Gems Winchester School Abu Dhabi

GEMS Winchester Schools offers a systematic grading system based on age and year. It ranges from Foundation Stage 2 to Year 9.

• The Foundation Stage is the initial stage, called the FS2, for children between the ages of 4 and 5.
• The Primary stage is the second phase of education, consisting of Key Stage 1 (KS1) and Key Stage 2 (KS2).
• The Secondary Stage consists of Key Stage 3 (KS3) classes.

Foundation Stage

Every child's foundation stage is the most important because it lays the groundwork for future schooling by fostering the development of fundamental concepts that aid in understanding the outside world and critical thinking abilities. GEMS Winchester School uses the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework to guarantee the best start possible. This framework offers an organised method for teaching young children, emphasising important subjects, including physical development, communication, and social, emotional, and personal development. The EYFS framework helps children establish a solid foundation by encouraging curiosity, creativity, and an appreciation of learning from an early age through play-based learning and carefully planned activities.

The school focuses on key subjects for the first two years that create a foundational framework for the children.

Primary Stage

In this stage, the school introduces the British curriculum into the academic structure. 

The KS1 classes help the students understand the basic concepts of the newly introduced subjects and formal learning methods. The subjects in this stage include:

Students should note that the school has introduced Social Sciences from Key Stage 2, and Islamic Studies are mandatory for Muslim students, whereas non-Muslim students study Moral Education.

The subjects included in the KS2 are advanced versions of the previous subjects. These include:

Teaching geography, music, art, history, and physical education follows an outline. Students have outstanding critical thinking abilities and self-confidence after completing Key Stage 2. Thanks to these skills, they can transition to the secondary phase with ease.

School teaches modern European languages, and students are required to learn English. Arabic language instruction is also required. While non-native Arabic speakers study the more fundamental Arabic B syllabus, native Arabic speakers follow the Ministry of Education's Arabic A curriculum.

Secondary Stage

The secondary stage is the most relevant, consisting of Key Stage 3 and 4. The British curriculum includes subjects that help students prepare for external examinations.

Parents must register an enquiry through the school’s official website to apply to GEMS Winchester School. After registration, parents are provided with an enquiry PIN and must keep it safe throughout the admission process for tracking and monitoring purposes. The school then contacts the parents regarding the rest of the procedures that students must follow. Parents must also submit supporting documents when submitting the application form. After completing the admission process, the school registrar sets up a meeting, followed by an entrance assessment to determine the student’s right class (grade).

For applicants for grades 1 to 9, they have to appear for an entrance assessment. On the other hand, no evaluation is required for the Foundation stage except for a meeting with the school’s education team members.

After completing the assessment round, the admission team makes a final decision. The school can make various changes to the procedure after carefully evaluating the student’s standing and performance. The school can:

• Offer a place to the student
• Transfer the student to the waiting list
• Deny admission because of their right to do so

The documents that the parents need to present at the time of admission are:

• A copy of a valid passport and proof of residence for both parents and students is required. 
• Two passport-size photos of the student
• One photocopy of the original mark sheet of the last examination passed.
• Copy of student’s immunisation card
• A copy of the birth certificate (attested by the consulates and embassies if the child is born outside the UAE) is required.
• Original transfer certificate if the student is local or other Emirate’s transfer. (Duly attested by the educational authority concerned in transferring from other Emirates.

International students coming from overseas must present the following documents at the time of admission and must be attested by:

• Any UAE embassy present in the country of origin,
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the country of origin
• The District Education Officer of the concerned district
• The Consulate of the Concerned country in Abu Dhabi
• Corporate debentures are awarded to companies that have long supported the school, so the children of the organisation’s employees are prioritised on the waiting list. 

To meet the eligibility criteria, the students must be of the following age by 31 August of the Academic Year:

The annual fee is mentioned in the table below, and it can be paid through cash, online payment, or bank transfer:

It is to be noted that when a student receives an offer letter, 5% of the annual tuition fee stays due. This 5% is non-refundable and non-transferable but can be adjusted against the first-term tuition fee. 

Students can now easily utilise the transportation facility provided by Bright Bus Transport. They are one of the UAE's leading student transport services providers. The GEMS Connect app lets Parents stay informed about their child’s location. This is possible as the children can use their respective ID cards to scan when entering the bus.

Parents are also given access to contact the bus service department directly.

GEMS Winchester School Abu Dhabi offers diverse sports facilities, including an indoor sports hall for basketball, volleyball, and badminton, outdoor sports fields for football, cricket, and athletics, and a swimming pool for sports purposes.

ESM is an authorised organisation that provides sports events and activities at WSA with the help of the following organisations:

• Clark Francus for Tennis 
• Eurosport for Karate 
• Evolve Football Academy for football

• E-mail ID: registrar_wsa@gemsedu.com
• Website: https://www.gemswinchesterschool-abudhabi.com/
• Fax No: No Fax number
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSA2017/