Ambassador International Academy is a relatively new, first-of-its-kind, UK/IB integrated curriculum school, opened in the Al Khail Gate development (close to the Al Khail Road and at the rear of the Al Qouz Industrial zone) in September 2019.
Ambassador International Academy is a relatively new, first-of-its-kind, UK/IB integrated curriculum school, opened in the Al Khail Gate development (close to the Al Khail Road and at the rear of the Al Qouz Industrial zone) in September 2019
Overview
School class: International
School grade: All through
Review rating: Good
Curricula oriented: IB, UK National Curriculum, IB DP, IB PYP, IB MYP, IB CP
Yearly price average: AED 39,500
Yearly costs: AED 28,400–53,010
Price band help: Mid-range
Status: Open
Gender: Co-educational
Opening year: 2019
School year: Sep to Jul
Headliner: Mr. Anthony Wright
Proprietor: Ambassador Education
District: Al Quoz, Dubai
About
Ambassador International Academy, founded in September 2019, is a sister to the current Ambassador School in the Bur Dubai Mankhool zone (rated Very Good by the KHDA in its last review) and the Ambassador Kindergarten and Nursery (a branch of the school), which was ranked Very Good in the 2017-18 review program.
Having extended with around 200 students, one year later, student numbers were up to just over 600, and by the time of the school's first KHDA review in March 2022 - when the school was granted a Good rating -; the registrations had surpassed 1,030. The capacity of AIA is 2,000 - so there is still some distance to go. Rates will be added yearly, subject to KHDA approval - the school is now open to Grade 9 and will add Grade 10 in August 2023.
The school is a broad mix of ethnicities of students, with 61 now. Unsurprisingly, given the ownership of the school and its sister institutions, the highest people group is from India. Nevertheless, this is observed by a diverse range of UK, USA, and Egypt students in the next three parts. The school has also drawn a little fellow of 13 Emirati students and a more significant number (85) of Students of Judgment.
In distinction, most of the 91 teachers (about three-quarters) are from the UK, Ireland, and South Africa. Some 10% of teachers are from India, while the ratio is from Russia, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Teachers must have at most nominal four years of background (rather than the minimum condition of two years), and many bring up to a decade's background. All are predicted to have first-rate English language mastery. They receive activity from the International Baccalaureate association.
Curriculum
Children observe the scope of the English National Curriculum. Yet, they are taught within the International Baccalaureate Primary Years agenda and Middle Years schedule based on their inquiry-based and cross-curricular learning method.
The daily pattern for PYP students has been set. The student starts their learning daily in their homerooms with teachers and tracks a timetable that traverses a range of actions, including units of exploration, language, mathematics, French, Arabic, PE, and the arts. The topics covered in the Primary Years agenda are Mathematics, PSPE (Personal, Social, Physical Education), Language, Science, Social Studies, and Arts.
But to keep its promise to UK and IB curricula, AIA is going against the trend of schools in Dubai, which had earlier offered iGCSE for Grades 9 and 10, observed by the IB Diploma program, by delivering both the IGCSE and MYP programs.
MYP students at AIA can decide between taking the MYP for three years from grades 6 to 8 and iGCSEs in Grades 9 and 10 or bringing the MYP for five years from Grades 6 - 10.
In Grades 11 and 12 (Sixth Form), students will select between the IB Diploma Programme (or the relatively vocationally-based IB Career-related Programme) or the UK curriculum-based A' Groups. Also, lessons from each course must be different. There is no separate BTEC option (the most generally found UK curriculum vocational choice in the UAE) or an option to blend individual IB courses with A Groups.
In addition, the school has several Leadership Committees, with 111 students applied, meaning over 30 ethnicities. These have the Student Voice Group (the head/deputy boy and girl for PYP and MYP), Digital Innovators, House and Vice House Captains, AIA Radio Hosts who have created a student AIA radio station, Eco Warriors, Well-being, and Healthy Lifestyles Champions.
Facilities
Facilities at the school are outstanding and practical rather than unique, in keeping with the area in Al Khail Gate. The plot, at over 16,000 sq.m, shows sizeable outdoor space, while the built-up space of over 21,000 sq.m delivers a four-story building.
The area for Early Years is self-contained, permitting a protected and safe atmosphere for younger children, with 14 classrooms dedicated to Pre-KG, KG1, and KG2. A professional KG activity Room, Dance Room, and Library are also supplied.
The central building has 71 light and airy classrooms, with 32 professional classrooms for Grades 1 to 12. A mobile IT lab and a different IT laboratory are equipped for Primary students as a Gaming Design and Coding lab.
Secondary students have entry to technical learning spaces, including a library and extra laboratories for Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and STEAM (Science, Engineering, Technology, The Arts, and Maths). Artistic students are catered for with a Fine Arts studio, soundproofed music and recording spaces, a dance room, and an exhibition display space.
The school will ultimately have four libraries (KG, Primary, Middle School, and Senior). The school Librarian is an IB-trained teacher who can help the students, especially as they go through the upper grades. Structures include a combined 650-seater Auditorium/Indoor Sports Hall scored for Badminton, Basketball, and Volleyball.
Outdoor buildings include Multi-sport Courts, a football pitch, cricket nets, and pitch and track markings for athletics. There is a Temperature Regulated 25m outdoor shaded pool, plus a 8m x 4m sports pool for the Kindergarten children.
Costs
Fees in 2022-23 are AED 28,400 in Pre-KG, growing to AED 42,000 for Grade 7, with published costs of AED 50,500 for Grade 8 and AED 53,010 for Grade 9. These prices are still lower than the agreed AED 69,300 and 76,300, respectively. A note is partially hidden in the small print that the discount proposed will decrease by about 7% perennial.
Even with prices discounted, they are still relatively higher than those of the Ambassador School in Mankhool, which starts at AED 20,695 in Grade 1, increasing to AED 41,400 in Grade 12. Our review noted this was unavoidable, given the curricula presented. There is also an AED 500 non-refundable enrollment price and a further AED 500 inspection fee, which will be changed against the first term's costs.
AIA is also offering considerable discounts for siblings, beginning at 10% for the second student in a family of two and five percent for the second child in families of three children or more, with a deal of 15% for a third child in the exact family, 20% for the fourth and 25% for the fifth.
Ranking
Ambassador International Academy is a Best of school, a ranking resolved by parent surveys on the site. It can be seen in the following Best of rankings: