Our Own English High SchoolPrincipal & Leadership Team

Our Own English High School is operated by GEMS Education, one of the world's largest private education groups, and has served the Al Ain community since its founding in 1992. That three-decade heritage provides a degree of institutional continuity that newer schools cannot match. The school's current principal is Ms. Jaya Menezes, Principal/CEO, who joined OOL as Vice Principal in October 2023 and assumed the principal role in August 2025, bringing with her nine years of prior experience as Principal of Apple International School in Dubai. Parents should note that the inspection conducted in October 2024 listed a different principal name in its school information section, reflecting the leadership transition period. The senior leadership team is supported by Ms. Cheryl Patterson, Educational Supervisor for Kindergarten and Primary. [MISSING: full senior leadership team composition beyond these two named figures]

The ADEK Irtiqaa inspection for 2024–2025 rated the school overall Good, a rating it has held consistently across two consecutive inspection cycles. Crucially, the inspection recorded a meaningful upgrade within that Good band: leadership effectiveness and school self-evaluation improved from Good to Very Good, and governance was rated Very Good — the same rating awarded to partnerships with parents and the community. Among Indian curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi, where the majority of rated schools sit at Good or Acceptable, sustaining a Very Good leadership and governance rating is a meaningful distinction. The governing board is noted for its broad stakeholder representation, holding the senior leadership team accountable for school performance and ensuring diverse perspectives inform decision-making.

Teaching quality across the school is rated Good in Phases 1, 2, and 3, improving to Very Good in Phase 4 (Cycle 3) — an upgrade from the previous inspection. The inspection credits a structured programme of peer observation, middle leader drop-ins, and senior leader walkthroughs, coupled with team teaching, coaching, and mentoring, as drivers of this improvement. GEMS Education's network-wide continuing professional development framework underpins staff training, and the school's website describes its teachers as highly qualified and experienced, though specific staff qualification percentages are not publicly disclosed [MISSING: percentage of staff holding postgraduate qualifications]. The school employs 94 teachers and 8 teaching assistants across a roll of 1,003 students, producing a student-to-teacher ratio of 1:20 — notably higher than the Abu Dhabi-wide average of 1:13.6 across all private schools. Parents should weigh this carefully, particularly given the inspection's recommendation to improve differentiated lesson planning for gifted, talented, and additional learning needs students.

One structural gap flagged by inspectors is the absence of a full-time qualified SENCO, with the school currently not providing in-school support services for students of determination — an area the inspection explicitly recommends addressing. Parent engagement, by contrast, is a clear strength: the school uses the GEMS Connect platform for communication, holds parent reading workshops, and the inspection rated parent and community partnerships Very Good. The school has also received the Optimus Wellbeing Award for Schools, developed by the National Children's Bureau and Optimus Education, recognising its commitment to student mental health — a signal of leadership vision that extends beyond academic outcomes.