Dubai National School, Al Twar

Dubai National School (DNS) opened in 2006 in Al Twar, predominantly a residential community. Dubai National School Al Twar is the newer campus owned by the Dubai National Group of Schools. The other school, Dubai National School Al Barsha, is located in Al Barsha.

Dubai National School in Al Twar follows the American curriculum where English is the primary language of instruction. The Massachusetts Common Core state standards have been embedded in the school’s instructional framework. The school is co-educational until Grade 3, and boys and girls are taught separately afterwards.

As per the latest inspection report by KHDA, there are around 1,500 students, with the majority being Emirati. You will find 124 students of determination, 149 teachers and 24 teaching assistants, making the teacher to student ratio 1:10.

Dubai National School Al Twar has been rated ‘Good’ for the fifth time in a row. However, you can check out other quality schools in Deira offering various curriculums.

Parents looking for top quality yet affordable schools in Deira will find this Dubai National School Al Twar review quite helpful while making a decision.

• Location: Al Twar
• School fees: AED 18,373 - AED 35,905
• Curriculum: American
• Co-ed or segregate: Co-ed
• KHDA rating: Good
• Years offered: Pre-KG - Grade 12

Enjoying a prime location in the heart of Dubai, DNS Al Twar shares proximity with several family-friendly residential communities, including:

• Al Qusais
• Hor Al Anz East
• Al Nahda Dubai

The nearest residential area is Al Qusais. It is known as one of Dubai’s oldest and culturally rich districts. You will find Dubai International Airport and Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZA) close to the community.

Families looking for housing near the school can consider:

• Villas for rent near Dubai National School – Al Twar
• Villas for sale near Dubai National School – Al Twar

Dubai National School Al Twar campus offers excellent facilities to enable learning in a productive environment. The purpose-built campus has spacious classrooms equipped with the latest devices. Besides this, you will find science laboratories tended by a full-time science technician. Students in the elementary and secondary stages use the two well-stocked libraries.

Students have access to eight ICT labs equipped with over 240 computers. These computers are connected to the school’s network while children can use internet connectivity to support their lessons.

Moving on, students looking for sports facilities to further their interest in various sports or physical education can make the most of an indoor sports arena, a multi-purpose sports hall, two swimming pools and outdoor grassed playing fields. Likewise, nursery kids have a covered playing area.

Interestingly, DNS school was among the few first schools that had a specialist SEN department for students of determination. The Easy Learning Department provides a multitude of resources, such as special classes, resources rooms and a diagnostic unit with speech and language and psycho academic diagnosis.

Last, one can find two well-maintained cafeterias serving students during breaks and a well-resourced medical facility on site.

Dubai National School Al Twar location falls in the busy locality of Al Twar. Situated on the 10th Street near Al Qusais, you will find a number of schools in proximity to DNS, including:

• The Westminster School
• Woodlem Park School Dubai
• Crescent English High School
• American International School
• Capital School
• Amity School
• Dubai Scholars Private School
• Apple International School

Dubai National School Al Twar in Deira has over 15 years of experience providing quality education. Following the American curriculum, the school is more than capable of equipping your child with the knowledge to become a prominent contributor to global progress. The school also provides Advanced Placement (AP) courses to high school students.

The school was amongst the first few of the institutes to accommodate students with SEND requirements through the Easy Learning Department. Children with additional learning needs are given top-notch facilities and resources that enable them to reach their highest potential with ease.

Besides this, the quality of campus facilities is beyond satisfactory, allowing students to experience school life to its fullest. Likewise, being a k-12 educational institute, parents can trust DNS Deira to take care of their children’s emotional and academic needs in the best manner.

Al Twar Dubai National School has designed age brackets for each year group as described below.

Both branches of Dubai National School follow the American curriculum. The school has adopted Massachusetts Common Core State Standards as its instructional base. It also incorporates the curriculum set by the Ministry of Education for Moral Education, Islamic Studies, Arabic Studies and Social Studies. The MOE curriculum allows DNS Al Twar to teach UAE’s culture and heritage to students.

Kindergarten and Elementary School

The Dubai National School curriculum at this level pays special attention to the supervision by parents and teachers. The main activities at this level allow children to explore the world around them, including building self-reliance, playing and learning to get along with others.

