St. Mary’s Catholic High School, Fujairah

St. Mary’s Catholic High School (SMCH) in Fujairah was established in 2002. The school is a project of St. Mary’s Group of Schools owned by the Catholic Church under the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. The group owns five other schools in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah.

You can know more about St. Mary’s Catholic High School Bur Dubai and St. Mary’s Catholic High School Muhaisnah in our detailed guides.

Originally, St. Mary’s High School was a UK curriculum-based facility offering GCSEs to students living in Fujairah. However, with the increasing number of Indian families settling in the vicinity, the school included the Indian curriculum affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) New Delhi, India.

Recently, the school claimed that the student ratio opting for Indian curriculum as opposed to the British curriculum is 2:1 – a  clear sign that Indian families trust SMCH Fujairah. Please note that the CBSE curriculum is offered only to Indian students. Other candidates have to follow the British curriculum.

Despite its religious associations, the school is open to students belonging to all faiths. St. Mary’s Catholic High School, Fujairah is one of the only six schools in the emirate that offer a dual curriculum.

There are two SMCH campuses – one for each curriculum. The student population represented by over 46 nationalities is served by 130 teachers having a Bachelor’s degree as a minimum requirement. The school is said to manage admission applications really well.

St. Mary’s Catholic High School has not been rated or inspected by any educational agency as of date.

St. Mary’s Catholic High School Sakamkam is easily accessible for families residing in:

• Al Faseel
• Al Qurayyah
• Al Hayl

Out of these, Al Faseel is the nearest residential town buzzing with various lifestyle amenities including eateries, commercial and residential properties, beauty salons, schools and more.

St. Mary’s Catholic High School, as stated earlier, has different campuses for each curriculum. Both campuses boast adequate facilities that assist in maintaining a productive learning environment for students.

Classrooms are large enough to comfortably accommodate students and multimedia. Seating arrangements increase the interaction between students and teachers. One can also find a well-stocked library, an IT suite with modern IT equipment and science laboratories with specialist resources.

As far as physical education and sporting activities are concerned, there are age-appropriate play areas in addition to plenty of hard-surfaced outdoor space. Also, an indoor multi-purpose sports hall allows students to engage in a range of sports activities.

St. Mary’s Catholic High School Fujairah uniforms for girls and boys are different. Students must buy relevant sportswear as well. For more information on dress code, please click here.

St. Mary’s Catholic School is situated near Anajaimat – Dibba Road in Sakamkam. You will find numerous amenities close to the school including Baraem Al Eman Private School and GEMS Winchester School – Fujairah.

SMCH in Fujairah is a part of St. Mary’s Group of Schools and the school has successfully maintained its reputation considering the reviews from parents and students.

SMCH Sakamkam is the only school out of the six campuses to offer the dual curriculum. Indian students can opt for CBSE while the remaining students have to choose GCSE. SMCH School has made it to Bayut’s list of best schools in Fujairah.

The senior management along with the leadership team is working day and night to further improve the school’s performance by implementing proper discipline and high standards of teaching methods.

Students are satisfied with the facilities and extracurricular activities provided at SMCH School, Sakamkam.

Since St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Sakamkam offers a dual curriculum, the school has merged the grade and year formats to introduce a new system.The school is divided into three sections.

British Curriculum

Students settling for the UK curriculum get started with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework in FS 1 and FS 2. The curriculum is designed to provide early learning skills in English, Maths and Science and incorporates Music, Art and Physical Education. Once your child moves to Grade 1, he/she is taught Islamic and Moral Education, Social Studies, Arabic Studies and additional subjects.

Moving on, in Year 3 to Year 6 students are offered teacher-specific subjects like Geography, History, IT, French and Urdu. As soon as the tutees enter senior sections they are offered compulsory subjects such as English, English Literature, Religious Studies, Mathematics, Arabic, French / Urdu and Computer Science.

