GEMS FirstPoint School

Established in 2014, GEMS FirstPoint School offers high-quality education to students from ages 3 to 18 years. This co-ed school follows the British curriculum. Currently, it has over 1,700 students. The staff consists of 126 teachers, 57 teaching assistants and a guidance counsellor. With an impressive set of the school’s amenities and unmatched dedication, the school offers more practical and technology-oriented education. It also offers a wide range of subject choices for AS-Level and A-Levels to help students choose the subject of their choice.

• Location: The Villa
• School fee: AED 35,000 - AED 70,796
• Curriculum: National Curriculum for England
• Co-ed or segregate: Co-education
• KHDA rating: Very Good
• Years offered: Nursery– Sixth Form

Dubailand is a colossal entertainment, residential and tourism hub in Dubai that offers a plethora of options for everyone, including top-quality schools. GEMS FirstPoint School is located in The Villa community of Dubailand. It is in proximity to the following areas:

• Academic City
• Liwan
• Nad Al Sheba

Academic City is the nearest residential community from GEMS FirstPoint School. It offers an affordable living option to people in the form of spacious residential apartments. It is an ideal community for those living or studying in educational institutes in and around Academic City. Those looking for other options can opt for Liwan and Nad Al Sheba communities. Here are some living options in The Villa:

• Villas for rent near GEMS FirstPoint School
• Villas for sale near GEMS FirstPoint School

GEMS First Point School sprawls on a massive site near the edge of The Villa community. It consists of a building based on modern-architectural design. The campus includes various high-end facilities including spacious and bright classrooms, separate libraries for primary and secondary students and other indoor and outdoor facilities.

Science and technology are at the heart of the educational programme of GEMS FirstPoint School. Therefore, it has a wide range of science and technology facilities, including science labs for biology, physics and chemistry, electronic workshops, ICT discovery spaces, resistant materials workshops, food technology catering suite, textile studios, graphic studios.

Besides this, the school also explores the art and drama skills of students. To cater to the requirements of the curriculum, the school has a specialist drama space, art and design studios, ensemble room, a music technology suite, recording studio and a black box theatre space. The school also has an auditorium with a seating capacity of 500 spectators.

GEMS FirstPoint School also provides outstanding sports facilities to its students. These include a 25-meter swimming and learner’s pool, all-weather sports field, six sports courts for netball, tennis and other sports, a cricket ground with nets and a wall-climbing setup.

GEMS FirstPoint School is located at the corner of The Villa Community of Dubai land near Centro Courtyard 9 and Abidos Hotel Apartments, Dubailand. It is one of the most popular British curriculum schools in The Villa, catering to the needs of families living in the community.

The school started operating in 2014 and in a short span of time has become a popular choice among parents. GEMS FirstPoint School is an ideal choice for parents interested in enrolling their kids to a British school. The main advantage of GEMS FirstPoint School is the availability of top-tier facilities.

Another distinguishing feature of GEMS FirstPoint is its intense focus on science and technology. It is known as a technology-focused and science-specialist school that integrates exceptional technological values and practical knowledge at an early age. It exposes students to gadgets at an early age to foster skills necessary for competing in the 21st century.

The school offers a wide array of extra-curricular activities. Elite Golf Programme, an initiative by GEMS FirstPoint, offers a bespoke curriculum to students with the talent for golf. This allows students to learn golf from professionals and become one for the future.

As a part of GEMS Education Group, GEMS FirstPoint School has access to other top-notch GEMS schools globally. All the GEMS schools form a nexus where they share best teaching and management strategies to elevate students’ experience. The school’s ethos and values are parallel to GEMS’ strong values of global citizenship, pursuing excellence, growth by learning and learning through innovation.

GEMS FirstPoint School, The Villa offers education from Foundation Stage to Sixth Form. The following stages make up the school’s educational system:

The curriculum adopted by GEMS FirstPoint School is National Curriculum of the UK from early years’ education to sixth form.

Curriculum for the Foundation Stage

In the foundation stage, GEMS FirstPoint School follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. It is a highly recognised early education framework, which focuses on the development of a child through the following seven areas of learning:

• Literacy
• Personal Social and Emotional Development
• Knowledge and Understanding of the World
• Mathematics
• Creative Development
• Communication and Language
• Physical Development

Mathematics, literacy and theme are the core subjects for students in FS1 and FS2. It also introduces Arabic language to students in FS1, which is later taught by a specialist from FS2 onwards.

