Neck-breaking skyscrapers, endless desserts and movie-like luxurious lifestyle are the main reasons for any tourist to visit the largest city of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai. Of late, this sixth largest oil reservoir of the world has also become the fastest emerging education powerhouse of the Middle East. Representing the same essence for innovative yet grounded in its roots-type of education is the Delhi Private School, Dubai.

DPS Dubai

Delhi Private School Dubai is a private, co-educational institution established in 2003 for the diverse expatriate community in the UAE. The school is recognized and approved by the Ministry of Education, Government of UAE and is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi, India. The school, located in The Gardens, Jebel Ali, Dubai, has a massive campus area of 6.83 acres and provides state-of-the-art facilities to help students gain an international holistic experience. At present, the student strength is approximately 3,750.

The school offers a holistic learning programme for students from KG I to XII. The CBSE curriculum has been aligned, modified, and enhanced creatively in line with the vision of the school and the requirements of the UAE. At DPS, the students are motivated to be responsible global citizens and sensitised to issues such as environment conservation, awareness, and respect for other cultures. The school strongly advocates integration by encouraging an understanding of Emirati values, culture, and aspirations.

DPS Dubai promotes academic excellence to meet the challenging demands of a competitive, international environment. The focus of the child-centred curriculum is the personalized need of every student. Learning is experiential and a love for knowledge is encouraged to enable lifelong learning in a fast-changing world. Research, innovation, and creativity foster intellectual fulfilment. The holistic approach to education is reflected in the co-scholastic programme of sports, debates, quizzes as well as artistic pursuits. Confidence-building and leadership skills are encouraged through innovative programmes.

Spiritual and moral growth is enhanced through life-skills workshops and every day pastoral care.  Self-reflection and goal setting are encouraged for greater focus and result in thoughtful career choices. The community and parents are considered important stakeholders in creating a harmonious system and DPS Dubai encourages their active participation to help create a vibrant school where excellence is a way of life.

Vision: DPS Dubai aspires to be a happy school, where all students are facilitated to be the best versions of themselves.

Mission: DPS Dubai zealously promotes a global curriculum through:

• Academic Excellence – by encouraging intellectual curiosity, sustained hard work, rational and critical thinking, independent learning, and innovative solutions.
• Actualization of Talent – by providing opportunities for the development of multiple intelligences be it in sports, arts, or intellectual pursuits.
• Global Citizenship – by educating students to be forward-thinking and committed to celebrating diversity; skilled at ethically using technology for collaboration research; fostering integration by actively advocating Emirati values, culture, and aspirations.
• Pastoral Care – by providing emotional and spiritual support, leadership programs, life skills workshops, confidence-building opportunities, sterling lifelong values with a deep commitment to being an inclusive school.

Curriculum:

The futuristic curriculum at DPS Dubai, integrates the best international teaching and learning practices with the robust CBSE syllabus. As per the Indian curriculum, students take a range of national and international examinations including the All India Senior Secondary Examination (AISSE) in Grade XII, the All India Secondary School Certificate (AISSCE) in Grade X and the International Benchmark Tests (IBT) in Grades III to IX. Students of grades XI-XII are offered a choice of subjects in the streams of science, commerce, and humanities. Language choices are available to students in upper primary and exemption/optional subjects are available for students with special needs.

Students also participate in cyclical international assessments such as PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS, CAT4 and PASS, in view of the National Agenda of the UAE.

Infrastructure:

The school boasts of state-of-the-art infrastructure which caters to the multifarious demands of the modern education system. To ensure the overall development of students, these are the academic and non-academic facilities offered by the school:

1. The school libraries reflect the philosophy that reading is essential for learning with an impressive assortment of books on every possible topic.
2. The physics, chemistry and biology labs have state-of-the-art equipment that bring science to life in tactile and practical ways.
3. The computer labs are fitted with multimedia kits and ISDN nodes for internet browsing.
4. The classrooms are equipped with audio-visual aids and smart boards to make education more dynamic and interesting.
5. The activity rooms are vibrant and creatively designed to facilitate the development of the cognitive and motor skills of students.
6. The Green Sports Field is a sprawling and much-loved venue for all outdoor activities.
7. The school has an Olympic-sized indoor temperature-controlled swimming pool.
8. The school has courts dedicated to volleyball, basketball and tennis, along with a spacious gymnasium.

A Guide to Pioneers

Ms. Rashmi Nandkeolyar models a growth mind-set and follows dynamic and collaborative processes in building a professional culture in the school and the community. As the Principal of DPS Dubai, she endeavours to use the school and the classroom as a safe space to facilitate change in the mind-set of the students to promote effective learning and innovation. Ms. Nandkeolyar is the driving force for all the provisions and implementation of an agile and dynamic action plan across all areas of the curriculum.

She plays a pivotal role in driving excellence in the CBSE board examination results. Ms. Nandkeolyar has also carefully orchestrated deep learning that resulted in the exemplary performance of the school in international benchmarking tests such as TIMSS and PISA. Her leadership has been deemed outstanding and was mentioned as the key strength of the school in the last 10 inspections conducted by DSIB. She has an abiding interest in drama, aesthetics and has authored five books for children.

Standing Apart

The USP (unique selling point) of the school is its deliberate focus on encouraging students to have a moral compass: to have a sensibility greater than themselves and to have a philanthropic spirit. DPS Dubai is an inclusive school that welcomes children from all backgrounds and abilities.

The DPS motto of “Service Before Self” is the inspiration guiding the school’s value-based curriculum that emphasizes empathy, responsibility, and caring for others. DPS Dubai fosters a culture of creativity and innovation and the leaders have the courage to risk experimentation and encourage creativity.

DPS is that special place where almost all children actually like coming to school! The school is dynamic and fearless in its quest for excellence in the 21st century. A few of the hard attributes the school has acquired are as follows:

• The top performing school in the UAE based on the results of TIMSS.
• Among the top 30 CBSE schools across the world.
• Produced an array of toppers and Board rank holders through the years 2011-2020 with percentages as high as 98.2%.
• Won championships in contests such as Robocar Traffic Negotiation Division, Star Quiz, Mathalon Competition and Dubai Customs IPR Awards.
• Awarded the School of Hearts Ambassador and was a successful part of the Dubai Delegation at IPEN Dallas, Texas (USA).
• Rashmi Nandkeolyar, the Principal of DPS Dubai, is recognised as a “Conservation Leader” and was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Conservation Leader Award by DEWA.

The Principal of DPS Dubai, Ms. Rashmi Nandkeolyar, was honoured for her outstanding leadership and contribution to education at the 30th Principal’s Conference of Council of CBSE Affiliated Schools in the Gulf

Foreglimpse

The school has responded to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic by resorting to a blended format of teaching. With the options for teachers to work-from-home, the school has invested considerably in adopting digital resources and novel technology. DPS Dubai has also extended their support to teachers by training them to enhance their digital skills for virtual classrooms. The school has made significant investments in placing thermal scanning equipment and no-contact infrared thermometers for effective temperature surveillance.

DPS Dubai aims to be an establishment that continues to prepare students to be informed citizens of tomorrow by providing a learning environment that is committed to inclusion, innovation, and integrity. DPS Dubai will be known as a school that offers students a holistic, rigorous, and global education for success in an ever-changing world.