Further, learning approaches, such as multi-sensory and hands-on activities, are included in elementary school to increase students’ engagement.

Students are introduced to core subjects such as Mathematics, Arabic, Islamic Education and Quran, English, orals, Science, PE, Art, Stories and Music.

Middle School

Lessons and classwork load is a bit rigorous in middle school as compared to elementary school. Students have to sit for the mandatory MAP and CAT tests to help teachers understand the academic needs of each child in detail. The results of these tests then determine the amount of review and improvisation needed in the existing curriculum to adjust to the needs of students.

The key objective of the teacher here is to integrate globalisation, moral values, innovation, and leadership as per their learning and creativity levels.

High School

High School is the last stage in the American curriculum where a student graduates with a diploma or a certificate approved by the KHDA. Dubai National School Al Twar curriculum for high school students involves taking elective courses or attending Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the fields they trust to pursue further in college or university.

The High School curriculum includes 24 elective courses to provide students with sufficient opportunities to pursue their interests. Opportions like cross-curricular and community outreach programs further provide assistance to students’ aims and objectives.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is an organisation formed by the government of the UAE to supervise and assist private schools in Dubai. The KHDA inspects various parameters of the school including the quality of the curriculum, leadership and management, campus provision, students’ performance and student’s healthcare. The picture below summarizes the six-point rating scale.

Dubai National School Al Twar KHDA rating is ‘Good’ for the year 2019 – 2020. The school has maintained this rating since 2016. You can see the school’s 10-year rating history below.

The DSIB report underlines both strengths and weaknesses of the school. According to the report, the American curriculum is frequently reviewed and updated to ensure students are being equipped with education and skills to tackle the issues of the 21st century.

In addition to this, health and safety of students are top priorities of the school which can be seen reflected in their positive attitude towards the school, teachers, peers and the local community.

Apart from this, appreciation for the Emirati and Islamic culture across the school is quite strong, showing DNS Al Twar’s effort for its students. Likewise, children have shown a great understanding of social skills and environmental awareness.

Nonetheless, there are two areas where improvement is needed, as per the DSIB report. Attainment and progress must be achieved across all subjects by modifying teaching methods and resources used. Furthermore, mid-term, final or international assessments utilised by the school must be authentic in the sense that they provide useful information regarding a student’s academic standing.

Dubai National School Al Twar academic calendar not only highlights the start and end of each semester but informs you about various holidays and school events lined up each month.

Parents seeking quality yet affordable education for their children can apply at DNS in Al Twar. Being an inclusive school, Dubai National School’s admission process is based on merit. Students with relevant backgrounds and decent academic profiles have a greater chance of making into the school.

The admission process is pretty straightforward. You can register your child online and then proceed with the remaining steps. Once the registration is complete, parents must submit the following mandatory documents to the school.

• six recent photographs of the student
• A copy of parents’ and student’s passport (with valid residence visa)
• A copy of parents’ and student’s Emirates ID card
• A copy of the student’s birth certificate
• An official report card of the current or previous grade
• Original Transfer Certificate (must be attested)
• Academic Certificate of good conduct (Grade 6 to Grade 12)
• A copy of the Health Certificate/vaccination card

After submitting the documents, you must wait for an invitation to appear in the entrance exam. On the designated day and time, the student will have to appear for the assessment and interview, if required.

Once your child has successfully passed the entrance assessments, the school will make an offer for a seat which you can confirm by depositing a certain amount for registration.

The school follows age placement guideline designed by the KHDA. Before parents initiate the admission process, please ensure that your child meets the guideline assigned.

This is based on the age of the students on 31st August (for schools beginning in September). Source: KHDA

* This is to cater to students transferring from systems that admit students of a younger age)

Falling in the mid-range, Dubai National School Al Twar annual tuition fee is mentioned below.

Some additional charges include:

The other charges are based on the info available in KHDA’s fee fact sheet.

Dubai National School Al Twar fees can be paid via cash, bank transfer or cheque.

Dubai National School Dubai has two cafeterias serving the student body. The canteen staff members are trained to maintain hygiene while preparing fresh lunch meals. Similarly, hot and cold meals served are healthy, nutritious and delicious.

