Deira International School is located in the newer part of old Dubai - Festival City, and is currently home to over 1,800 students from a mixed range of nationalities (over 80 in total), although the predominant ethnicity is Arab. The school is owned and managed by the not-for-profit Al Futtaim Education Foundation, part of the Al Futtaim Group, developers of Dubai Festival City.

The Story so Far...

When Deira International School (DIS) opened in 2005, it had a student cohort of 240 and a teaching team of 34 teachers.  In February 2023, according to the last KHDA report published, the school had grown to over 1,800 students from over 80 nationalities. Around 12% of students (216) are from the local Emirati population.   

Students are supported by a teaching team of 157, together with a further 53 teaching assistants and three guidance counsellors.  Teacher turnover in 2017-18, at 8%, was on the low side for Dubai (where the average is 20-22%), but has risen over recent years to 29% in 2022.  With most teachers being employed on two year contracts, it is not unusual to see a spike in numbers departing, but ongoing turnover at this level would be a concern.

Historically, with a staff:student ratio of 1:9, students were assured of a high degree of personal attention; this figure has grown to 1:12 in 2023 underlining the recent growth is student numbers.  The capacity of the school is 2,100 with the addition of two further buildings in 2016-17. 

Having been awarded an Outstanding rating by British Schools Overseas inspectors in late 2021 (the inspection is carried in line with UK Department of Education inspections), perhaps the most significant development of the 2022-23 academic year was the achievement of an Outstanding rating from the KHDA's DSIB inspectors for the first time. 

DIS has shown steady, but continuous improvement in terms of school performance, having been rated Good from 2011 to 2014, and Very Good from 2014-15 to 2019-20.  With no further inspections in 2020-21 and 2021-22 as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, the step up to Outstanding (the scale of which should not be under-estimated) in 2022-23 shows just how far the school has come under the leadership of Simon O'Connor and his team. Mr. O'Connor joined DIS at the start of the 2020-21 academic year from GEMS' KHDA Outstanding-rated Jumeirah College, where he had led a programme of continuous improvement for 7 years. 

With almost 25 years of leadership roles in the UK and UAE, (the latter since 2013), Mr. O' Connor is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education and has recently been elected to join the Board of Cobis -  The Council of British International Schools.  COBIS is the leading global association for international British schools overseas and represents over 450 members and supporting associates.  Deira International School is an Accredited COBIS member school.

The Director's opening remarks include: 
“As a successful school we will never stand still; we continuously strive for excellence through strategically developing practice and provision to continue to improve. Our DSIB inspection rating of ‘Very Good’ is testament to the high levels of attainment and progress, in all areas of the curriculum, being achieved here at DIS. Care and support rated as ‘Outstanding’, underpins all our decision making and daily practice. Our intense focus on student well-being, health and safety, community building and most importantly personalised learning makes DIS a very special school".

The school states that its Vision is:
To create an outstanding, multi-cultural learning community which empowers students to achieve their potential, become life-long learners and responsible global citizens.

Its Mission Statement notes:
At DIS we believe all students will fulfill their potential in an inclusive, forward thinking and safe environment in which each child’s individuality is valued and encouraged. Our committed team of educators will provide opportunities for creativity and global awareness through a holistic and nurturing curriculum. They will hold high expectations, use innovative learning and teaching approaches, and encourage the celebration of cultural diversity. We will foster partnerships where students, parents, staff and the wider community will actively support and contribute to the achievement of the DIS Vision.

DIS is fully accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS), British Schools Overseas (BSO) and International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). The school is also a member of the British Schools in the Middle East (BSME) organisation and the Middle East IB Association (MEIBA).

In January 2021, the school was awarded by an international education research organisation with The Digital Technology in Learning award for an effective artificial intelligence and analytics programme to actively support teaching and learning.

Parent feedback to WhichSchoolAdvisor.com from early 2023 would suggest that the strengths of the school have been clearly developed over recent years - notably following the arrival of the new Principal (now Chief Education Officer) Simon O'Connor. 

