IndieG

Hi,
Have finally ended our search and shortlisted Dubai College for my daughter who enters grade 7 in September 2006 (assuming she gets through the entrance exam). Could anyone here tell me if they have any experience/information to share on Dubai College please? Face -aka the Oracle - I am sure you would have a lot of info

What is the entrance exam like - what do they cover? I would like to prepare her for the entrance exam if it is tough.

Thanks all
Anya

MJC

Just a thought, but which other places were/are on your shortlist? Where are you living, depending on where you are depends on whether Dubai College is local or miles away for you. There is much lauded about DC being the best place in DXB, personally I wasn't as impressed as I was with Jumeriah College, as I found the staff's "we are the best and you should be pleased we're even talking to you" attitude, quite frankly stank. Then it's horses for courses so to speak - have you been there?

IndieG

Hi MJC,
Not much of a shortlist frankly. Just Choueifat, Emirates International, DC....couple of others. I haven't been to DC yet. So far, I have just based my shortlist on information gathered from friends (whose kids study there). Haven't met anyone in DC yet, since it is closed for summer. I had no information on JC - shall check that out also! She still has a year to go - but DC's entrance test is held in Jan06. Do you know anything about the entrance test?
All these schools are some distance from where we live (behind Burjuman) - I guess she could use the school bus, like the other kids from this area.

Thanks!

MJC

With regard to entrance tests, my eldest took his this morning (for JC)!! I'll tell you the type of questions tomorrow. We wanted him to sit the test for DC too (DC were happy for him too do just that) but when we weighed everything up, his little brother is going to JPS, which is across the road and part of the same group as JC, they're both walkable from our house, he loved the facilities and we liked the staff at JC, then it wasn't difficult for us either. With regard to places available, don't you think it's strange that 90%+ of all pupils are white and western, or is the selection a tad biased???

IndieG

Most Indians prefer to put their kids in an Indian Curriculum school - probably because most eventually return to India. In DC, I read on their web site that 80% are British, and the rest a mixture. The fees are steep (Dhs 45k p.a. ) compared to other schools, so could this be one of the reasons that not many Asians prefer it? I hope there is no problem with racism/bias against non whites in DC - this never occurred to me. I was impressed with their academic results.

Cheers
Anya

MJC

So Do I
It did me, or am I becoming such a pessimist?

IndieG

I want my daughter to get used to studying in a multicultural environment - since we plan to migrate to Melbourne in a couple of years - they will probably have similar ratios there too i.e. minority non-whites. But I don't want to see her upset due to any bias and/or bullying in school - I shall definitely ask around about this.

Bye...Anya