Philippine Emirates Private SchoolPhilippines Curriculum, Subjects & Qualifications

Philippine Emirates Private School delivers the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) curriculum from KG1 through Grade 12, taught entirely in English. The programme spans all school phases and incorporates the UAE Ministry of Education's mandatory requirements for Arabic, Islamic Studies, and Moral Education. At Senior High School level, students choose between two specialisation tracks: Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM) and STEM — giving graduating students a degree of academic focus that is relatively uncommon at this fee level. PEPS holds the notable distinction of being one of only two Philippine curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi, and is registered with DepEd, meaning students can transfer to other Philippine curriculum schools without sitting validation examinations — a practical and meaningful benefit for a highly mobile Filipino expatriate community.

Academic performance, as measured by the IBT standardised assessments administered across Grades 3 to 9, presents a mixed but partially encouraging picture. In Arabic as a Second Language, attainment is above international benchmark standards across Grades 3 to 9 — a genuine strength. Science results are similarly positive, with attainment above international standards in Grades 3 to 8 and in line at Grade 9. English performance is more uneven: Grades 5 to 8 sit above the international benchmark, while Grades 3 and 4 fall below, and Grade 9 is in line. Mathematics attainment is in line with international standards across Grades 3 to 9. No GCSE, A-Level, or IB examination data is applicable to this curriculum. Graduating students sit the National Elementary Achievement Test and National Secondary Achievement Test, though comparative results from these assessments were not made available for this review.

The school's most recent ADEK inspection, conducted in February 2024, awarded an overall rating of Acceptable — a meaningful recovery from the Weak rating received in 2018–19. This places PEPS among the 52 Abu Dhabi private schools currently rated Acceptable, and among both Philippine curriculum schools in the city, both of which hold Acceptable ratings. Inspectors found attainment and progress in English, Mathematics, and Science to be Acceptable across all phases, and noted that children in KG make at least expected progress in core subjects. However, attainment and progress in Arabic as a Second Language, UAE Social Studies, and Islamic Education were rated Weak across all applicable phases — a significant concern given these are mandatory curriculum components. Teaching quality, assessment practices, curriculum adaptation, care and support, and leadership effectiveness were all also rated Weak, pointing to systemic challenges that go beyond individual subject performance.

In terms of enrichment, PEPS participates in the World Scholar's Cup — and notably claimed Tournament Champions at Yale University in 2019 — and offers summer enrichment classes. A book fair is held twice yearly. However, the school's library holds only approximately 700 books in total across Arabic, English, and Filipino collections, with no librarian and no scheduled library lessons. There is no dedicated gifted and talented programme, no specialist inclusion coordinator, and no SEN provision meeting ADEK's inclusion policy requirements — inspectors explicitly recommended appointing a specialist inclusion coordinator without delay. University destination data is not published, and co-curricular provision is limited compared to peer schools at similar or higher fee points.

For parents weighing this school's academic programme, the honest picture is one of a school that has stabilised after a difficult period, with some genuine subject-level strengths, a distinctive curriculum pathway for Filipino families, and a committed leadership team working through a structured improvement plan. The gaps, however, are real: teaching quality, assessment rigour, differentiation for higher and lower attaining students, and mandatory UAE curriculum subjects all require substantial development before PEPS can be considered academically competitive with the broader Abu Dhabi private school market.