With more than 200 nationalities calling this country home, schools in the UAE offer a wide choice of curriculums.
One of the most common concerns among parents, especially when their children are ready to move from primary to secondary school, is choosing a curriculum that will help them get into a good university.
Two common choices, especially for children going to UK curriculum-based schools, is the General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (commonly known as the GCE A Level or, simply, A-Level), and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (IBDP).
Both the courses are popular high-school programmes, which pupils take during the final two years of their schooling. They can be taken by anyone over 16.
However, parents spend countless hours deciding which programme prepares their child better for life with several key questions to consider.
Which course is more widely accepted by the universities? Is one tougher than the other? Can the pupil choose one system and change his or her mind later?
The National compiles a set of frequently asked questions on the two curriculums and clears some misconceptions that surround the programmes.
Differences and similarities between the A-Level and IB Diploma
The IB Diploma and A-Levels have similarities and differences. What matters more than a discussion of which is best is how hard a pupil is prepared to work and the nature of the school they attend.
According to Peter Fremaux, head of secondary at Greenfield International School, an IB school in Dubai, the main similarity is that both offer the same level of education and both are university entry qualifications.
“When A-Level exam boards and the IB write their courses, they work with universities to ensure they are at the correct standard, with the level of content needed to allow pupils to begin university study.
"This means in the individual subjects, pupils follow similar content. Both are taken every year by thousands of pupils across the world and both are recognised and well known by all major universities," he told The National.
For the IB Diploma, pupils take six separate subjects including two languages, mathematics, sciences, humanities and, if they wish, an arts subject.
Pupils also take three core units, writing a 4,500-word extended essay, studying the theory of knowledge and involving themselves in activities involving creativity, activity and service.
A-Levels require pupils to study three to four subjects. Although not part of the A-Level courses, strong British schools will offer extensive extra-curricular activities and study programmes.
Whereas not technically A-Levels, many British curriculum schools offer vocational courses, for example qualifications provided by the Business and Technology Education Council, commonly known as BTECs.
Which is a more credible qualification?
Both programmes are credible qualifications. It is about which is better for the individual pupil, educationists said.
“There are notions of value based on pathways – for example, some may say that pupils looking to study engineering or medicine at university are better served by the more specialised and in-depth offering through A-Levels," said Brendon Fulton, executive principal at the Dubai British School in Jumeirah Park. "However, there is no university entrance data to support this hypothesis.”
A pupil with excellent A-Level results is as likely to gain a spot in a top university as is a pupil with excellent IB Diploma grades, Mr Fulton said.
Mr Fulton said the different approaches suited different pupils. "Some pupils will thrive on the greater breadth offered by the IB whereas others will benefit more from being able to narrow down what they need to study in the A-Levels.
Mr Fremaux said the approach of the pupil was the most important factor. "Hard-working children will thrive in both A-Levels and the IB, but those with weaker approaches to learning will struggle in both," he said. "The ability of the school to prepare pupils for exams and university will affect outcomes regardless of the qualification followed."
Do universities prefer IB?
No university would turn away an excellent pupil regardless of the curriculum but parents may hear that universities prefer the balanced nature of the IB.
There have also been discussions that A-Levels help pupils gain in-depth knowledge and understanding in a specialised range of subjects but there is no data to support these arguments.
“The accepted understanding is that universities are as likely to admit an excellent A-Level pupil as an excellent IB pupil,” Mr Fulton said.
Should you switch curriculums?
Again, this is purely down to the pupil. They can change from one programme to the other at 16 relatively easily and it is a common switch as families move around the world.
What is important is that parents need to consider both routes to university and be aware of the differences between the IB and A-Level and make the decision based on the needs and disposition of their child.
“The IB requires pupils to take a much broader range of subjects with further core units," Mr Fremaux said. "Some pupils need to maintain this breadth and excel on the freedom this offers whereas for others, it is more appropriate to focus on a more structured, focused range of courses that allows them to drop subjects, which is what the A-Level offers.
“If a pupil finds academic study a challenge or lacks motivation in one curriculum, she/he will probably continue to do so in another. Similarly, strong pupils with excellent attitudes to learning will thrive in whatever they do.”