Students bringing home-made lunch must adhere to the canteen policies in action at the school. Parents must avoid sending unhealthy and junk food.

School transportation facility is provided by Dubai National School Al Twar Dubai. To use this facility, parents must visit the school and inform the concerned department of their area, pick-up and drop-off locations. If your area comes under the routes covered by bus service, your child will be enrolled for the service for an additional cost.

Physical education is a big part of the curriculum followed at school. DNS Dubai believes that practising various sports not only improves physical health but contributes towards improving mental health as well.

To achieve this purpose, the school has maintained impressive sports facilities including an indoor sports arena, a multi-purpose sports hall, two swimming pools and outdoor grassed playing fields.

Classroom lessons are often supported by co-curricular and extra-curricular activities designed by the Dubai National School Al Twar. There are various opportunities for children to engage in their favourite activities in the fields of sports, creativity, arts and music, critical thinking and performing arts.

The school runs several clubs through which students can participate in inter-school competitions and events. To enrol your child in any club, please fill the online form found here.

Field trips are a major part of the school and an exciting time for students. The trips arranged by Dubai National School include educational and entertainment trips. Children are taken to various spots within Dubai as well as other emirates.

Students can take advantage of many sports and physical activities opportunities which are provided after school hours.

As per Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the school maintains a medical facility on site. This clinic is run by a professional and trained nurse who not only tends to first-aid injuries and emergencies but maintains a medical record of each student.

Since parents are required to provide a health certificate or a vaccination card at the time of admission, the school requests them to provide an updated medical report highlighting any specific medical condition of their child, if any.

Since the home is often believed to be the first centre of education and learning for a child, Dubai National School Al Twar believes that this should continue even after the child attends school. To help this notion, the school has built various means for parents to remain part of their child’s academic journey.

The first mode of communication for parents is to register themselves on the Dubai National School parent portal. Through this portal, parents can access the school calendar, student’s report card, student’s performance progress, attendance record and much more.

Besides this, Dubai National Al Twar School has frequent parent-teacher meetings where both the parties can discuss students’ strengths and weaknesses and arrive at a solution mutually. Similarly, parents are invited to attend several school events and competitions to cheer their child.

If parents have queries or suggestions that they need to discuss, they can always book an appointment with the concerned authority by visiting the school. You can access Dubai National School Al Twar contact details that are mentioned below. Also, we recommend visiting the school’s social media sites to know more about the school and their social events.

• Telephone Number: +971-4-298-8555
• Emails
  • General Enquiries: connect@dnschools.com | dns.twar@dnschools.com
• DNS Al Twar Website
• DNS Al Twar Facebook
• DNS Al Twar Twitter
• DNS Al Twar Instagram
• DNS Al Twar YouTube
• DNS Al Twar LinkedIn

Note that the cover image belongs to Dubai National School, Al Twar

Do you conduct after-school activities?

The school offers several sporting and physical activities after school hours.

How many grades/years are there in your school?

Dubai National School Al Twar offers education from Pre-KG until Grade 12.

How many students are currently studying in your school?

The school, currently, has about 1,500, including 124 students of determination.

Do you have any special education programmes or learning plans for students of determination?

The school campus includes a specialized section for students of determination and those with special educational needs. This section provides resources such as private lessons, resource rooms, and a diagnostic unit that includes assessment and diagnosis of speech, language, and psychological academic diagnosis.

Can you please describe the academic calendar of your school?

The academic calendar starts in the last week of August and ends in the last week of June.

Can you please mention the range of the tuition fee charged by your school?

The tuition fee ranges from AED 18,373 to AED 35,905.

How do you communicate with parents?

There are multiple ways of communicating with parents including, a parent portal, parent-teacher meetings, grade-specific WhatsApp group and social media pages.

Do you have a cafeteria or a canteen on campus?

There are two cafeterias in Dubai National School Al Twar campus that serves the student body.

How often does your school arrange field trips?

Since field trips are a part of the curriculum, the school organises such trips often.

How many teachers are currently teaching in your school?

As of now, there are 149 teachers and 24 assistant teachers employed by the school.