Victoria International School of Sharjah

Victoria International School of Sharjah (VISS) is a not-for-profit international school in Al Taawun Street. The school opened for classes in September 2007 on a purpose-built campus on the border of Dubai and Sharjah. It teaches a Victorian version of the Australian curriculum. The school is split into four sections – the Early Learning Centre, Primary School, Middle School, and Senior School. VISS  accepts enrolments from Pre-KG to Grade 12. The class sizes are between 20-25 students, with even smaller numbers in senior years to offer a personalized learning approach.

• Location: Al Taawun Street, Al Mamzar
• School fee: AED 28,350 - AED 74,900
• Curriculum: Australian / IB
• Co-ed or segregate: Co-Ed
• SPEA rating: Very Good
• Years offered: Pre-KG - Grade 12

VISS is located in Al Taawun Street Sharjah, which is a bustling area amidst various residential communities such as:  

• Al Nahda, Sharjah
• Al Mamzar
• Al Khan
• Al Nahda, Dubai

Al Taawun Street is also in close proximity to the Sharjah-Dubai border, which makes for an ideal commute for both parents and students of Victoria International School of Sharjah. Parents looking to move closer to the school can consider these properties for sale and rent:

• Apartments for rent near Victoria International School of Sharjah
• Apartments for sale near Victoria International School of Sharjah

The purpose-built campus of Victoria International School of Sharjah offers top-notch facilities such as:

• Design Technology Classrooms
• Theatre Hall
• Computer Labs
• Science Labs
• Library
• 500-seat auditorium
• Arts Room
• Music Academy
• Innovation Centre
• Large technology centre
• STEM Lab
• Swimming Pool

Victoria International School of Sharjah is located on Al Taawun Street Sharjah. Al Taawun houses numerous high-rise towers and apartment buildings and also has essential amenities nearby such as shops, supermarkets and salons.

Since its establishment in 2007, Victoria International School of Sharjah has built a reputation of being an institution where students can grow, learn and develop their personalities in a creative environment.

Split into the Early Learning Centre, Primary, Middle and Senior Sections, VISS imparts education based on the Australian curriculum. For Grade 11 and Grade 12, the school follows the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP).

Victoria International School of Sharjah also boasts high-end facilities such as basketball courts, a swimming pool, a STEM Lab, computer and science labs, design technology classrooms and much more.

Victoria International School of Sharjah is an all-through school that imparts education from the Preparatory Stage (KG) till Grade 12. Grades at Victoria International School of Sharjah are split into four sections:

Early Learning Centre

At the ELC level, the school follows the framework laid out by two Australian curriculums to define the syllabus for the students:

• The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)
• The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF)

An integrated teaching and learning approach is utilized by the school to deliver the curriculum. The school emphasises on play-based learning at this stage to stimulate children’s intellectual, physical, social and creative abilities.

Primary School

The school nurtures children’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm at the primary level. The curriculum followed is the Australian Curriculum with special additions based on the Ministry of Education’s recommendations to align with the requirements in the UAE. The subjects taught are divided into two broad groups:

Middle School

From Grade 6 to Grade 9, the students’ literacy and numeracy skills from the previous grades are worked upon while also introducing new areas of study such as communication skills, effective group work and creative thinking.

Subjects are categorised generally into three kinds of learning– Discipline-based Learning, Interdisciplinary Learning and Physical, Personal and Social Learning. The subjects taught at Middle School are:

Senior School

Senior School encompasses Grades 10, 11 and 12. Grade 10 is the final year of the Australian curriculum and a preparatory year for the programmes offered in Grades 11 and 12. 

VISS offer the IB Diploma Programme and the Global Citizen Diploma Programme for students to study in Grades 11 and 12. 

IB Diploma Programme

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) is an internationally recognised curriculum that prepares senior students for college and future careers. It lasts for two years and the curriculum is divided into 6 groups. Students must take one course from each of the six groups. 

