Dubai:GEMS Founders School – Dubai (GFS) is set to expand in time for the start of the 2021-22 academic year in September, increasing its capacity by an initial 1,000 places and rising to a total of 1,800 in the longer term, in response to high demand for its high-quality and affordable education provision.

The school’s campus will be enlarged to encompass the purpose-built site previously occupied by GEMS Al Barsha National School for Boys, located immediately adjacent to GEMS Founders School.

Matthew Burfield, Principal and CEO of GEMS Founders School – Dubai and Vice President – Education at GEMS Education, said: “The GEMS Founders brand has shifted the education landscape in Dubai, ensuring families have access to the fantastic quality they have come to expect of a GEMS Education school and at an affordable fee point. The success of the GEMS Founders model is reflected in the opening of a second GEMS Founders School in Al Mizhar in 2018 and now the further expansion of the first school. We are incredibly excited about the additional opportunities this campus expansion will offer our children.”

Following the National Curriculum for England, GEMS Founders School – Dubai was opened in 2016 and has quickly grown from strength to strength. The additional capacity afforded by the expansion will allow the many families currently on the waiting list to join the Founders community and benefit from the school’s exceptional provision and value for money.

The expansion of the campus will provide students with a host of additional facilities, greatly enhancing their overall learning experience. Added facilities include two sports halls, two multi-use games areas, a football pitch, a dance studio, two libraries, one dining hall and 200 sqm of playground area. The increased space means students will immediately have access to twice the sports facilities they currently enjoy.

GFS opened FS1 to Year 8 in September 2016, with record numbers of children joining in the first year. In September 2018, the school received approval to open Year 10 and Year 12, allowing it to launch its IGCSE and A Level programmes.

Today, GFS is a full through-school offering internationally recognised qualifications through Cambridge and Oxford AQA International Examination boards. It achieved a Good rating in its first DSIB inspection, as well as the highest grade possible in the Remote Learning Evaluations. It is also a fully accredited British School Overseas with the Department for Education in the UK, with five of the eight areas rated Outstanding and the rest Good.

The expansion is subject to final approvals from the relevant government authorities.