United Private School, Al Yahar, Al Ain

United Private School Al Yahar (commonly known as UPS) is an American curriculum school in Al Ain. UPS Al Yahar opened its doors to Emirati and expatriate students in 2010 and offers classes from KG until Grade 12. Boys and girls study in a co-educational set up until Grade 4 and later move to separate sections.

More than 700 students are presently enrolled at the school and Emirati national make up the majority. 5% of the students are identified with Special Educational Needs. The teaching faculty has 77 teachers, 15 teaching assistants and a teacher to student ratio of 1:11 in KG classes and 1:10 in other sections.

The school owners also manage another campus in Baniyas, Abu Dhabi. Al Yahar United Private School has made significant progress since its launch. It managed to secure a Good rating from ADEK during the latest 2018-2019 inspection, which is a huge step up from the previous Acceptable and Very Weak ratings.

Read this comprehensive UPS Al Yahar guide to know more about its location, curriculum, ratings, fees and facilities.

The nearest residential area is Al Maqam. Other neighbourhoods located in proximity to the UPS campus include:

• Rimah
• Al Tawam
• Al Salamat
• Al Sad

Al Maqam is a small neighbourhood in Al Ain enjoying easy access to the Abu Dhabi – Al Ain Truck Road (E40). One can find apartments and villas for rent in this quiet suburb located away from the city centre.

Those who want to settle down near their kids’ school can consider:

• Villas for rent near United Private School Al Yahar

The two-storey Al Yahar UPS campus is divided into five sections. Boys and girls have separate classes after Grade 4. The KG section is separate from the remaining sections. One can find sections for Elementary School on the ground level. Middle and High School sections for both girls and boys are accommodated on the first floor of the building.

The school campus is well-equipped with specialist resources like four science labs, two gyms, two playgrounds, two labs and two libraries.

One can also find a swimming pool, a robotics club and a heritage corner. The STEM club is the most recent addition to the campus.

Other premium facilities include a music room, an art room, an auditorium, a drama room and a talent room. The library is well stocked with English and Arabic books.

The school is located in Al Yahar, Al Ain close to the Abu Dhabi-Al Ain Road. Al-Ain International Airport is 14 minutes away from the school. One can also find other reputable schools in the neighbourhood.

The school aims to promote respect for cultural diversity and inspire students to love learning. The primary goal is to help students achieve their fullest potential and build their social, physical and emotional wellbeing.

All UPS students can benefit from an engaging learning experience and develop their intellectual skills. Graduating candidates transform into actively contributing members of society and assist with the community’s social and economic development as the whole.

Much of the school’s progress is credited to the senior leadership team and their decision of recruiting new and more experienced teachers. With a teacher to student ratio of 1:11, United Private School is more focused on providing individual attention to students.

As stated earlier, almost 5% of students are identified with Special Educational Needs. The school now needs to develop its provision for Gifted and Talented students. The latter was also highlighted in the most recent 2018-2019 ADEK inspection report.

United School of Al Yahar offers classes from KG to Grade 12, which are divided into different sections, as seen in the table below:

UPS Al Yahar follows the American curriculum based on the US Common Core Standards of the State of California in combination with the Next Generation Science Standards.

The school is also accredited by:

• AdvancED by the NCA Commission and School Improvement
• The Northwest Accreditation Commission
• SACS Commission

The School Improvement is now an ADEK requirement for the High School Diploma issued to students who wish to pursue higher education in the US.

Core subjects taught at UPS include Math, Science, English, ICT, Robotics, Music, Art and PE.

Islamic Studies, Social Studies and Arabic are included in the curriculum as per the MoE guidelines.

High school students also study Business Studies, Economics and Graphic Design.

ADEK inspected United School of Al Yahar from 21st to 24th February in 2018 and rated it as “Good.”

According to United School Al Yahar ADEK rating and report, the school has restructured leadership since the last inspection, which has led to excellent academic outcomes.

The detailed report mentions that students’ achievement is good overall except for English, for which it is Acceptable. Students show good progress when compared to their starting points.

Students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) make the same progress as their peers. However, More-able and Gifted and Talented students do not make the required progress they are capable of. Students have good learning skills overall.

Students personal, social and innovation skills are good. They display positive attitudes towards learning, behave well and develop good relationships with their teachers and friends. Students are regular and have a very good attendance record.