Here is the IB Diploma curriculum:

Group 1 - Studies in Language and Literature

• English Literature HL/SL
• English Language & Literature HL/SL

Group 2 - Language Acquisition

• French B HL/SL
• Arabic B HL/SL
• French Ab Initio SL

Group 3 - Individuals and Society

• History HL/ SL
• Business and Management HL/ SL
• Global Politics HL/SL

Group 4 - Experimental Sciences

• Biology  HL/ SL
• Chemistry HL/ SL
• Physics  HL/ SL
• Design & Technology HL/SL
• Environmental Systems and Society (Group 3 and 4) SL only

Group 5 - Mathematics

• Mathematics Analysis and Approaches SL
• Mathematics Application and Interpretation SL and HL

Group 6 - The Arts and Electives

• Visual Arts HL/SL
• Free Elective ( another subject from Groups 3 or 4)

Note: Students must choose one subject each from Groups 1 to 5. Group 6 is optional, which means students can select their sixth subject from either Group 3 or 4.

VISS Global Citizen Diploma

 This diploma qualification is a two-year programme offered in grades 11 and 12 in the senior school. The curriculum for the VISS Global Citizen Diploma is as follows:

Compulsory

• English, Mathematics & Additional Language (Arabic or French). Students have the option to do IB Mathematics in this programme and earn double credits.
• Islamic Studies (If applicable)
• SATs & IELTS/TOEFL – this is a requirement for equalization from the Ministry of Education. (Students need to take these tests independently outside school)

Four Electives: 2 types

• Type 1 – 2 year course (Science & Humanities)
• Type 2 – 1 year course (Art & Technology & PE)

Apart from these subjects, students are expected to do a critical thinking course called Approaches to Knowledge (ATK) and complete the Curriculum Enrichment Programme (CEP).

Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) is a governmental education regulatory body in Sharjah. SPEA assesses schools' performance and issues a rating based on a six-point scale from Outstanding to Very Weak.

Victoria International School of Sharjah is rated Outstanding by the Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA). For more information, read the inspection report available on the school's website.

The academic calendar at Victoria International School of Sharjah starts in the last week of August and ends in the last week of June.

• The first term starts in the last week of August and ends in the second week of December. Students go on a winter break that begins in the third week of December and ends in the last week of December.
• The second term starts in the first week of January and ends in the fourth week of March. There are two options for spring breaks. The first option is from the last week of March to the second week of April and the second option is from the last week of March to the first week of April.
• The third term starts right after the spring break and ends in the last week of June.

For more information, contact the school.

Victoria School Sharjah is offering online application facilities for students. The admission process at VISS is fairly simple. The school welcomes new admissions from ELC (Pre-KG and KG) to Grade 11. Parents can follow these steps to enrol their students at the school:

• Pre-assessment
  • A pre-assessment form can be obtained online or from the registration office/sub-school offices.
  • Fill out and submit the online registration form.
  • The child’s assessment date and time will be relayed by the school within a few days.
• Assessment
  • A non-refundable, non-deductible assessment fee of AED 500 should be paid. The assessment will take place only when the payment is done.
  • Be prompt for the assessment and bring the required documents.
  • The school will contact you if your child has been accepted for enrollment.
• Enrolment
  • Once the child completes the assessment and is offered a place at the school, you will need to submit the required documents to the Registration Office on the communicated Registration Day.

Documents required for Registration Day:

• 3 recent passport-sized photographs
• 1 copy of the student’s passport
• 1 copy of the unified number in the student’s UAE passport
• 1 copy of the student’s valid UAE ID (front and back) and the original ID has to be submitted by the beginning of the new academic year
• 1 copy of the family’s nationality card for UAE Nationals
• 1 copy of the birth certificate
• 1 copy of the parent’s passports and the unified number in their UAE passport
• 1 copy of the parent’s valid UAE ID (face and back) and the original ID to be submitted by the
  beginning of the new academic year
• 1 copy of the student’s immunization/vaccination card and Health Records (if available)
• 1 copy of the student’s health insurance card (if available)
• For KG2 (Prep)-Grade 8: Last school transcript/report from the previous school
• For Grades 9, 10 and 11: Last 2 years’ school transcripts/reports from the previous school

However, before initiating the admission process, parents must ensure that their child meets the following age placement criteria.

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)

Victoria International School Sharjah fees for the current academic year are:

VISS has three cafeterias/canteens on its campus– one for Primary School, one for Middle School and one for Senior School. A third-party catering company Safratas independently operates and provides healthy lunch options for the students. The menu changes each week and can be accessed on the school’s website.

The Primary School canteen has a pre-order meal system in place. Over-the-counter purchases are limited to drinks and healthy snacks. The Middle and Senior School canteens operate on a queuing and purchasing system where students have access to hot meals, sandwiches and a salad bar.