Curriculum for Primary

In the primary section, the school continues the National Curriculum for the UK. The curriculum for KS1 and KS2 develops inquiry-based learning and critical thinking skills among students. Children learn through ‘play and learn’ activities. The school also fosters leadership qualities, organisational skills, accountability, team spirit and cooperation. Subjects taught in KS1 are split into mandatory, core and thematic categories.

The mandatory subjects as per the National Curriculum of the UK are English and Mathematics. The core subjects are Science, Social Studies, Moral Education, Arabic and Islamic Education. Students also have to study Geography, History, Art, PE, Design and Technology, Computing, Music, Drama and French as thematic subjects.

In the KS2 stage, the school has introduced new thematic subjects, such as Design and Enterprise and Modern Foreign Languages (MFL).

Curriculum for Secondary

The curriculum for the secondary section encompassing KS3 and KS4 is an extension of the British Curriculum. This ensures a smooth transition from primary to secondary education and develops the skills necessary for higher education.

The subjects in Key Stage 3 are:

In contrast to KS3, KS4 provides more individual support. The curriculum for KS4 inspires students to be better communicators and actively participate in the world around them. Students also have to study elective and technology courses.

The core subjects in KS4 are:

Please note that Arabic and Islamic Education is only available for Arabic speakers and Muslim students, respectively.

Sixth-form education

For students in Year 12 and Year 13, the school offers a FirstPoint Core Enrichment Programme based on the British Curriculum. At this stage, the curriculum helps maximise students’ interests, strengths and competencies to ensure an academic direction for further education. The FirstPoint Core Enrichment Programme requires students to complete an extended group or individual project, which prepares them for college or university level education.

GEMS FirstPoint School offers a variety of subjects in KS5 including the following:

The timetable for each phase of education is specifically designed to support the needs of the curriculum.

KHDA, a government entity designated to improve the quality of education by private institutions in Dubai, inspects Dubai’s schools on an annual basis and offer a judgement based on a six-point scale: outstanding, very good, good, acceptable, weak and very weak.

In the latest inspection for the year 2023-24, KHDA rated GEMS FirstPoint School as ‘Very Good’.

The academic year at GEMS FirstPoint School starts in August and ends in July. The academic activities at the school are split into three terms: winter, spring and summer.

• The first (winter) term starts in the last week of August and concludes in the second week of December.
• After the winter break, the second (spring) term starts in the first week of January and ends in the fourth week of March.
• After the spring break, the third (summer) term starts in the second week of April and ends in the first week of July.

Students are expected to get midterm, Islamic and national events holidays. For further information, view the GEMS First Point School calendar.

Before starting the admission process, it is important to visit the school for complete information. To apply to GEMS FirstPoint School, the admission process starts by enrolling online. The basic information required to avail the inquiry number includes the name of parents/guardians, relationship to the applicant, contact number, the name of the applicant, email address (for inquiry number), expected year level for the applicant and applicant’s date of birth.

The school will send the enquiry reference number to the parents on the email provided in the online form. After receiving the enquiry number, parents need to complete the application form. Once submitted, the parents will receive another email stating the required documents to complete the admission applicant. Generally, these documents include:

• Four recent passport-sized photographs of the applicant
• A copy of the parents’ passports
• A copy of the applicant’s birth certificate (in Arabic or English)
• Report cards of the previous two years/grades
• Documents for additional learning support (if applicable)
• Two copies of the sponsor’s and applicant’s passports
• A copy of the sponsor’s and applicant’s Emirate ID cards (front and back)
• Two copies of the sponsor’s and applicant’s residence Visa
• Vaccination records
• Transfer certificate

The transfer certificate must have the following information:

• Date of enrolment
• Year group of the applicant in that school
• Date of leaving the school
• Official school stamps and signature

Besides the aforementioned, applicants applying from countries other than Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Western Europe and the US must attest their certificate from the following authorities:

• UAE Embassy (Country of TC origin)
• Ministry of Education (Country of TC origin)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Country of TC origin)

Those coming from GCC countries only need to attest the transfer certificate by the Ministry of Education (Country of TC origin). For further information, read the admission process at GEMS First Point School.

Submit the aforementioned documents along with a registration fee of AED 1,000 to the admission department. The school will call the parents to bring their child for an assessment test.

The age-grade guideline by the school is as follows:

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

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

The experienced school’s faculty takes the assessment test to gauge an applicant’s skills and expertise. Parents may receive the email by the school’s registrar within 24 hours of the assessment. Once parents receive the admission offer email, they need to submit the admission fees within 7 days of the email to secure child’s seat at GEMS FirstPoint School.

