GEMS World Academy, Dubai

With around 1,700 students belonging to 90 different nationalities, GEMS World Academy, Dubai was originally established in early 2008 as an international educational academy for students in the parent community of Al Barsha. Instead of focusing on the differences, the multi-cultural community of GEMS World Academy is one of the best schools in Dubai that celebrates similarities of this increasingly connected world.

Managed by GEMS Education, the academy follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum offering education from Kindergarten-1 to Grade 12. The ethos of GEMS World Academy is based on GEMS’ core values and the IB curriculum, both of which are attuned to building global sensibilities in every student.

• Location: Al Barsha
• School fees: AED 65,747 - AED 114,128
• Curriculum: IB
• Co-ed or segregate: Co-ed
• KHDA rating: Very Good
• Years Offered: Pre-KG - Grade 12

Families residing in Al Barsha South have easy access to the school. However, few nearby communities can also avail the school service and provide their kids with a valuable education. Follow the links below to know more about these residential areas.

• The Springs
• The Meadows
• Arabian Ranches
• The Lakes

The nearest residential neighbourhood is a charming villa-community, The Springs. With a serene and tranquil ambience, families love spending time in this area.

Parents seeking residence near GEMS World Academy can see residential apartments or villas for rent and sale in the following links.

• Apartments for rent near GEMS World Academy
• Apartments for sale near GEMS World Academy
• Villas for sale near GEMS World Academy
• Villas for rent near GEMS World Academy

Located in Al Barsha South, the campus of GEMS Academy, Dubai stretches across 42,000 sq. m. A planetarium and a library are present in the academy. In addition, an auditorium with 620-seats is also available for hosting events and large seminars. The academy also has a landscaped garden (known as the peace garden) on the roof as well as a symphony centre. With such impressive features, it’s easy to see why this is considered one of the best schools in Al Barsha.

When it comes to sports, the campus offers a 400-metre track and a weather-resistant pitch, an Olympic-sized swimming pool along with a trainer pool, squash and tennis courts, a fitness centre, a gymnasium, and an athletic climbing wall.

The GEMS World Academy school in Dubai is situated in a central, accessible area, near the residential properties in Al Barsha South. There are several other GEMS schools in the vicinity.

Started in early 2008 by GEMS Education, the school has over 11 years of experience of imparting education in Dubai. GEMS World Academy became an IB educational institute after the accreditation of their diploma course programme in April 2010. GEMS World Academy is focused on developing caring and reflective learners with the help of their rigorous IB curriculum. The key goal is to create skilled and knowledgeable students with the ability to take the initiative.

The vision of GEMS World Academy is to become one of the best IB schools in Dubai and the rest of the UAE. It focuses on the character development and learning of students by allowing them to select their own career while contributing positively to society.

The diverse mix of skilled educational professionals allows the school to maintain an inclusive environment. It draws on the methods and techniques from other countries across the world such as Canada, UK, Australia, USA, South Africa and New Zealand. GEMS World Academy accepts all students regardless of their religious beliefs and nationalities.

GEMS World Academy, Dubai has categorised the IB curriculum in three phases.

In 2018, GEMS World Academy started an Early Years Programme (EYP) for children aged 3 and above. If a child shows satisfactory independence, he or she will be transferred to the IB Pre-K programme.

The Primary Years Program (PYP) is for children from Pre-K until Grade 5. The PYP places the child at the centre of the learning process. It is designed in such a way that it focuses on a holistic approach to learning with a focus on the development of social, interpersonal and emotional capabilities of the student.

You can visit the website to find more about PYP at GEMS World Academy.

Following the PYP level, children progress to the Middle Years Programme (MYP) which is an excellent platform to prepare for the upcoming Diploma Programme in Grade 11 and 12. MYP spans from Grades 6 to 10. The syllabus is designed to meet all the educational needs of children at this crucial stage. Students follow a broad curriculum with primary emphasis on the following eight subjects:

With the help of proper planning and the teacher’s involvement, children are encouraged to adopt an application-based approach to learning, enabling them to correlate their study material to real-world situations. Such an approach supports children in the development of the skills needed to manage and understand the complexities of this world.

Learning and teaching for MYP at GEMS World Academy is based on the understanding that a student can learn better when the learning process is:

• Collaborative, challenging, engaging, rigorous, significant and relevant
• Accommodating children with diverse needs
• Properly structured, making students feel secure about sharing ideas
• A supportive environment with an appropriate feedback mechanism

The IB Diploma Programme is meant to challenge ambitious students and prepare them for higher studies. University-bound students often choose an intensive program that requires a high level of preparation from the students with the support of inputs from teachers, which makes this module widely recognised by international institutions.

