Mayoor Private School Abu Dhabi Review
Mayoor Private School has been rated Good in the 2021-22 ADEK inspection process as confirmed in April 2023. The report can be found under the Inspection Report tab. The review will be updated in due course.
The story so far...
The school is located in Al Wathba South, one of the newer residential areas of Abu Dhabi, just off the Abu Dhabi –Al Ain highway.
It aims to promote a well-rounded growth of each student emphasising intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth through all domains of knowledge. It sees itself as standing apart from “the plethora of mushrooming CBSE schools, primarily because of its emphasis on 'student centered learning' wherein the spontaneous growth and holistic development of the child is ensured”.
As would be expected, the vast majority of students are of Indian nationality with a scattering of others - Pakistani, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Filipino - making up a total of 2% of the school’s 1,520 students according to the last ADEK inspection report from January 2019.
Inevitably, the 90+ teachers and 20+ teaching assistants are also predominantly Indian nationals. With a staff:student ratio of 1:20 in KG, and 1:14 in the remainder of the school, class sizes are on the lower side for an Indian curriculum school. A staff turnover of 4% is very much on the low side, and points to a good level of stability.
MPS provides students with a “learning environment that is safe, caring, friendly and educationally stimulating. Students develop their knowledge and skills to become lifelong learners to work collaboratively, fairly and effectively with others, and also develop respect and appreciation for the UAE culture and Islamic religion, along with other cultures; to create a better and more peaceful world”.
What about the curriculum?
Mayoor School offers the CBSE Curriculum with a strong focus on the development of 21st century skills of Creativity, Collaboration, Communication and Critical Thinking. The curriculum is delivered through Project-based learning and individual learning with formative assessments which are held on an ongoing basis. The curriculum includes content around the knowledge of UAE history and honours the culture of UAE and Islam with commitments to the local heritage of Abu Dhabi, in order to develop a strong national identity.
The Principal, Ms. Anna Pagdiwalla in her introduction to school notes “I take great pride in the calibre of our faculty and staff who are experienced and committed to providing an outstanding inquiry based programme for their students both in the classroom environment as well as in our co-curricular programme”.
Aside from the clear academic engagement, MPS has a strong focus on extracurricular activities for the students, as well as professional development for the teachers. Teachers and students work together not just in the classroom, but also on the athletic field and during other out of classroom activities.
A particular strength of the School is its use and integration of Information Technology as one of the ways to teach the skills, knowledge and behaviour that students need as responsible citizens in a global world. In addition to the core subjects, Hindi is offered to students as a second language from Grade 1 onwards and French is offered from Grade 4 onwards. Music and Art are considered an important focus as a basic and artistic means of communicating and the school offers a range of options. The school has started to offer more innovative options including Business Studies for Middle/High school students.
True to their promise of a holistic education, a wide range of ECA’s are also offered including Intra school activities and competitions such as Debate, Recitation, Spelling Bee, Quiz, and Little Chef. Students can choose from activities as diverse as Literary Club, Aryabhatta club- Vedic, Chess, Indoor sports, IT Club, Performing Arts Club, Fine Arts Club, Aerobics club, Fusion Band club and Home Science club. Additional activities include Robotics, Gymnastics, Karate, Yoga, Keyboard, Table Tennis, Badminton, Creative Science, Computer Programming, Canvas painting, Creative science, Soccer, Professional dance, and Classical -Vocal Music.
What about support for Students of Determination and those with Gifts and Talents?
Whilst the school says very little about its provision, the ADEK inspection team were largely satisfied with the available support. This may be as a result of the relatively low number of students with additional learning needs, at 2%, approximately 30 students.
The number of students with Gifts and Talents (G&T) is not identified, but the inspection report notes "Rigorous systems identify G&T and students with SEN and effective plans are in place to address their needs; particularly the needs of students with SEN. In a minority of lessons, the most able are not effectively challenged, hence they do not always achieve their potential. The wide range of clubs available supports those who are talented for example in PE, arts, and music."
What about the facilities?
Facilities and resources at the school appear impressive. MPS has introduced one laptop per child (from Grade 1 onwards) and one tablet with stylus each for use with KG students. This brings in customised learning through a variety of high quality apps, which directly address students' requirements. 1-to-1 programs (also known as 'anywhere, any time learning' or 'laptops for students' programs) provide students with personal portable computers to enhance opportunities for learning, by nurturing individual (1-to-1) learning experiences. This 1-to-1 program is a move towards individualising learning, which can increase independence and self-initiated learning in students, and also extends their learning beyond the classroom.