UPS has worked hard to develop a good knowledge of the UAE culture and heritage. All students have a good understanding of Islamic values.

United Private School’s students contribute to the school’s betterment and the wider community. However, students in the primary phase do not always initiate projects. The report also suggested that lessons should have substantial innovation aspects.

The school also has firm plans to promote students’ performance in TIMSS benchmarking tests. Teaching and use of assessment are overall good. Teachers have good subject knowledge and they implement effective internal assessment processes. The school has embedded good systems for measuring students’ outcomes against national and international expectations. However, not all teachers consistently use assessment information to match students’ abilities and needs, especially in English.

United School of Al Yahar has a good curriculum that is broad and age-appropriate. The curriculum also supports progression in students and creates good links between subjects and helps students develop a thorough understanding of the UAE culture and heritage. However, the curriculum does not adapt well enough to provide high levels of challenge for the more-able and Gifted and Talented students at occasions.

The school has a good arrangement for child protection, care, guidance and support. It has well-established systems to promote attendance. The school has effective processes for identifying kids with Special Educational Needs (SEN) as well as Gifted and Talented students. Although, it is not well-developed particularly for Gifted and Talented students.

School leadership is good and shares a strong partnership with parents and the community. Governors ask challenging questions regarding school performance and ensure that students learn well. Leaders also recognise that there is a need to raise students’ attainment in English. They also are aware of the key role of middle leaders in improving teaching and learning.

Key areas of strength of United School Al Yahar are:

• The effect of school leaders’ action for improving students’ achievement in many subjects
• Strong relationships that promote students’ good behaviour, positive learning attitudes to and attendance
• The way students’ appreciate UAE culture, heritage and future vision.
• Students’ understanding of Islamic values
• School’s partnership with parents and the community that enhances students’ well-being and learning outcomes
• School’s effective day-to-day management

Key areas for improvement suggested for United School Al Yahar include:

The school needs to improve students’ achievement in English by ensuring that teachers:

• Effectively match tasks with students’ abilities and enable students to develop their basic skills
• Consistently check students’ provision and offer them well-targeted support to help them boost attainment in subjects
• Offer more opportunities for students to speak at length
• Model the genre of writing so that students have clear expectations

Enhance the consistency of teaching and learning at school by making sure all teachers:

• Effectively use assessment information to plan students’ next step in learning and help them make good progress consistently
• Appropriately deliver challenging tasks and activities in all lessons for students particularly for more-able and Gifted and Talented students
• Offer more opportunities to help students develop their investigative skills and innovations
• Give high-quality feedback to help students improve the quality of written work

The school must improve curriculum quality by:

• Ensuring the curriculum is effectively adapted and provide sufficient support and challenge to all students
• Making sure the improvement system is more focussed towards the quality of students’ learning experiences, especially in English
• Further developing middle leaders’ role in monitoring subject quality in the curriculum

Term 1 starts on 30th August. Students go on winter break from 13th to 31st December. Term 2 begins from 3rd January and students get spring break from 28th March to 12th April. Term 3 starts from 18th April while 30th June is the last day of the academic year.

United Private School Al Yahar academic calendar is available on the official website.

As for United Private School admissions, interested candidates can submit the online registration form available on the official website.

United School Al Yahar fee structure is mentioned below.

The above-mentioned annual fee does not include the cost of:

• Books
• Uniform
• Transport

United School Al Yahar offers a 100% scholarships to outstanding students.

The school offers transportation services priced at AED 2,500.

United School has a football team that also participated in the ABU Football Tournament. Students can also participate in Sports Day. They also were a part of the 10th school Olympic games.

United School offers different activities for students. Celebrations including Flag Day, National Day and Prophet’s Birthday Celebration are held at the school.

Students are taken to educational and recreational field trips. Middle school students were taken to Bounce Al Ain Trampoline Park while UPS girls visited Louvre Abu Dhabi, the largest art museum in the UAE. Students discovered art galleries representing different cultures and traditions. UPS students also visited Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

The school has grade-specific WhatsApp group for updates regarding recent events, news and progress made by students.

• Telephone: +971-3-781-9799
• Email: info@unitedschool.ae
• Website United Private School Al Yahar
• Facebook United School Al Yahar

Featured image credit: United Private School Al Yahar official website