EVERYONE’S A WINNER!
Students of GEMS New Millennium School, Al Khail, now have the option of choosing either the British or Indian curriculum from Grade 8 and continue in the same school
Sonali Bhaumik doesn’t think twice when asked to share her views on the new initiative by GEMS New Millennium School, Al Khail, offering dual curricula – CBSE and IGCSE – to students in Grade 8 and upwards. ‘Let me put it this way,’ says the Indian mother of two. ‘Had this choice been available when my son was studying, I surely wouldn’t have considered moving him to another school to pursue the British curriculum.’
Her daughter Jovita Bhaumik is a middle school student at GEMS New Millennium Al Khail (NMS) and Sonali is happy that she now has the option to either continue with the CBSE curriculum she is following or, if she chooses to, shift to the IGCSE curriculum without having to move schools. ‘This is truly an extremely helpful initiative – for parents and students.’
Sonali is not alone in thinking this.
Anand Pujari, whose son Ishan is a Grade 8 student at NMS, is also pleased with the school’s move to offer the National Curriculum for England as an option from this academic year. ‘My son follows the CBSE curriculum. But now I’m quite excited that he has an option to pursue the British curriculum without having to change schools.
‘Imagine being offered two leading curricula options in the same school! That is truly appreciable. Ishan is keen on tech and photography so I think IGCSE might be good for such students,’ he says, admitting he is still weighing both options.
GEMS New Millennium School opened its gates for students in 2013 and has since been taking major strides. A day boarding school, it offers a plethora of innovative after-school activities including ensuring that the students finish their homework at school itself. ‘In fact, one of our tag lines was that ‘students carry their passions home, not their homework’,’ says Fatima Martin, principal of the school.
If in 2015, the school received a rating of ‘Good’ from the Dubai School Inspection Bureau, four years later, it moved up a notch earning a rating of ‘Very Good’.
Not content to rest on laurels, Ms Martin and her team began working on an initiative to take the school to further heights. ‘Two years ago, I proposed the idea of offering a dual curriculum pathway to students from Grade 8,’ she says. The team approached the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). ‘The
KHDA has a very systemic plan for such proposals,’ she says.
Apart from fine-tuning the academic plans, the school also had to put forward the rationale behind offering a dual curriculum, evidence that the change will be successful and not detrimental to the school’s inspection rating, as well as the proposed curriculum, admission policy, the quality assurance that will go into establishing the curriculum, the implementation process, learning resources and more. ‘KHDA was also particular about the happiness quotient and the inclusion programme of the National Agenda, among other things,’ says Ms Martin.
The process may have been lengthy but the stakeholders left no stone unturned to ensure that all the required boxes were ticked before launching the programme.
WHY THE CHANGE?
Given the international status National Curriculum for England holds, some parents prefer their kids opt for the IGCSE programme if they are planning to join universities across the world.
‘We felt it is possible to retain such students and families within GEMS New Millennium School, Al Khail itself by offering them this dual option,’ says the principal.
Many students, she admits, are happy to pursue the CBSE programme ‘thanks to the pedagogy, commitment and pastoral care they receive from the staff. In fact, our strength in Grade 10 and 11 is the highest’.
Ms Martin also highlights the ‘enriched curriculum’ that her school offers. ‘Among other things, there’s a genius hour programme where students work towards solving global challenges, achieving the UN’s millennium development goals.’
NMS also has 30 after-school clubs where students can choose from sports, performing and visual arts, theatre, dance, robotics, public speaking… ‘They do not pay anything extra for these programmes; the monthly fees cover all these activities,’ says Ms Martin.
Another highlight of the school is that it offers 23 CBSE subjects in Grade 11. It introduced artificial intelligence as a standalone subject from Grade 8 and the IBM Digital Nations programme in Grade 9. The school has also mindfully included several Expo-related themes in the curriculum to give students a better overview of the country they are residing in. ‘We offer challenge-based learning with solution-based outcomes,’ says Ms Martin.
While Sonali admits that curriculum is an important factor in choice of school, ‘what I like about NMS is that the teachers make learning fun and offer immense opportunities to students to explore their inner talent,’ says the Indian expat, pleased with the way her daughter is blossoming at the school.
‘Jovita enjoys playing basketball, excels in swimming; her passion for music was nurtured at NMS .... she was one of the first students from this school to join the GEMS choir last year. Her communication abilities have increased as has her self-confidence; a clear improvement all through her journey from primary until middle school now.’
Anand, parent of Ishan, is also pleased with the ‘huge change I see in my son since he joined this school’.
Ishan’s passion for technology and everything related to it, was quickly spotted by the school who offered him all facilities to hone his skills. ‘What I find creditable – and for which I have immense gratitude to the teachers – is that the school identified his innate skills, encouraged and appreciated them and now offers him several opportunities to showcase his talents in and outside school. Isn’t that what a parent really wants from a school? GEMS New Millennium is doing that very well,’ says the father, adding, the new move of the school offering dual curricula is the icing on the cake.
Ms Martin is proud that her school also offers lessons that are beyond curricula and which she believes are crucial for success. ‘Things like empathy, awareness, interpersonal relationships, mindfulness, leadership skills... These seeds are sown in a very conscientious format into the curriculum, and reap a splendid harvest when we see it in our students’ behaviour and action.
‘A child’s learning journey is going to grow exponentially – empowering them and being experiential as well. The school offers an environment that allows the child to imbibe the curriculum of this nature,’ says Ms Martin. ‘I believe if you can activate the environment, you can unleash that learning potential. And that’s what is happening at GEMS New Millennium School.’