Overall, the school seems to have many strengths, including dedicated teachers, a diverse and inclusive environment, strong leadership, and a focus on academics. Among the feedback received from 133 parents at DIS in the past year is the following:

The strengths of the school include Strong leadership, Dedicated, highly trained teachers who inspire students, Encouragement for students to take risks, the Exciting range of leadership, academic, extra-curricular and sporting opportunities for students, Teachers' high expectations of students, focused on independence and academic excellence, and Effective engagement and communication with parents. 
Parents were particularly keen to underline the school's transparent approach, notably in regard to its ethics, Racial nondiscrimination, balance, and equal treatment for all students, and in communication and feedback including its academic results.  They also praised the way in which DIS embraces diversity and inclusiveness, noting the school's collaborative and supportive environment.

Of course, not every parent shared the views of the majority, and there are some areas which respondents felt could be improved.

These include a perceived lack of religious activities for an Islamic country, certain extracurricular activities being highly priced and limited in to their range (notably debating), high fees (particularly with regard to students with additional learning needs), and transport issues such as Entry and exit for the car parking during morning hours and Bus pick-up timings.

Find out more about what parents, students and the KHDA think under The Buzz.

We were pleased also to see that a significant number of teachers had shared their views.

They described the strengths of DIS as the 'Positive culture and strong leadership that values staff and encourages a great work-life balance, and a clear vision and determination from senior leadership with excellent changes for student improvement, including a firmly embedded school vision, personalized learning, and community spirit.
Other positive feedback included approachable staff, with excellent facilities and resources, high standards in academics, sports, and well-being, strong emphasis on teaching and learning, with support and empowerment for staff, a collaborative coaching culture and a sense of being valued, and, lastly, inclusivity, support for students with additional needs, and great facilities.

Again, inevitably, staff too raised their concerns, commenting that overall, while the school was commended for its positive culture, strong leadership, and commitment to student well-being, there were issues about workload, staff engagement, and certain school practices that could be improved to enhance the overall working experience. Additionally, there were calls for better HR/admin-academic communication and periodic staff package reviews to address inflation in Dubai.

Finally, students, too,  voiced their opinions about DIS, commenting on its strong IB programme  and high-quality facilities, welcoming community with its encouragement of inclusivity and diversity, and acceptance of differences. They praised the good overall learning environment and emphasis on student comfort, the support for students, receptive, caring teachers who want students to excel, and access to materials. 

Students are supported by a teaching team of 182, together with a further 47 teaching assistants.  Teacher turnover in 2017-18, at 8%, was on the low side for Dubai (where the average is 20-22%). 

With a staff:student ratio of 1:9, students are assured of a high degree of personal attention.  The capacity of the school is 2,100 with the addition of two further buildings in 2016-17 and this has enabled the school to reduce class sizes, whilst offering additional places across the school.

What about support for Students of Determination and those with Gifts and Talents?

The school also has a substantial number of students of Determination (220 in 2022-23)  who are provided with access to specialist SEN support.  DIS is an inclusive school with approximately 12% of students identified with SEND requirements. Provision for students with additional learning needs is rated Very Good by the KHDA.

What about the curriculum?

The school follows an English National Curriculum model which is adapted for the international context and the 80+ nationalities represented in the student body. Senior students take the Cambridge Board  IGCSE  examinations in Year 11 and move into the International Baccalaureate Organisation authorised  Diploma Programme (IBDP) and International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme (IBCP) in Years 12-13.

DIS offers a wide range of after-school activities. Extracurricular sports include boys' and girls' football, basketball, rugby, tennis and swimming. The school competes in several of the Dubai-based leagues including Basketball, Rugby, Touch Rugby, Netball, Football and Cricket. Students from DIS recently won two prestigious awards at the 2019 UAE Teen Sports Awards, including Team of the Year – the U19 Rugby Team and Gymnast of the Year. A vocal and instrumental programme offers a broad range of musical study. Band, chorus, dance and art programmes are also offered along with other academic and non-academic programmes. 

