The Indian High School-Branch

IHS-AGC follows the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) curriculum, aligned with both CBSE guidelines and UAE Ministry of Education requirements. This dual alignment means the school satisfies Indian board standards while also incorporating mandatory subjects including Arabic as an Additional Language, Islamic Education, UAE Social Studies, and Moral Education - subjects taught using the official Ministry textbooks from Grade 1 onwards. The Kindergarten phase is structured around six key learning domains: Personal and Social Development, Communication, Language and Literacy, Numeracy, Understanding Our World, Health and Physical Development, and Art and Creative Skills. Teaching methodology at KG level is explicitly inquiry-based and play-led, building on children's natural curiosity and grounding learning in real-life concepts. The DSIB 2023-2024 inspection confirmed this approach is working well: KG students achieved Very Good ratings in English, Mathematics, and Science for both attainment and progress, with learning skills rated Very Good across both phases. The Primary curriculum (Grades 1-4) broadens the academic programme while maintaining CBSE's characteristic emphasis on core subject mastery. The school has embedded 21st-century learning skills - critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and digital citizenship - into the curriculum framework. Coding is introduced at KG level, and the school has sharpened its focus on mental arithmetic and reading literacy in response to benchmark assessment data. Two digital reading platforms have been introduced, allowing students to progress at their own level with assessment gates between levels. External benchmarking is taken seriously. The school participates in CAT4 (Cognitive Abilities Test), ISA (International Schools Assessment), NGRT (New Group Reading Test), ABT, and IBT assessments - a notably comprehensive suite of international benchmarks for a school at this fee level. Importantly, the school improved its performance in the PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) 2021, exceeding its set target and placing in the high international benchmark bracket. The primary weakness flagged by DSIB inspectors is a decline in Primary attainment and progress relative to KG outcomes. Assessment practices in Primary lack the coherence of the KG phase - data on students' progress is described as not fully reliable, marking is inconsistently applied, and lesson objectives often target the class as a whole rather than differentiated groups. Arabic as an Additional Language attainment and progress remain at Acceptable level, the only subject area below Good across the school. For families whose children will transition to the IHS Oud Metha senior campus, the academic foundation built here is generally solid, but parents should be aware that the transition from play-based KG to formal Primary learning involves a shift in pedagogical consistency that the school is actively working to address.