The GEMS FirstPoint School fees for is as follows:

To learn more about the fees details, visit the fee structure by GEMS FirstPoint School.

The school also offers a limited number of scholarships. The GEMS FirstPoint Scholarship Award Programme covers up to 20% of the tuition fees for the second and third terms of the current year and the first term for the subsequent year.

Through GEMS FirstPoint Scholarship Award Programme, the school rewards students demonstrating exceptional performances in academia, creative arts and sports along with adhering to the school’s core values and ethos.

The school offers healthy and nutritional food options. Students can also bring their own packed lunches from home. GEMS FirstPoint School has two canteens that cater to the food requirements of the students. Slices is a recognised company that provides catering services to the school.

GEMS FirstPoint School offers a safe, reliable, hassle-free and comfortable transportation service. The school has outsourced its transportation service to School Transport Service LLC, a popular transportation provider for various schools across the UAE.

STS has a large fleet of highly maintained buses as per the Road Transportation Authority (RTA) regulations. To offer a safe and secure travelling experience to children, they have state-of-the-art safety facilities including GPS tracker, video surveillance, safety belts, comfortable seats and electronic attendance system. The trained bus drivers and staff ensure students get on and off the bus safely.

Those looking for one-way transportation service must read the GEMS FirstPoint School transportation fees.

The school offers several holiday camps to its students. It offers holiday camps in summer, winter, spring and half-term holidays. Most of these camps are related to sports such as football and cricket. However, other multi-activity camps are also available for the students of GEMS FirstPoint.

Sport is an important part of the physical education embedded in the curriculum at GEMS FirstPoint School. For this purpose, they offer excellent sports facilities that result in the development of well-rounded students. These facilities include:

All the facilities are well maintained and polish students in becoming future athletes.

GEMS FirstPoint has an extensive range of extra-curricular activities that supports all-round progress. The aim of the Extra-Curricular Activity (ECA) programme is to help students in identifying interest in different non-academic activities. The school has 15 clubs that offer different extra-curricular activities to students each afternoon. All activities typically involved in ECA are not limited to robotics, photography, arts, sports and junk modelling. Most of these activities happen after school hours and students have the flexibility to choose as many as they want.

One prominent extra-curricular activity at GEMS FirstPoint School is the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. This programme helps develop physical recreation, community service and personal skills. It further allows students to go on exciting adventures and expeditions to learn 21st-century skills.

To support the curriculum, GEM FirstPoint offers field trips to students. This includes educational and non-educational visits. Recently, the school has planned visits to industries, educational institutes, recreational spaces and other popular locations in Dubai. Senior grades students are taken on international trips where they learn about different cultures. Please note that charges for field trips are not included in the annual tuition fees and must be paid separately.

The school has a fully equipped medical clinic in the campus with a registered full-time nurse who can tend to any emergency and administer first aid. Parents have to provide complete health care records and vaccination details at the time of registration.

Partnership with parents is an important component of the success of GEMS FirstPoint School. The partnership involves parents’ engagement at a core level to ensure that students receive the best educational experience. It also involves the use of written and data-driven reports, newsletters, email, SMS and consultation evenings.

The official GEMS portal for the parents is the main source of communication between school and parent. The portal provides key information to parents including the child’s progress, attendance report, upcoming events notifications and examination schedule.

• Telephone: +971-4-278-9700
• Email: registrar_fps@gemsedu.com

GENERAL INFORMATION

• GEMS FirstPoint School Official Website
• GEMS FirstPoint School Facebook
• GEMS FirstPoint School Twitter
• GEMS FirstPoint School Instagram
• GEMS FirstPoint School YouTube
• GEMS FirstPoint School Vimeo
• GEMS FirstPoint School LinkedIn

WHAT IS THE GEMS FIRSTPOINT SCHOOL FEE STRUCTURE?

GEMS FirstPoint School fees are AED 35,000 - AED 70,796.

DOES GEMS FIRSTPOINT SCHOOL FOLLOW CO-ED SYSTEM?

Yes, it is a co-ed school.

WHAT ARE THE GRADES OFFERED BY GEMS FPS?

GEMS FPS offers education from Nursery to Sixth Form.

WHAT IS THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR OF GEMS FIRSTPOINT SCHOOL?

The academic year of GEMS FirstPoint School starts from August and ends in July.

Note that the cover image belongs to GEMS FirstPoint School.