Since 2012, the International Baccalaureate Curriculum Programme (IBCP) has offered flexible options to students. It allows them to pursue education while gaining professional skills required at the workplace. These career-related programmes at GEMS World Academy provide alternative pathways for students seeking a pragmatic educational pathway while receiving an IB education.

This new programme, launched in September 2018, focuses on students in their early childhood years. The programme comes with one dismissal time for all at 01:15 pm but there are options to extend this till 02:50 pm if parents opt for the Extended Care Programme. For more information click here.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KDHA) is a governing body that is responsible for the growth and quality of private educational institutes in Dubai. This entity inspects private schools in Dubai, evaluates them on the basis of a 6-point scale and awards the following ratings.

KHDA also places emphasis on sustaining a high quality of education along with the wellbeing of students and teachers. According to their recent report, GEMS World Academy was rated as ‘Very Good’ by KHDA. A glimpse of the school’s performance over the years can be seen in the below table:

 Here are some of the reasons for the ‘Very Good’ rating:

• Inclusive nature of GEMS World Academy guarantees quality support and care for every child, especially those requiring special educational attention
• An exceptional atmosphere for learning and growth with excellent progress in Math, English, and Science
• Outstanding sense of personal responsibility and development of students
• Commendable arrangements when it comes to the safety of students while promoting healthy lifestyles through physical activities
• Effective use of resources and facilities to help in the learning process
• Establishing an outstanding partnership with parents

GEMS World Academy’s academic calendar is as follows:

Before starting the application process for GEMS World Academy, parents are encouraged to learn about the admission guidelines. The GEMS World Academy admission guidelines overview page contains all the information regarding the process along with the requirements pertaining to different grades.

STEP 1 – Complete the online form, along with submitting the registration fee, which is AED 525. The registration fee is non-refundable if children are offered a position in the school, but it is refundable if they are denied admission.

This is also non-deductible if a student accepts the place in the school.

STEP 2 – Upload the admissions documents of the applicant on the final page of the online application. Remember, all documents have to be submitted in English. If the documents are in a different language and require translation, such documents should first be signed and stamped as official, legal translations.

These are the documents required in the initial registration stage:

• One passport copy of the candidate
• Last two-year school reports of the candidate along with nursery reports
• One confidential early childhood recommendation form from GEMS World Academy (for candidates between pre-K to KG2 only)
• One childhood parent survey for the candidates (pre-K to KG2 only)
• One GEMS World Academy confidential recommendation letter (for applicants from grades 1 to 12 only)
• One high-school student questionnaire (grade 9 to 12 only)

If required, you must also submit details of existing special educational requirements, individual education plans, and a report from an educational psychologist/other therapists (only appropriate for children who require learning support)

Documents to provide after a student has been enrolled:

• Emirates ID card of the student
• Transfer Certificate from the previous school
• A copy of candidates immunization card or record

STEP 3 – After submitting all the above documents, parents will get a call from the school for an onsite assessment. In case a student is outside the country and is unable to go through with the assessment, the application is shared with the school’s head for further review. After reviewing the records, provisional acceptance may be granted before completion of the assessment. Even after a temporary placement is given, a candidate is still required to go through an assessment once they return to the country.

STEP 4 – The application is sent to the head of the school for a review, which has an expected turnaround time of 24 hours.

STEP 5 – Once everything is submitted, the admissions team will contact parents with their child’s admission verdict. Some possible admission related outcomes are listed below:

• Full acceptance – based on completed assessment and academic reports
• Provisional acceptance – based on academic reports alone. Full acceptance will be based on performance in an on-site assessment
• Added to the waitlist – due to unavailability of grades, SEN, EAL or support availability
• Admission denied – when social and academic requirements are not met

If a student is accepted, a registration deposit of 10% of total fees at GEMS World Academy must be paid within seven days from the offer date. While the admission fee is non-refundable, it is adjustable against the tuition fees of the year.

Parents must ensure that their child meets the following age placement guideline before seeking admission.

This is based on the age of the students on 31st August (for the school beginning in September). Source: GEMS World Academy, Dubai

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

GEMS World Academy fees includes a mandatory registration fee of AED 525, which needs to be submitted with the remaining documentation required for admission. The registration fee is non-refundable and non-adjustable. Here is the breakdown of the school’s fee structure:

Some additional charges include:

Fees can be paid through cash, cheque or by bank transfer. For further information, you can view the school’s payment methods.

GEMS World Academy provides academic scholarships to children who are continuously placed at the top of their class for at least three years in all of their subjects and have the commitment and passion to consistently improve their grades. All students of GEMS World Academy are eligible to apply for this scholarship.