The school is a strong advocate of Outdoor Education and Cultural trips and has conducted student expeditions and educational tours to such locations as New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Lebanon, Germany, Nepal, Austria, Mauritius, Vietnam and Malawi. Camps in the UAE are currently provided for Year 4, 5, 6, 7 & 9 students. Deira International School delivers the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme in support of the IB Diploma Creativity Action and Service requirement.

Note: Separate lessons for physical education are provided for boys and girls from years 5 to 13.

What about the facilities?

Deira International School sits on an 80,000 sq. m. campus at the heart of Dubai Festival City. Its facilities include libraries, a multi-media centre, an IB centre, a Business Studies centre, Science laboratories, Design and Technology classrooms, Music rooms, Drama studios, Creative Art classrooms, a Performing Arts hall, sports halls, outdoor swimming pools and large sports fields (including a full size grass football pitch).  

Read about the look and feel of DIS at our Visit Experience here.

A wide range of improvements have been made, with further planned, since the school's management reverted to Al Futtaim (the owners of the site and buildings) in 2017.

What are Academic Achievement?

WhichSchoolAdvisor.com is particularly pleased to see the addition of (strong) examination results on the school's web site.

In 2023, the school again shared its IB Diploma and IGCSE results with WhichSchoolAdvisor.com. 

There was much concern about the decision by both the IBO and UK Examination boards to return to marking based on grades boundaries in place prior to the Covid 19 pandemic and the impact this would have on students' results (and future plans). This  followed a significant rise in top grades being awarded in 2020 and 2021 as a result of teacher-assessed grades during the pandemic.

DIS was one of the schools to provide full disclosure of its results in a year when many UAE schools chose to hold back some data (notably in respect of pass rates).

DIS' IB cohort of 67 students achieved an average point score of 34.4, well above the global average of 30.24 points, and the UAE average of 31.97 points.   In common with many schools, there was a fall in pass rates (to 92.5%) but this figure was also well ahead of the global average pass rate  79.3% and the UAE pass rate of 89.7%.   The highest scoring students achieved one off the perfect score of 45 points, with  44 points and 84% of results received were for 30+ points, whilst 45% achieved 35+ points and   13% received 40+ points. 

You can see the full round up of UAE IB results for 2023 here.

IGCSE results for 2023 were also shared in full. 

With a cohort of almost 120, students were entered for 1,000 IGCSE examinations. 28% of all entries were awarded the top A* grade, whilst 56% received A*-A grades, 78% A*-B and 94% A*-C (the pass grades).    89% of students achieved the UK minimum expectation of 5 IGCSE passes from A*-C including Maths and English.  

These results mean that DIS was within the top quarter of UAE schools based on their A*-B results. You can find the chart, and details of all UAE school results shared with WhichSchoolAdvisor.com, here.

 In 2022, DIS shared its results with us directly, advising that with an average point score 35.4, 78 students were entered for the examinations. The highest point score achieved was one off the top score at 44 points.    88.4% of students achieved 30 points or more, whilst 59% achieved 35 points or more and 21.8% were awarded 40 points or more.

A round up of the IB results across the UAE can be found here.

DIS also shared the 2022 I/GCSE results with us. A cohort of 98 students were entered for 831 examinations. 31% of entries were graded A*, whilst 54% achieved A*-A. 75% of all entries received A*-B and 96% of results were graded A*-C. 

A round of the 2022 I/GCSE results across the UAE can be found here.

With the cancellation of examinations in both 2020 and 2021 as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, the most recent examinations sat by students took place in 2019. Centre-assessed Grades were awarded to students for 2020 and 2021.

DIS' IB results for 2021 were significantly higher than those of previous years.  Not only did the school achieve an average point score of 37.6 (placing it among the top 8 schools in the UAE, based on results released to WhichSchoolAdvisor.com), but the 100% pass rate and with 38% of awards being at 40 points or more, these results are new record for the school.  Not only did four students achieve the maximum result of 45 points, but uniquely, this included twins Naz and Nil Karadede.