The school manages and operates its transportation facilities to ensure students' safe pick-up and drop-off. Routes cover areas of Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates. Victoria International School of Sharjah offers a transportation app that parents can use to:

• Communicate with the transport staff
• Live-tracking of buses
• Students’ bus attendance and history of travel

VISS organises various local and international camps for its Outdoor Education Programme. Victoria International School of Sharjah recently organised a Ski Trip to Switzerland, where students visited Geneva, Gruyere and Verbier.

The Australian curriculum mandates that every student actively participates in sports to encourage physical fitness and health amongst children from a young age. Victoria International School of Sharjah boasts a constantly evolving sports programme across all the sections through physical activities and competitions to encourage teamwork and sportsmanship.

Sports facilities at Victoria International School of Sharjah are:

• Swimming Pool
• Indoor Basketball Court
• Outdoor Basketball Court
• Indoor Multipurpose Sports Complex
• Outdoor Tennis Court
• Cricket Nets
• Outdoor Football Field

The school has a dedicated swimming program called the VISS Swim Academy. Students aged four years and older can participate in the academy and will be trained by highly professional and accredited swimmers. Students have to pay AED 450 to enrol in the VISS Swim Academy.

Victoria International School of Sharjah offers an extensive range of physical and recreational co-curricular activities, including physical sports and performance arts, outdoor education activities, overnight camps and international tours.

Clubs and activities at VISS usually take place after school hours. Students can also participate in paid extracurricular activities organized by external providers, such as:

| Royal FA (Football) | Turning Pointe (ballet) |
| Emirates Tennis Academy (tennis) | Taekwondo |
| Gymnastics Time (gymnastics) | MPAC Sports (basketball) |

​Students at the school are placed into ‘Houses’. The majority of the extracurricular activities are held between students of different houses. They are:

• Falcons
• Gazelles
• Leopards
• Scorpions

As part of the Outdoor Education Programme, the school organizes various cultural awareness trips and educational trips for the students. This includes trips to Robotics Competitions around the country, Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships and trips organized by educational trips provider NorthStar.

Kindergarten students of VISS also recently visited the Dubai Dino Park in Zabeel.

Most of the extracurricular activities at VISS take place after school hours. The school has also contracted an external service provider to organize after-school activities for the students. They can choose to enrol in clubs and activities they are passionate about.

VISS has a fully-equipped medical clinic on campus that functions daily from 07:45 am to 04:15 pm. The school employs a dedicated nurses station in the medical centre and Gate 6. 

As per ministry requirements, the school conducts regular health screening. Parents will be informed before these checkups and can contact the nurses regarding any medical concerns about their child.

The school established the VISS Parents Association in 2008– a forum dedicated to direct constructive criticism and input from parents of the school. VISS Parents Association conducts various activities that the parents actively participate in such as:

• International Day
• National Day
• Athletics and Sports Carnivals
• Students Activities
• Grandparents Day
• Pink Day– Cancer Awareness
• Sausage Sizzles
• Coffee Sessions
• Fitness Clubs such as Aerobics, Zumba, Swimming and Yoga

 A dedicated group of parents will form the VISS Parents Association team and take on leadership roles and participate in events such as:

• Coffee mornings with the Principal of VISS and members of the leadership team
• Workshop with faculties across the school from Pre-KG to Grade 12
• Social Activities
• Two formal meetings per term
• Informal meetings throughout the term

To receive up-to-date information from the school regarding the student’s activities, parents can use the in-house Parent Portal as well.

The school also regularly updates the website regarding important notices about the school and its students. VISS sends out a newsletter with information regarding events, achievements and other happenings at the school.

• Telephone Number: +971-6-577-1999
• Email: registrar@viss.ae
• Website
• Facebook

Note that the cover image belongs to Victoria International School of Sharjah.

How many grades/years are there at Victoria International School of Sharjah?

The school offers education from Pre-KG until Grade 12.

Does Victoria International School of Sharjah follow a co-education model?

Yes, Victoria International School of Sharjah follows a co-educational model.

What is the range of the tuition fee charged by Victoria International School of Sharjah?

Annual tuition fees range from AED 28,350 to AED 74,900.

Does Victoria International School of Sharjah conduct after-school activities?

The majority of extracurricular activities offered by VISS Al Taawun are conducted after school hours. Additionally, external service providers have introduced several after-school activities for students.

How often does Victoria International School of Sharjah arrange field trips?

The school takes students on local and international trips around the year.