
Al Qemah Private School - Khorfakkan - Al Qadisiya, Sharjah
Ministry of Education Curriculum, Subjects & Qualifications
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Curriculum & Academics
Al Qemah Private School - Khorfakkan - Al Qadisiya operates under the UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) curriculum, serving students from KG1 through Grade 9 in the Eastern Region of Sharjah. Instruction is delivered in Arabic as the primary language, with English taught as a compulsory additional subject. The school follows the MoE examinations board for formal assessments and participates in a range of international benchmarking programmes including IBT (International Benchmark Tests), PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS — a meaningful commitment for a school at this fee level, providing external reference points for student performance that many comparable MoE schools do not pursue.
The school's most significant academic story is one of recovery and gradual improvement. Inspectors rated Al Qemah Acceptable in the 2024–2025 cycle — a rating it has held consistently since 2022–2023, and a marked step forward from its Weak rating recorded in 2018. The inspection report notes improvement in student achievement across almost all subjects since that earlier review, with particular gains in Arabic language, Islamic Education, Mathematics, Science, and English. Among the 17 MoE-curriculum schools tracked in the Sharjah city index, 10 hold an Acceptable rating and 7 hold a Good rating — placing Al Qemah in the majority tier, but with clear headroom to improve. No MoE school in the city index currently holds a Very Good or Outstanding rating, which contextualises the challenge ahead.
In terms of subject-level performance, Arabic language (as a first language) is the strongest area, rated Good in KG and Cycle 1 by inspectors, with students demonstrating solid listening comprehension and analytical skills. Achievement in Islamic Education, Mathematics, Science, English, and Social Studies is rated Acceptable across all cycles — meeting minimum expectations but not yet exceeding them. Inspectors noted a persistent gap between the school's internal assessment data, which reported higher achievement levels, and what was observed in classrooms and student workbooks. This discrepancy in self-assessment accuracy is itself flagged as an area requiring attention.
Inspectors rated personal and social development as Good — the school's strongest performance domain — reflecting students' understanding of Islamic values, UAE national identity, and positive attitudes toward learning. Student protection, care, and guidance were also judged positively. Leadership's impact on improving teaching quality and curriculum delivery was acknowledged as a key strength, with the principal and senior team providing substantial professional development for teachers despite a noted teacher turnover rate that adds instability to instructional continuity.
The school provides SEN inclusion support, with 4 students with special educational needs currently identified. However, inspectors explicitly flagged the identification and support of both SEN students and gifted and talented learners as a priority improvement area — the processes in place are not yet sufficiently systematic. Additional areas for development include making better use of assessment data to inform teaching decisions, and strengthening the curriculum's provision for independent learning skills. Students rarely initiate questions in class, and critical thinking and problem-solving are underdeveloped across lessons. These gaps are common among MoE schools at the Acceptable tier but represent the clearest path toward a Good rating. No university destination data is available given the school's current KG1–Grade 9 scope.