Frequently Asked Questions.

1. Where is the school located?
The campus is located in Dubai Festival City, near Al Badia Golf Resort and Al Badia Residence. Located just three kilometers from Dubai International Airport, seven minutes’ drive from areas such as Mirdif and Al Warqa and easily accessible from the Business Bay Crossing.

2. What is the school’s curriculum?
The curriculum is based on the National Curriculum for England and Wales and the school is an IGCSE Cambridge Examination Centre. The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is one of the most recognised qualifications around the world. The school is fully authorised to offer the rigorous International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and IB Career-Related Certificate (IBCP). The curriculum is designed to ensure an easy transfer to other countries, should the necessity arise.

3. Is all the instruction in English or are other languages offered?
English is the language of instruction. Arabic as a First Language, Arabic as a Foreign Language and French are also offered. Spanish is offered to IB students.

4. Who is operating the school?
Deira International School is owned and operated by the Al-Futtaim Education foundation as a not-for-profit British Curriculum School in Dubai Festival City. A School Board consists of educational experts, parents’ representatives, business representatives, members of staff and the Director of the school.  The Director is delegated to manage and control whole school operations including the appointment of all teachers and support staff.

5. Where is the staff from?
The teaching staff are primarily from the United Kingdom. Teachers from Arab countries teach Arabic, AFL and Islamic Studies. All teachers at DIS are experienced and possess certification in their field of instruction in addition to their university degrees.

6. What extracurricular activities are offered?
A child’s day does not end with the ringing of a bell, nor does their boundless energy. One of the ways to channel this energy in a productive and constructive way is to sign your child up for an extra-curricular activity or two. DIS offers an extensive activities’ programme; extracurricular sports include football, basketball, rugby, netball, tennis and swimming. A vocal and instrumental programme offers a broad range of musical study. Band, chorus, dance and art programmes are also offered along with other academic and non-academic programmes. There is a significant evidence to demonstrate that activities pursued outside of normal school hours have a profound and positive impact upon the development and well-being of children. In addition, a wide range of trips are organised within Dubai and beyond. Most recent overseas visits include Nepal, Austria, Iceland and London.

7. Tell me about the school campus.
Our 80,000 m² campus is a uniquely designed purpose-built school with state of the art facilities; one of the most impressive in the Middle East. It includes art rooms, libraries, vocal and instrumental music rooms, science laboratories, design & technology rooms, business studies centres, media centre, indoor gymnasiums, swimming pools, large sports field and multipurpose halls. We look forward to further expansion of our outdoor learning areas with an ambitious addition of basketball courts and full size football pitch in progress this term.

We have recently extended our facilities with more specialist classrooms in both Primary and Secondary School, an examination suite and larger libraries. An additional gymnasium, swimming pool, large astroturf, fitness room and sport science laboratories have also been added; enhancing our ability to offer additional swimming and physical activities across both schools.

8. What is the length of the school year?
The school year begins in early September and ends at the end of June/early July.

9. What are the tuition fees?
If a student is accepted, a seat reservation fee of AED3000 per student should be paid. The reservation fee will be deducted from the first term tuition fee. The reservation fee will not be refunded if the student chooses not to take the offered place.

10. How do I enrol my children?
Applications can be submitted online and then followed up by the documents required. Please follow the link for the online application Apply Now – Deira International School (DIS) – Dubai Festival City (disdubai.ae). You can also visit our school at any time to complete an application.

11. How many students are in each class?
The school maintains a low student:teacher ratio.

• Foundation Stage maximum number of students is 20

• Key Stage 1 maximum number of students is 22-25

• Key Stage 2,3 and 4 maximum number of students is 26

• IB classes have a maximum number of students is 18.

12. How long is the school day?
Our school day timings from Sunday to Thursday are as follows:

• Foundation Stage: 7:50 am to 1:00 pm

• Primary: 7:50 am to 2:30 pm

• Secondary: 7:50 am to 3:30 pm

13. Is there a school uniform or dress code?

Yes, DIS uniforms are available exclusively at Sumeru at the J3 Mall in Umm Suqeim. Sumeru have been operating in the UAE for 25 years, whilst their school uniform manufacturing division was established in 2007.

To make the process of selecting and purchasing the DIS School Uniform easy for parents, Sumeru have an on-line store and a shop located in the J3 Mall in Umm Suqeim. All current uniforms for Deira International School can be viewed and purchased on their website https://shopatsumeru.com/

Store Location:

Sumeru
J3 Mall, Level 1
983 Al Wasl Road
Umm Suqeim

Call us now: +971 58 1029932

14. Is the school accredited?
DIS is part of the Al-Futtaim Education Foundation, is fully accredited by the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), British Schools Overseas (BSO) and International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO).

15. Does the school offer transportation for students?
Transportation is provided. The safety and well-being of students is the first priority of our school transportation staff. All of our male school drivers and female bus assistants have first aid orientation and Road & Transport Authority (RTA) certification.

16. What is unique about the school?

• Amazing learning opportunities with curiosity and challenge embedded at all stages.

• Superb outdoor learning facilities.

• Our open-door policy supporting parents as partners.

• Outstanding learning and teaching.

• After school care club until 2:30pm (optional).

• Staff who have an in-depth understanding of duty of care and support for students.

• Warm, friendly, caring and expert teachers.

• Wide range of specialist staff from primary including STEM and art.

  You can check our facilities and technology page here.