Students have to choose optional subjects for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination. Their choices include:

• Chemistry or Accounts
• Physics or Economics
• Biology or Business

Limited A-Level subjects are offered at the school. Options include Maths or Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. Students who wish to pursue universities in UAE are also required to take the Ministry of Education exams in Islamic Studies in English or Arabic, and Higher Arabic or Lower Arabic depending on their abilities.

Indian Curriculum

St. Mary’s Catholic High School Fujairah curriculum for Indian students is quite similar to the British curriculum with the addition of Hindi in KG 2. In Grade 1 to Grade 4, students are taught Maths, English, EVS/Social Studies, Malayalam and Information Technology, Arabic, Islamic Studies/Moral Science or Religion.

As soon as students transfer to senior sections, they are offered English, Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Biology, Informatics, Economics, Accountancy,  Entrepreneurship and Business Studies. Non-scholastic subjects include General Studies, Work Education and Physical Health Education.

St. Mary’s Catholic High School’s academic calendar starts in April and ends in March.

St. Mary’s Catholic High School Fujairah’s admission process is quite easy to follow. Admissions for KG 1 and KG 2 students starts in February while students enrolled in Grade 1 – Grade 8 can start the process in March.

Parents interested in enrolling their child in Foundation Stage or Kindergarten must comply with the age-placement table provided at the end of this section. Provided your child meets the age guidelines requirements, you can collect the application form from SMCH School Fujairah.

Please note that priority is given to students who have siblings at the school.

Admission process for Junior 1 to Senior 3 section highlights that applicants will have to sit for a 1-hour entrance exam based on subjects like Mathematics and English.

Students applying for A’ level must provide proof that they appeared in and cleared at least six subjects including English language and Mathematics, and should have secured Grade A in the subjects chosen for A’ level.

Only applicants who have been selected will receive a call regarding the date and time for registration.

This is based on the age of the students on 31st March (for schools beginning in April) and 31st August (for schools beginning in September).

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

Although the website does not publish the detailed annual fee structure, St. Mary’s Catholic High School Sakamkam Fujairah FS2/KG1 fees start at AED 5,750 and increase to AED 12,650 for Year13/Grade 12.

Lunch services are provided by both St. Mary’s Catholic Indian School and St. Mary’s Catholic British School. Students can head to the cafeteria during recess time. Parents can also send home-made lunch.

There’s much to be said about the sports facilities provided by SMCH Fujairah UAE. There is a play area for kindergarteners and primary students. Senior students can make the most of the outdoor playground and the indoor multi-purpose hall.

Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities offered at St. Mary’s Catholic Indian School and St. Mary’s Catholic British School are largely based around Sport and Music. Students can engage in these activities to improve their problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Field trips are an essential part of the curriculum followed at St. Mary’s Fujairah. In the past students have visited the USA, Singapore and China.

Ensuring the safety of students is a top priority at the school. Both campuses i.e. St. Mary’s Catholic Indian High School and St. Mary’s Catholic British High School have appropriate medical facilities.

School clinics are headed by full-time nurses; a school doctor visits the facility regularly. The clinics take care of minor injuries and provide first-aid care. However, major injuries are referred to the nearest hospital. Annual health checks include measuring height and weight.

Parents are requested to provide an updated vaccination report, especially if your child suffers from any medical condition(s).

Even though modes of communication between teachers and parents are not discussed in detail, both St. Mary’s Indian School and St. Mary’s British School hold parent-teacher conferences to update parents regarding the current performance of the students. Similarly, parents can provide feedback regarding school policies and performances during these meetings.

Parents and sponsors are usually invited to a range of school events to cheer their child/children or provide volunteer services.

Also, you can contact SMCH Indian School and SMCH British School using the email addresses mentioned below or call the school to book an appointment.

• Telephone Number: +974-9-228-2828
• Emails
  • General Enquiries: stmarysfujhm@yahoo.com
• SMCH Website
• SMCH Facebook

Note that the cover image belongs to St. Mary’s Catholic High School, Fujairah