• Scholarships will be granted to applicants who have displayed exceptional academic accomplishment over a sustained period of time
• The scholarships are available to students of GEMS schools from Year 7 (Grade 6) and are granted on the basis of a competitive application process
• The scholarships will be granted on the basis of:
  • The appraisal by GEMS of the applicant’s scholarship application form
  • The appraisal by GEMS of a full report from every applicant’s present school (both national and local benchmarks)
  • The result of a candidate’s non-verbal/verbal questioning and thinking test
  • A meeting with the principal of the relevant GEMS school to take note of the applicant’s commitment and calibre
  • Once the student clears all of the above levels of assessment, they will have a final meeting with the GEMS scholarship committee

Performing arts scholarships

GEMS offers creative and performing arts scholarships to students who are enthusiastic artists and entertainers with grades that put them in the 70th percentile of their class. The scholarships are awarded to students on the basis of:

• The appraisal by GEMS regarding the applicant’s scholarship application form
• The appraisal by GEMS of a full report from every applicant’s present school (both national and local benchmarks)
• The achievement awards by the applicant and appreciation from relevant internationally recognised bodies
• The results of auditions administered by the school
• A detailed meeting/interview with the principal of GEMS to assess the applicant’s calibre and commitment.
• An interview/meeting with the scholarships committee in GEMS

Sports scholarship

GEMS also offers sports scholarships to students who are among the top 70th percentile in class and have continuously excelled at their sport for at least last 3 to 5 years, competing in international or regional level tournaments.

Sports scholarships will be granted to applicants based on demonstrated athletic ability. Students who show the potential to compete at National or International levels are likely to be selected.

The scholarships will be awarded on the basis of:

• The appraisal by GEMS of the applicant’s scholarship application form
• The appraisal by GEMS of a full report from the applicant’s present school
• The evidence and results of participating in different games such as rugby and football
• A meeting with the principal of GEMS to ensure that the applicant is responsible enough to maintain his position and finally, a final meeting with the GEMS committee

Technology and Innovation based scholarships

Such scholarships are given on the basis of the applicant demonstrating the potential to excel in areas such as innovation/digital technology (computational thinking, coding, app development and cryptology).

Arabic: Native/ Non-Native Speaker scholarships: GEMS offers Arabic scholarships to both native and non-native speakers. For more information regarding the application process and tuition fees funding, please visit GEMS scholarships.

GEMS World Academy aims to provide students with the opportunity to adapt to healthy eating habits. Each item on the list is served either from the GEMS World Academy cafeteria or from GEMS group’s Parent Cafe. Children are also allowed to bring their own homemade lunch and snack boxes. The management of GEMS World Academy works with an outsourced school catering service to make sure that the menu offered is hygienic and fulfils all the nutritious needs of the students.

The menu changes throughout the week and provides lunch options for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian students. For appetisers, students can select from a variety of options such as tomato and basil soup, carrot soup, zucchini soup, broccoli soup and lentil soup. Main course meal options for non-vegetarians include basil pesto chicken with fusilli pasta and garlic bread, chicken frittata with sautéed potatoes and carrots, meatloaf coated with homemade ketchup and cheese sauce/mashed potato, corn on the cob and green beans, chicken tikka masala with green beans and rice, beef burger with oven chips and chicken mac and cheese with peas.

Lunch items for vegetarian students include mac and cheese with peas, mushroom bourguignon with mashed potato and carrots, vegetable frittata with sautéed potatoes and carrots, veg pad thai with stir-fried veg (nut-free) and aubergine caponata with steamed potato and green beans are few of the many options available at GEMS World Academy.

To fulfil sweet cravings, a number of dessert options are available at GEMS World Academy, including yoghurt with stewed apple, yoghurt with strawberry compote, fruit salad and fruit crumble. To ensure better health, the school refrains from serving unhealthy beverages and instead, offers students milk, laban or water.

Every parent wants to make sure that their children have access to safe and secure transportation. However, for working parents, it is difficult to pick and drop children from school. Keeping that in mind, GEMS World Academy offers students with reliable transportation (the only certified transportation service for schools in Dubai) service called ‘School Transport Services LLC’.

GEMS World Academy holds 20 different camps every year during summer vacations. These camps are for children from five to seven years of age. Activities in camps include football, cooking classes, language classes, art and development activities, swimming and more. GEMS World Academy aims to offer Switzerland’s Camp Programs in the month of April 2019.

To find more information regarding the upcoming camps, parents can e-mail at info@gwadubai.ae.

The management of GEMS World Academy believes that similar to academic education, physical education also plays a crucial role in the grooming of a child as it allows students to discover new talents, develop team spirit and build a healthy sense of competition. Keeping that in mind, the management at GEMS World Academy ensures that every activity is held within an encouraging, inclusive and nurturing environment.

