The original International Community School is a private K-12 school located in Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi. The school was first established in 1990 and caters to approximately 1,500 students, almost exclusively of Arab origin, with UAE Nationals the largest single grouping, followed by Jordanians, Egyptians and Syrians.

The Story so far...

Set up in 1990, ICS Mushrif is one of three schools currently operating in Abu Dhabi including branches at Al Najda and Khalidiya. Two further schools opened at Al Falah and  in Khalifa City for the 2020-21 academic year.

In an introduction to the school, those behind it explain that:
"ICS-Mushrif, a 21st Century school in Abu Dhabi, where everyone walks around with smiling faces feeling happy in a place where good friendships are made. The school lives its vision and mission each and every day: I-C-S... Inspire-Challenge-Succeed, is a practice that teachers and students embody in all areas of the campus.

Teachers inspire classes with expert-level knowledge and encourage each student to try harder, to be his/her "best self." Students are pushing boundaries, researching current events and holding intellectually stimulating conversations often leading to critical debates, each carefully forming his/her own opinion while challenging the status quo of what teens are capable of understanding. 
We are one family at ICS-Mushrif. Parents, students, teachers, and Admin are all in this experience together, working to support one another ensuring our youth has the tools and skills needed to succeed in an ever-changing landscape. Our students graduate making the world even brighter." 

International Community School Mushrif has gone through a period of change over the last few years, having moved from a school offering both a UK and US curriculum to an exclusively US curriculum more recently. 

There have also been significant changes in leadership and staffing, with notable improvements in the school's performance as a result, culminating in a Good rating for the first time from ADEK's inspectors during the inspection held in the 2019-20 academic year.  Two years later, and with the Covid 19 pandemic having taken hold in the intervening period, with all of the changes to the delivery of education that this caused, ICS Mushrif was awarded the second highest Very Good rating on its first post-pandemic inspection.

The Principal's introduction to the school provides further information about the school's goals which include to:

• Teach children to embrace lifelong learning
• Care about treasured heritage and values
• Promote [a] positive climate and supportive culture
• Foster academic achievement and the sense of responsibility
• Embrace an open minded approach to life, diversity, and respect for one another
• Enhance open communication
• Cultivate leadership in others
• Support and manage change
• Collaborate with all stakeholders

The school had been growing significantly to just over 1,430 students in 2019-20 and  in May 2022, this figure had increased further to almost 1,500 students.

The largest nationality group is Emirati (at 26%) followed by Jordanians,  Egyptians and Syrians.  Expat-Arabs make up the largest proportion of students at around 60%. Beyond these larger groups, there are a further 70+ nationalities represented at the school.

ICS offers mixed-gender classes from KG to Grade 4 and for students taking AP programs from Grades 9 to 12.  Classes are single gender from Grades 5 to 12 (with the exception of AP students as above).

There are four classes per grade with an average class size of 26, though the school is permitted to offer up to 30 places per class. 

The school currently employs 92 teachers, and 3 teaching assistants. Its teacher to student ratio is a reasonable 1:16 across the school. The majority of teachers are recruited from North America and Ireland, although the single largest teacher nationality is Lebanese. Ex-pat Arab teachers are not recruited overseas, but hired from within the UAE.

All teaching staff have a minimum of a Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university together with an ADEK teaching license in addition to their specialty degree or home country's license. Staff are provided with both in-house, school-led continuous Professional Development for all staff or off-campus training for specific course requirements. This investment is staff averages 3-5% of the school's annual budget.

Almost 3% of students had been identified with Special Educational Needs at the time of  the 2022 inspection.  ICS has one SEN coordinator (SEN-Co) and three support staff who provide pull-out support in a designated room or visit some classes for in-class support and observation. All SEN students' IEPs are reviewed regularly and updated during meetings between the SENCo, the subject teachers and the parents. The school budget covers the cost of supplemental learning or assessment materials.

What about the curriculum?

ICS follows the California State Common Core Standards, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) from KG to Grade 8, and offers an Advanced Placement program for Senior students wishing to apply to university. Advanced Placement (AP) courses were introduced in the 2018-2019 academic year. The first batch of AP students sat for the examinations in May 2019 at the end of Grade 12.  AP is the main College-entry exam for US universities.

Interestingly, the school is in the process of receiving authorization to be able to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in 2021. It does not appear that the IBDP has yet been offered to students at Mushrif. 
Viewed as the "gold standard" by many universities around the globe, there has been an increasing tendency towards offering this demanding academic program in the UAE over recent years.

Students follow the Ministry of Education curriculum for Arabic, Islamic Studies and Arabic Social Studies,  It has phased out the UK curriculum that was previously offered. 

ICS is internationally accredited by Cognia, ensuring that its High School Diploma will be recognised by universities around the world. It is also accredited with the College Board for AP and the International Baccalaureate Organisation.

Subjects offered through the school include Science, Mathematics, English, English Social Studies, Arabic, Arabic Social Studies, Islamic, French (compulsory from Grade 4 to 8 and an elective in Grade 11 and 12), Computing, Business Studies, Sociology, Psychology, Art, Music, and Physical Education. This is quite restrictive in terms of a range of study options.

