The International School of Creative Science, Nad Al Sheba
Dubai, UAE · PrivateThe International School of Creative Science, Nad Al Sheba is the Dubai school of the ISCS group, managed by Bukhatir Education Advancement and Management of the Bukhatir Group; the group has five schools, three in Sharjah and one in Bahrain, and the Dubai one draws on two decades of experience from its older sisters. The curriculum is the English national one, with the UAE Ministry of Education programme in Arabic, Islamic education, social studies and moral education added, and the school names its Quran memorisation programme as its distinctive feature. Its examination line is Pearson's: Key Stage 3, that is Years 7 to 9, follows the Pearson iLower Secondary curriculum aligned to the UK national curriculum standards; Key Stage 4 takes Pearson IGCSEs, with English as a first or second language, higher or foundation maths, double or triple science, IT and PE as the core, plus BTECs in sport and business. In the senior years, 12 and 13, there are A levels from both Pearson and Cambridge alongside BTECs, and everyone takes a core programme of study skills and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. The classrooms are designed for movement and activity: several activity stations, immediate outdoor access to an engineered garden, and the latest computers and interactive whiteboards in every room; there is a library. Extracurricular activities change each term based on feedback from parents and pupils, and they are led by volunteers, by staff and by external providers.
Key facts
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmePearson · authorised programmeBSME · part of the associationBukhatir Education Advancement & Management · school is part of the networkWhat stands behind each entry
Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: IGCSE (ages 14-16), A-Level (ages 16-18). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate. A-Level is the senior years, and their results are what British and many other universities admit on.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →It gives a school approved centre status: that means Pearson exams can be sat in the school itself. What is checked is the premises, the equipment, the secure storage of papers and the presence of trained invigilators.
What this status would mean. The school can run Pearson exams on its own premises. The status says nothing about teaching, about results or about the school itself: any school able to run an exam securely holds it. The school is not in the organisation's register: the status comes from the school's own words. Which Pearson qualifications this school is approved for is not stated here.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →One hundred and eighty schools in ten countries - Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE; more than half of the membership is in the UAE. It runs no inspections of its own at all. Instead it requires somebody else's accreditation, and the requirement is strict: a school not already accredited on joining must gain accreditation within two years and then maintain it. The inspectorates are EDT or ISI, which means the accreditation in question is the British government's BSO scheme. The organisation has withdrawn its former lighter routes in - one route remains.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to the association, and the association requires its members to hold a real accreditation: for Gulf schools that is almost always BSO. What to look at is that accreditation rather than this badge. Nor is the badge empty - there is no inspection of its own behind it, but a school is not admitted to the association without somebody else's accreditation. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →A British vocational qualification from Pearson: not an academic course with an exam at the end, but a programme of practical assignments in a particular trade, from engineering and business to art and sport.
What this means for this school. Teaching and assessment work differently from A-level: instead of written exams there is a run of practical assignments marked by the school, while Pearson checks the school itself and samples the work. British universities do accept BTEC, but not all of them and not for every course: level 3 carries the same UCAS points as A-level, and that is what a family aiming at a particular university should look at. For a child who needs the classic academic route, BTEC is not a replacement for A-level but a different path.
BEAM is Bukhatir Education Advancement and Management, a school group based in Sharjah. The site claims «20 Years of Inspiring Leaders with Faith, Knowledge & Innovation«, implying a start around 2004; no exact founding year is stated. It shows six campuses under two brands: International School of Creative Science (ISCS) in Sharjah (Muwaileh), Dubai (Nad Al Sheba) and Bahrain (Al Riffa), and American School of Creative Science (ASCS) in Sharjah (Maliha Road and Al Layyah) and Dubai (Nad Al Sheba). The site gives a total of about 13,717 students. It says nothing explicit about ownership versus management.
What this means for this school. The network owns or operates the school. Its accreditation and programme authorisation the school obtains separately, in its own name.