What are the grading systems?
Both the A-Level and IB are highly rigorous and have straightforward scoring systems.
The IB subjects are scored on a 1-7 scale. Pupils gain a maximum of three points for the core units giving a maximum score of 45. A-Levels are marked on an A*-E scale.
“Universities will ask for a certain level in both qualifications, asking for a certain set of grades at A-Level or number of points in the IB," Mr Fremaux said.
“They may also ask for a certain level or grade in a certain subject. I do not believe that either offers an ‘easier’ way to score points or grades as universities aim to ensure they are equivalent to each other.”
Some schools offer GCSE and then IB Diploma – what is the logic behind this?
The main difference is that the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is externally examined whereas the IB's Middle Years Programme is internally assessed by schools.
Parents may prefer this and then have the option to choose the IB Diploma or A-Level, both of which are externally examined.
The GCSE qualification is also, traditionally, a school-leaving qualification (previously referred to as O-Levels or Ordinary Levels).
Parents need to consider which is more appropriate for their child. For some pupils, the experience gained through taking external qualifications like GCSEs is appropriate in the lead up to the much more important A-Levels or IB Diploma.
Other parents may wish to avoid the pressure of examinations at 16 and would rather wait another two years before their children sit external exams.
I do not believe that either offers an 'easier' way to score points or grades as universities aim to ensure they are equivalent to each other
Is it possible to study in an IB school and sit A-Levels?
Some schools offer A-Levels as well as the IB but they are two completely separate qualifications.
When a pupil starts one, he or she cannot change midway through and would not mix bits of one with parts of the other.
“Each separate piece of the IB Diploma can stand alone but it is usual for pupils to take all of it and you can only gain the diploma by covering every part of it," Mr Fremaux said. "Similarly, the A-Level is based on the assumption that pupils will have taken three or four A-Levels and not mix different parts of different curriculums.”
The IB is the fastest growing curriculum in Dubai, according to a 2017 research report by UK property consultancy Knight Frank.
The market share of the curriculum increased from two per cent in 2010 to six per cent in 2017 but the British curriculum remains the most popular in Dubai, drawing 93,771 pupils, while Indian-curriculum schools have 79,579 children, Knight Frank said.
Despite the growth, many parents find IB schools expensive.
Experts at the Global International Baccalaureate Conference that was held in October last year in Abu Dhabi called for a reduction in the fees that IB schools charged in the UAE.
"The price for the IB programme is the same all over the world whether the school is charging £60,000 [Dh275,630] or £500 or for free, which is the case with many IB schools in the US," the conference heard.
A 2019 survey by www.whichschooladvisor.com, a website that provides information on different schools in the country, showed UK-curriculum schools offer better value for money when compared with IB schools.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Match info:
Real Betis v Sevilla, 10.45pm (UAE)
PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Meghan%20podcast
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Duminy's Test career in numbers
Tests 46; Runs 2,103; Best 166; Average 32.85; 100s 6; 50s 8; Wickets 42; Best 4-47
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Rating: 5/5
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%3Cp%3EThe%20Royal%20Navy%20raid%20is%20the%20latest%20in%20a%20series%20of%20successful%20interceptions%20of%20drugs%20and%20arms%20in%20the%20Gulf%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%2011%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUS%20coastguard%20recovers%20%2480%20million%20heroin%20haul%20from%20fishing%20vessel%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%208%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20coastguard%20vessel%20USCGC%20Glen%20Harris%20seizes%20heroin%20and%20meth%20worth%20more%20than%20%2430%20million%20from%20a%20fishing%20boat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMarch%202%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Anti-tank%20guided%20missiles%20and%20missile%20components%20seized%20by%20HMS%20Lancaster%20from%20a%20small%20boat%20travelling%20from%20Iran%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOctober%209%2C%202022%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERoyal%20Navy%20frigate%20HMS%20Montrose%20recovers%20drugs%20worth%20%2417.8%20million%20from%20a%20dhow%20in%20Arabian%20Sea%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESeptember%2027%2C%202022%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20Naval%20Forces%20Central%20Command%20reports%20a%20find%20of%202.4%20tonnes%20of%20heroin%20on%20board%20fishing%20boat%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