The state-of-the-art sporting facilities include a 50m Olympic-sized pool with six racing lanes, three tennis and basketball courts, skateboard area, diving blocks, a fitness centre and a junior gym, rock climbing wall (8 metres), two indoor air-conditioned courts, 400-metre waterproof running track, and an AstroTurf sports field.

At GEMS Dubai World Academy, education is beyond academic learning. The focus is more towards integrating the talents and interests of students along with fulfilling their emotional, social and physical development.

Keeping this important aspect in mind, the staff at GEMS World Academy encourages students to participate in a number of different extracurricular activities, providing students with an opportunity to test their physical abilities within a supportive and safe environment.

There are two types of extracurricular activities offered at GEMS: After School Activities (ASA) and Eastern Sports Management (ESM).

The list below provides an example of the clubs offered throughout the year.

GEMS World Academy is also engaged with the services of ESM regarding additional activities. These activities will run after school. The main motive is to equip students with the tools and knowledge to improve themselves in their chosen activity/sport.

Dubai’s leading sports academy and training centre, ESM is open for both adults and children of all levels. Activities offered at ESM include football, tennis, swimming, rugby, cricket, climbing and holiday camps. For further information on ESM activities and offers, feel free to visit esportsuae.com.

Week Without Walls (WWW) is another extra-curricular activity designed for students from sixth to 11th Grade. This activity helps students to become well informed global citizens. Most of these after-school activities are aimed to develop an understanding among students and bring their attention to issues such as pollution, global warming, poverty, and preservation.

GEMS World Academy annually provides its students with an opportunity to enjoy new practices that are external to the school environment. Students at GEMS World Academy are encouraged to participate in multiple educational field trips. It allows them to experience an alternate outlook, develop a better understanding of the world by meeting with different individuals and learn new skills while having fun.

Currently, there aren’t any after-school care programmes available at GEMS World Academy. However, the school does provide an extended care service for students who stay late due to extra-curricular activities. The extended care programme runs daily until 6:30 pm.

The Department of Health and Medical Services in UAE requires every new student in both public and private schools to get a full health examination. That health examination should be recorded and filed from within the school health office. Being a part of the admission process, an up-to-date record of vaccinations must be provided for each student. Besides that, GEMS World Academy does not have any in-house clinics on the premises.

The management of GEMS World Academy has introduced a new information management system called “iSAMS”. It is a user-friendly portal designed to allow parents to communicate better with the management and teaching staff at GWA.  On the first login, the panel will ask a person to change their password and select a personal security question. Once the process is completed, the user can easily access the portal with their login credentials. Parents can also visit their official social media pages. These are updated regularly with events and news for both primary and secondary students.

The school also maintains a Whatsapp group where parents and guardians are added so that they can get notifications regarding school activities.

• Telephone Number: +971-4-373-6373
• Email:
  • General Enquiries: info_gwa@gemsedu.com
  • Admission Enquiries: admissions_gwa@gemsedu.com
• GWA Website
• GWA Facebook
• GWA Twitter
• GWA Instagram
• GWA YouTube

Note that the cover image belongs to GEMS World Academy

How many grades/years are there in GEMs World Academy school?

The school offers grades from KG 1 until Grade 12.

Does the school follow a co-education model?

Yes, GEMS World Academy Dubai follows a co-education model.

How many students are currently studying in GEMS World Academy?

As of now, there are around 2,000 students studying in the school.

Does the school have any special education programmes or learning plans for students of determination?

Following the Dubai Inclusive Framework, GWA Al Barsha offers learning opportunities to students who are differently abled.

What is the academic calendar of GEMS World Academy?

GEMS World Academy Dubai calendar runs from late August to early July.

What is the tuition fee charged by your school?

Gems World Academy Dubai fees range from AED 65,747 to AED 114,128.

Does the school offer scholarship programmes to needy and deserving students?

Since the school is part of the GEMS Group, there are several scholarship programs for deserving students. You can contact the admissions office to know more about financial assistance.

How does GEMs World Academy communicate with parents?

There are multiple ways to communicate with parents, including a parent portal, WhatsApp groups, social media pages, newsletter, booking an appointment with the teacher and attending numerous events organised by the school round the year.

Does the school have a cafeteria or a canteen on campus?

Yes, the school has a cafeteria on campus serving fresh, healthy and tasty meals to students. However, children can bring home-made meals as well. 

How often does the school arrange field trips?

The school plans local as well as international trips each year.

How many teachers are currently teaching in GEMS World Academy?

Currently, there are 164 teacher sand 78 teaching assistants at the school.