Welcome to GEMS Nations Academy
Welcome to the new paradigm in education. It is my privilege to announce the opening of GEMS Nations Academy in Dubai. Our school pairs innovative teaching methods with new digital communication tools to form a network of connected, creative learners. Offering the American curriculum, enriched by a diverse international context, we take every student on a new journey of academic achievement and self-discovery, going beyond what schools have accomplished before.
Today we all belong to an information age that is radically changing the way we live and learn. Individuals, organizations, and nations are challenged to keep pace. Leadership is redefined as innovation, creative problem-solving, and the use of new tools to achieve ambitious goals. But greatness is using these skills to advance the cause of prosperity, sustainability, and peace—to imagine a future that brings people together and fulfills our highest hopes—for our children and for our nations.
After more than two decades leading prominent private schools in the United States, I joined GEMS Education to create a school that sets the new standard for international education, for student engagement, and for connected learning. In highly interactive classrooms, our students are encouraged to cultivate their exceptional potential in full measure, guided by gifted teachers. A broad spectrum of activities stimulate the many dimensions of each child’s intelligence. Challenge and opportunity, in equal measure, are the natural outgrowth of close engagement of our teachers and students in an environment of intellectual intensity.
A center of excellence where students experience a sense of belonging, Nations Academy gives them the courage to try new things, to take intellectual risks. GEMS believes that we learn from our mistakes as well as from our successes, and it takes a supportive community to encourage the development of curiosity, creativity and imagination. We are ideally situated at this crossroads of cultures in Dubai, a city that, like our students, is dynamically growing, embracing innovation, and creating the future.
Indeed, our students are supported in developing the knowledge and skills to thrive in this new world. But the hallmarks of a GEMS education are our enduring values: leading through innovation, pursuing excellence, growing by learning, and global citizenship. With this holistic approach, we aim to produce not just great learners, but great people.
With the opening of GEMS Nations Academy, we are bringing a fresh answer to the age-old question of how best to unlock the extraordinary potential of every child. The keys are resourcefulness and resilience, imagination and creativity, challenge and support, collaboration, caring, and community. We will always remain relentlessly optimistic as we pursue innovative ways to challenge and inspire. And like our students, we will never stop learning.
American
At GEMS Nations Academy, our curriculum combines an outstanding U.S. standards framework while leveraging the assets of our international student community and the cultural diversity that it brings. Our students will excel academically while becoming part of a kinship that celebrates learning about different cultures, traditions, and habits.
Elementary school: Kindergarten (KG1 & KG2)
For our youngest students in KG1 and KG2, we introduce a school culture rooted in principles of trust and caring. Learning will be experiential. It will challenge confident and enthusiastic students to engage wholeheartedly in activities that expand their skills and conceptual understanding. Technology will play a vital role in the process as students develop 21st century skills of communication and analysis.
Elementary school: Grade 1 through 5
The developmental trajectory of each student is unique, and this is particularly the case in Grades 1 through 5. Today most students are reading by the end of Kindergarten, although we now know that early reading does not correlate with any long-term academic advantage.
As basic skills are developed in all subject areas in the Elementary School at GEMS Nations Academy, the program embraces the flexibility to challenge every student while keeping engagement and motivation high for all students. Students are provided with opportunities to demonstrate their talents, communication skills, and leadership qualities through co-curricular activities, as well as the core curricular areas of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Our teachers are instrumental in capturing the natural enthusiasm and interests of students by integrating their ideas, feelings, and experiences into their journey of learning.
Students are encouraged to accept responsibility for their actions and decisions, enhancing their feelings of self-esteem, self-confidence, and connection. Our teachers place a high value on nurturing relationships with students, establishing a circle of trust within the classroom.
Middle school: Grade 6 through 8
The middle grades represent the vitally important transition to adolescence as young people are exploring more deeply than before the essential questions of identity, purpose, and meaning. At GEMS Nations Academy, we extend the curriculum in the middle grades to include world languages, civic education, service learning, and a deeper engagement in science and mathematics, even as the English language and literature grow more challenging and complex. Traditionally, this expansion of educational range and opportunity was called a well-rounded education.
At Nations, we go beyond well-rounded to well-crafted for 21st century skill- development. Coding, robotics, problem-solving, projects, and inquiry-based learning enrich the program, with constant reference to the U.S. Common Core skills and the high standards of Washington State.
High school: Grade 9 through 12
Obtaining the credentials needed for moving to the next stage of education is important. But in reality, adolescents need much more than this. The variety of programs and experiences that serve the unique developmental needs of this stage of life are offered in high school. Students are supported in taking initiative, thinking and acting with intelligence, learning to express ideas and feelings in constructive and respectful ways, and accepting responsibility for their actions.
In high school, the focus shifts to deep understanding, college-level academic work, and transferable skills. The core academic program intends to build skills and understandings around literacy, numeracy, science, creativity and sustainability, with a continued focus on the Arabic language and the power of coding to instruct machines on routine processes.
Sophisticated laboratory facilities are available in both Middle and High School grades, and the science program will include biology, chemistry, physics, and environmental science for all students.
Year |
Fees (AED) |
Fees (USD) |
None / FS 1 |
84,000 |
22,888 |
KG 1 / FS 2 |
90,000 |
24,523 |
KG 2 / Year 1 |
102,000 |
27,793 |
Grade 1 / Year 2 |
102,000 |
27,793 |
Grade 2 / Year 3 |
102,000 |
27,793 |
Grade 3 / Year 4 |
102,000 |
27,793 |
Grade 4 / Year 5 |
102,000 |
27,793 |
Grade 5 / Year 6 |
102,000 |
27,793 |
Grade 6 / Year 7 |
118,000 |
32,153 |
Grade 7 / Year 8 |
118,000 |
32,153 |
Grade 8 / Year 9 |
118,000 |
32,153 |