A round up of UAE IB results for 2021 can be found here and for 2020  here.

2018-19 IB Diploma results were stronger than in 2017-18, and with a considerably larger cohort, the average of 34 points was well above the global figure and one student obtained 44 points and a second 43 points.

For the IB Diploma the average grade of DIS students was 34 in 2016-17 - one of the highest averages in the UAE, and 5 points above the world average. A 34 point grade would be sufficient for most Red Brick universities in the United Kingdom.  

IGCSE results	2019	2018
Name of School	Deira International School
No. of students in IGCSE level cohort:	114	90
% of cohort entered for IGCSE exams	100	100
No. of exam entries	970	751
% of exam entries graded A*/9-8	27	12
% of exam entries graded A*-A /9-7	54	40
% of exam entries graded A*-B /9-6	80	69
% of exam entries graded A*-C /9-4	95	89
% of students achieving 5 A*-C/ 9-4 including English and Maths	95	88
Overall student pass rate A*-C	n/p	89
Number of students excluded from the statistics	0	0

The IGCSE results for 2018-19 showed an improvement compared with the previous year with 80% of students achieving A*-B grades and 89% of exam entries being rated A*-C.

You can find Deira International School's results in full here

What the inspectors say

The most recent report issued by the KHDA  saw Deira International School finally receive the Outstanding rating that we had predicted.  Its Achilles Heel, in common with many schools in the UAE, had been in the teaching and progress of students in Arabic. Given the high proportion of Arabic (and especially Emirati) students in the school, this was inevitably a particular focus of the inspectors. 

In common with almost all UAE schools, no physical inspection took place at DIS during the 2019-20 or 2020-21 academic years as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.  The 2022-23 inspection was the first, therefore, to have taken place in four years, during which schools and students had gone through substantial challenges as a result of the pandemic.

Every rating for the five key performance standards of Students personal and social development and their innovation skills, Teaching and assessment, The curriculum, The protection, care, guidance and support of students, and Leadership and management are now rated Outstanding.

Student achievement also saw improvements, notably in the Foundation Stage and the post-16 phases, where all measures for English, Maths and Science are now Outstanding. In Primary and Secondary, attainment is rated Very Good and progress Outstanding across the same core subjects.

There has also been substantial progress in Islamic Education and Arabic as a first language - now rated Good across the school for attainment and progress (and Very Good for the latter measure in Primary).  Arabic as a second language also now shows Good attainment and Very Good progress across both the Primary and Secondary sections.

The DSIB inspection team identified the strengths of DIS as:

• The outstanding provision across the school, including teaching and learning, assessment, and the curriculum
• The outstanding attainment the post-16 phase and outstanding progress across all phases in English, mathematics and science
• Students’ understanding of Islamic values, personal development, social responsibility, and world cultures supported by their comprehensive and confident use of technology
• The health, care, safety, and security provided by the school to support welfare and well-being, as well as encouraging academic success and personal growth
• The exceptional leadership [our highlight given the rare use of this term]  and governance supported by strong partnerships with parents.

In terms of areas of improvement, the inspection team recommended that DIS:

• Improve students' attainment and progress in Islamic education and Arabic by raising the quality and consistency of teaching and learning to match the very best practice seen across the department and the wider school.
• Identify, address, and diminish the gaps in the achievements of different groups of students.

If you would like to read the entire KHDA inspection report - and we strongly recommend that you  do so in order to understand the reasons behind the ratings and the recommendations for improvement- please go here.

The Buzz

In the WhichSchoolAdvisor.com Parent Survey results were not as positive as we would have expected. We have received 133 surveys from parents. There has been a significant improvement in feedback with 80% of parents who would now recommend the school to others although 11% were not sure and 9% would not.  77% (slightly above the UAE average of 75%) stated that they were satisfied with the academic performance of the school with a further 17% partially satisfied. 22% of parents (compared with a UAE average of 25%) had considered moving their child to another school,.

