HRH Prince Michael of Kent inaugurates ground breaking ceremony for GEMS' flagship school

"We are truly honored to have His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent join us on this prestigious occasion; this truly is a monumental milestone in the launch of our flagship school," said Hugh MacPherson, chief operating officer at GEMS.

The Wellington School will be located in Al Sufouh, Dubai and will offer a quantum leap in terms of education and infrastructure. It will teach The National Curriculum for England, integrating the best teaching practices with cutting edge technology, enabling students to maximize their learning process by engaging all their faculties at all levels.

A true innovation in school concept and design, the school's main entrance will lead into the heart of the school which is also the Social Zone. Here visitors and students will be immersed within the school's infrastructure; all learning areas will be visible from this focal point. The construction is defined by an atrium principle, with open unrestricted spaces. A unique indoor creation garden will combine all the elements of earth, fire, water and air as a foundation for life and learning. The interactive environment emphasizes practical learning through premium resources.

"Our wide range of extra-curricular programmes encourages students to discover new interests and tap into their latent talents. Active involvement in a range of school events and activities creates invigorating opportunities for our students to fine tune their social and interpersonal skills. We are fully committed to providing high standards of service to parents through interactive communication channels that ensure a true partnership in the education and development of our students," continued MacPherson.

The flagship school's campus will span an area of 8 acres, and will eventually accommodate 1500 students. A number of unique features will include an observatory and outdoor climbing wall and TV station. The campus will also feature a magnificent indoor pool, an indoor gymnasium, state-of-the-art studios and a 400 m running track thereby enabling students to explore various activities. Interactive whiteboards, laptops and wireless connectivity throughout the building will enable interconnected, enhanced teaching. Both teachers and students will be able to utilize a variety of methods to maximize learning.

"The focus of our new flagship school will go beyond traditional boundaries where new resources will be used in innovative ways to opitimise teaching and learning. This new GEMS school will clearly become a hallmark in education innovation," concluded MacPherson.

The new flagship school will further GEMS' commitment to providing parents and students not only with standards of quality education but also education that is always at the cutting edge of innovation and best practice.

GEMS manages a growing network of nearly 50 international schools in the region and in the United Kingdom, providing high quality education to almost 50,000 students from around the world.

GEMS benefits from almost 40 years of expertise in the field of education and is experienced in a variety of curriculum including The National Curriculum for England, the International Baccalaureate Program, American Curriculum and Indian Curriculum. GEMS has a presence in the UK, Europe, North America, the Middle East and India.