In keeping with UAE national priorities and the focus on STEAM subjects, students continue to study sciences through to Grade 10. ICS-Mushrif is a registered SAT exam site with many ICS students sitting for the exam.

AP programs are relatively limited, including English, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.  

Academic studies are supported by a wide variety of extra-curricular activities and clubs for students to participate in: Eco-Club, Student Council, Happiness Committee, Safety Team, Innovation Club, Think Science, Robotics, ICT Club, Book Club, Model United Nations, School Band and Chorus, Tournament of the Minds, Entrepreneurship, Physics, Math, Arts & Crafts, Heritage Club, Calligraphy, Qur'an Kareem, Arabic Reading & Poetry.  Sports activities include Boys' & Girls' Swimming, Football, Basketball, & Volleyball which have play against other private schools.

A highlight for the school was when two ICS students and a teacher were the proud recipients of the Al Warden Scholarship Award to attend a week-long space camp program at the US Space and Rocket Center in the USA.

What about Academic Achievement?

ICS Mushrif has offered to share its SAT scores, with averages as per the below chart.  A clear improvement can be seen year on year.

Once mandatory military service was introduced, many Emirati students, on reaching the age of 18 or above, were required to enlist in the military straight out of high school with the exception of those who achieved outstanding grades. These students were allowed the opportunity to postpone their military service until after they have completed their bachelor’s degree.  Whilst this might have been expected to result in a reduction in the number of students going on to university, in reality, as a result of government scholarships offered to Emirati students, there has, in fact, been an increase.

An on-site school counselor hosts many university lecture visits both on ICS campus or at the university campus. The School counselor is available to international students and parents when selecting courses to satisfy graduation requirements for their home countries. Approximately 25% of students go on to Zayed University, 20% to the American University of Sharjah (Sharaka), 15% to Abu Dhabi University, 10% to the University of Sharjah, 5% to the Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, 2% to New York University Abu Dhabi and 2% to Rochester Institute of Technology, Dubai.  A further 21% of students join universities internationally including those located in Turkey, London, Canada, USA, Malaysia, Hungary, and Australia, 

What about facilities?

Facilities at the school include a library, two computer labs, a gymnasium (equipped for sports such as basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer and badminton), a swimming pool,  science labs, a music room, art room, cafeteria and medical clinic. Facilities are, in effect, satisfactory, but as the school continues to grow, its position in the centre of Abu Dhabi will put constraints on its ability to expand these offerings. The school is said to already be considering a move to a new location. Classroom sizes, as well as indoor/outdoor sport facilities are already an issue for the school.

Previous concerns raised by ADEK in relation to resources - and notably a lack of technology and interactive white boards in the classrooms - appear to have been addressed with the latest inspection report pronouncing the facilities and resources as Very Good.

What the inspectors say

The ADEK inspection report for 2019-20, rating ICS Mushrif Good for the first time, showed clear evidence of improvement and a positive step forward as a result of the new management team at the school. 

CS had been rated a "satisfactory" but also an "improving" school (now equivalent to Acceptable under the UAE's inspection model) by ADEK, for the third time, in 2017-18. 

The first (abbreviated) post-pandemic inspection resulted in a further improved rating to Very Good. Given the challenges that the pandemic presented to schools in terms of the delivery of education through remote learning, and the disruption this caused, to achieve such a significant step up in a relatively short period should not be under-estimated. 

Whilst the 2022 report provides no commentary, and for reasons that have not been explained (we assume to enable inspections to take place at all schools that had not been inspected in 2019 and 2020), the inspection team reviewed only four of the six key performance standards,  the change in ratings can be compared (although not entirely directly) across the two reports. 

In 2020, 12% of ratings were Very Good, whilst 88% were rated Good.  In 2022, 6% of measured were rated the highest possible Outstanding (although these related to Health and Safety), 59% Very Good, and 6% Good.  The balance (29%) of measures were not inspected. It is clear from the difference between the Very Good percentage across the two years, that there has been significant improvement. 

If you would like to read the ADEK inspection report - and we strongly recommend that you do so in order to understand those areas of strengths and those where improvement is required - you will find it here.

The Buzz

Parental feedback to WhichSchoolAdvisor.com is limited.

Feedback from the 2020 ADEK inspection report notes that "Partnerships with parents and the community are good. Communication with parents has improved through a digital programme, and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) has been extended. The reporting system is now more rigorous to give parents specific guidance."  The partnership between the school and parents was rated Very Good in the most recent inspection.

If you are a parent, teacher or student at ICS Mushrif and would like to share your opinions and experience with other potential members of your community, please complete our survey here.

What about the fees?

Fees range range from AED 22,630 in KG1 rising to AED 49,500 in Grade 12.  There are also additional fees for books (ranging from AED 300 in KG1 to AED 4, 385 in Grade 12), transport (AED 4,630) and uniforms (AED 400). Admission is an open process with an entrance test to determine skills gaps.

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