We were surprised, based on the generally positive feedback, that the overall parent rating for DIS is 3.4/5 - a positivity rating of 68%.  This may be due to two factors - firstly, that 40% of respondents felt that their child required external tuition (compared with a UAE average of 29%)  and only 43% of respondents felt that school fees represented value for money. 43% partially agreed with this statement, whilst 14% (close to 1 in 6 parents) disagreed with this statement.

If you are a parent, teacher or senior student at Deira International School, please share your experience and opinions with other potential members of your community by completing our survey.

In a new initiative for the 2022-23 academic year, the DSIB inspection teams evaluated a new performance standard at all Dubai schools - 'The quality of wellbeing provision and outcome'  - which was found to be at a very high level (the highest of four possible ratings).  The inspectors took into account feedback from parents and students as part of the evaluation.

The inspectors found that:

• Governors and senior leaders place wellbeing as a high priority in this very inclusive school. Frequent surveys of students' wellbeing alert the staff to concerns which are quickly addressed. The school systematically collects, analyses, and uses data to monitor and refine its whole-school approach to wellbeing. This results in improved strategies to measure and promote wellbeing and engagement. Governors are highly supportive and actively monitor the wellbeing work of the school.
  
• The wellbeing team works very effectively to ensure that students' pastoral and academic needs are carefully monitored. There are very effective and detailed assessment systems to monitor academic and personal development. All students have direct access to the adults responsible for them, including classroom teachers and counsellors. Continuous professional development and personal welfare for all teachers are consistently provided by senior leaders and as a result, morale is very high. Parents work as effective partners with the school. A range of communication systems ensure that their concerns are heard.
  
• The school successfully plans for and implements a holistic approach to wellbeing development. There are many opportunities for students to adopt leadership roles. They have access to a wide range of extra-curricular activities including residential events. Excellent transition arrangements are provided across the different phases. Healthy lifestyles are promoted well, and students’ health is regularly monitored. Students say they are valued, happy in school and know how to keep safe. The school is a vibrant and harmonious community.

Our View

As long ago as 2013, we noted in our review that Deira International was "a school not content with its Good rating". It has proven us right. As one of a small group of schools ranked the highest Outstanding rating, this puts Deira International inside the tier-one ranked Outstanding Dubai and Abu Dhabi schools.

In 2019 we wrote "Under the strong leadership of Al Futtaim Foundation and Simon O'Connor, we believe that the school can address the key concerns of the inspectors in relation to Arabic as a first language, and we believe that Deira International must surely be rated Outstanding in the near future".  Whilst Covid 19 may have delayed this achievement by several years, we are very glad to see that our prediction has been fulfilled!

What about the Fees? 

Fees for the school are on now on the high end of the spectrum. The school has been raising fees every year at the upper end of the range the KHDA allows - and exceeding them in some years. Tuition fees start from AED 42,487 in FS1 and FS2, reaching AED 60,048 in Year 7 and rising to AED 85,599 in Years 12 and 13.  Compared with many other outstanding-rated schools, however, secondary and post-16 fees are on the moderate side.

This school is in a Best School by parents ranking

Deira International School is a Best of school, a ranking determined by parent surveys on the site. It can be found in the following Best of rankings:

• #131 in Best Schools in the UAE
• #52 in Best Premium Schools in Dubai
• #37 in Best Premium British Schools in Dubai
• #29 in Best IB Schools in Dubai
• #51 in Best British Schools in Dubai
• #25 in Best BTEC Schools in Dubai
• #87 in Best Schools in Dubai
• #28 in Best IB DP Schools in Dubai

Are you looking for a place for your child, and want help from our school consultants? If so, click on the link below, and we will forward your request for information to the school or schools of the same type that we are confident have availability. This is a free service for our readers. Request Information