Facilities include Maths, integrated Science and Computer labs, dining for 500 students at a time, an international standard Volleyball Court, Mini Soccer Field, an International standard Basketball Court, 2 Swimming Pools (Half Olympic size & Leanners' Pool), an International standard Handball Court, Indoor Badminton Courts, Indoor Table Tennis Courts, 2 International standard Tennis Courts, a Chess Indoor Hall, an Adventurous Play Area for KG and Grade 1 students, and a large Multipurpose Hall.In addition to the 1-1 laptop program, an audio visual facility includes CDs to cater to requirements of most subjects across all grades.
All classrooms are equipped with a LCD projector and white boards used for projecting student presentations, videos and educational CDs. The Library is equipped with 9000 titles of books (fiction and non- fiction), reference books, magazines and journals all designed to supplement the curriculum.
What about academic achievement?
Unfortunately, MPS does not publish full details of its results, relying solely on details of its Toppers for the Grade 10 and 12 CBSE examinations. This simply does not provide an overview of the results of all students, focusing instead only on the best. Whilst exam success should not be the be-all and end-all of education, they are an important factor in enabling parents and their children to determine the likely outcome of their efforts and we strongly recommend that all schools are transparent in this regard.
In fact, the latest ADEK inspection report notes that CBSE results in English and Science were Outstanding, whilst the results for Maths were Very Good. Given the positive feedback from the inspection team, it would seem that there is good reason to celebrate the overall achievement of MPS' students, rather than focusing on the few.
What the inspectors say
The school’s first ADEK inspection was carried out in 2015-16 when MPS was rated Acceptable. In its most recent inspection, which took place January 2019, the school was rated Good for the second time, following on from its improvement to this rating in its 2017 inspection.
Commenting on the overall performance of the school, inspectors were very positive in their remarks, noting that "The school has grown significantly since the previous inspection. The principal has been in post since the school opened in 2014. A number of new teachers have been recruited and are undergoing professional development in the application of innovative teaching strategies promoted by the school. The current Grade12 are the first students to pass through the school. Teacher turnover is low.
The school has maintained overall good performance with many improved aspects. Strong leadership, rigorous self-evaluation and focused professional development have sustained mainly good quality teaching. Students benefit from a broad curriculum, creative teaching and very caring and supportive environment."
In terms of the strengths of the school, the inspection team found these to be:
- Improved attainment in mathematics in KG, primary and middle.
- Attainment in science has improved in all phases. There is improved achievement in Arabic in the middle phase.
- The processes for the assessment and tracking of student progress are comprehensive. Students receive appropriate feedback and goals for improvement.
- The very good use of technology enhances students’ learning.
- The day to day management of the school, its facilities and resources help to promote a positive and attractive learning environment.
- Students care about the environment and participate in a wide range of sustainability schemes locally and nationally.
In respect of areas of improvement, these were found to be the need to:
- Raise the levels of student attendance to further support improved achievement by:
- ensuring that parents are aware of the impact absence has on external examination outcomes
- developing a reward system for good attendance. - Ensuring that the school development plan is used effectively to monitor school performance more accurately by:
- using assessment information to set precise, measurable targets for improvement in achievement in all subjects and phases and monitoring these closely
- identifying targets to improve the quality of teaching
- identifying the gaps in teacher’s expertise and setting targets for improvement. - Developing the consistent use of strategies in a minority of lessons, to promote innovation, independent learning and providing challenge for the most able by:
- continuing to provide targeted professional development
- ensuring that teacher’s plan open-ended tasks allowing students to be independent learners
- providing more opportunities for students to be creative and to use research and enquiry skills in all lessons
- ensuring that teachers model the features of writing.
If you would like to read the full inspection report - and we strongly recommend that you do so in order to understand the reasons behind the ratings - you will find it here.
The Buzz
WhichSchoolAdvisor.com has received a relatively low number of responses to our School Survey and not sufficient to be able to provide a representative analysis of parents' views. Parents' views were equally divided between whether they would recommend MPS, whether they were unsure, or whether they would not!
If you are a parent, teacher or student at Mayoor Private School, please share your opinions and experiences with other potential members of your community by completing our survey here.
The ADEK inspectors noted that communication with parents and the wider school community is very good. Parents receive regular feedback about their child’s progress and their views are welcomed through the school’s virtual classroom. The parent council supports the work of the school. Groups of mothers meet the principal to discuss ways of improving communication and other aspects of school life.
Our View
Mayoor Private School is one that is clearly on the way to delivering its ambitions in relation to the holistic approach to its students, backed up by a very strong curriculum. This is a school that is going from strength to strength. If we would sound one word of caution, it would be in relation to the speed of growth of the school, which is often found to be a factor in whether new schools can continue to manage their performance against the challenge of additional student numbers. However, at this point in time, there is nothing to suggest any concerns in this regard.
In Whichschooladvisor.com’s opinion, this is definitely a school to watch.
What about the fees?
Fees are AED 15,000 in KG and Primary to AED 25,000 for Grades 9-12. This is on the high side for Indian curriculum schools.
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