A new junior preparatory school betting on the popularity of the name of a school located in the United Kingdom will open its doors in Dubai in September 2013. The school will follow the Early Years foundation Stage and National Curriculum for England and Wales while adapting to Dubai as necessary.
Foremarke School Dubai is planned to accommodate 1,280 children aged three to 11 in an area covering 25,978 square metres. However, when it opens in September it will only accommodate 280 students out of which four will be nursery classes and three classes for both grade one and two. Intake for grade three and four will then follow in September 2014 and grade six will be accepted in 2015. This suggests that construction works will continue for few years on the premisses while students will be already enrolled and attending on daily basis.
The new school will be located in Al Barsha South within the DuBiotech Science Park development, which is really far from all central areas of Dubai. To reach the school it would requiere a drive of some 30 minutes or more from most of the residential areas of the city.
Few earlier media reports stated that the owner said he is looking to charge 90,000 Dirhams as a tuition fee at the primary school “if KHDA approves”. The company that owns the school is Evolvence capital, which is an investment company that profits from providing education. The company’s first school is Repton Dubai, which is rated “good” by the local regulator, while the tuition fees of it are of the highest in Dubai. The school earned certain regulation among Western expats in Dubai. During our direct experience of two years with Repton Dubai, we encountered lack of professionalism and responsibility on administrative and professional level. The academic background the school provided at the time was not competitive to other schools following the same curriculum.
Back in 2007, Repton Dubai opened for business without its facilities being completed. Construction works on the premises continue during the past five years. For a number of years, proper parking was not provided and traffic jams were a frequent event. In 2011, the whole middle school section of the school was cancelled only after one year of existance due to lack of facilities such as hall and other communal areas needed for school events.
The investment company it seems is building the pricing strategy on a branding model. Apparently, under certain conditions it obtains permissions from foreign schools to use their already established names as a brand in order to justify high tuition fees it charges without proven achievements in education.
It is not sure what is the criterion of KHDA for approving openings of new schools, but completion of facilities should be one of the main priorities. Ongoing construction works pose danger to minors and all others involved on daily basis.
