the Chinese School Dubai and initially will offer classes up to grade five. The school will have a healthy intake of almost 200 pupils when it opens and has capacity for up to 2,000 students in total.
According to Yin Liping, the founding principal, the school will follow the model of the Hangzhou Number Two High School. The curriculum has a long heritage having been launched 120 years ago. The focus is on ‘high-level learning, innovation and helping pupils develop an international vision’, according to a press statement.
“China and the UAE have had a close long-standing friendship and there’s no better symbol for that friendship than a school,” said Dr Abdulla Karam, director general of the KHDA. “The Chinese School will be the heart of the Chinese community in Dubai and will foster a rich exchange of teaching and learning opportunities with other schools in Dubai. We are honoured that the first Chinese curriculum school outside of China is opening in Dubai. We look forward to the new possibilities and connections this will bring to our education community.”
According to the press statement the school will accept pupils of all nationalities and will be the first overseas Chinese school to get financial support from the Chinese government.
There has been a rapid expansion in the number of Chinese expatriates living in Dubai over the past ten years as well as concerted moves by the UAE authorities to welcome companies from a variety of sectors to work here. Many schools have reported an increase in the number of Chinese students attending school here so this move looks like a natural development.
