Upmarket school in Dubai closed

An upmarket school run by a prominent educational group in Muhaisnah has shut down, with students marking their last day of the academic year on Wednesday. Confirming the closure of Uptown High (UH), a secondary school that follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, Clive Pierrepont, Director of Communications at Taaleem, said the closure was in response to feedback from parents who were unhappy about the location of the school. "The decision is based on formal feedback we have received from parents of both Uptown Primary School (UPS) and Uptown High over the past three years," a letter by Taaleem CEO Ziad J. Azam said, adding that a survey of Uptown High parents in 2009 revealed that 83 per cent of them believed the location of the school was "unsuitable". "As a result, student enrolment at Uptown High has declined. The most alarming trend has been the decreasing number of students graduating from Grade 5 at UPS and choosing to join Uptown High," the letter said. Pierrepont said all the 150 students from UH have been given the option of joining other schools within the Taaleem stable from September. Studying between Class VI and XII, these students will either attend the Jumeirah Baccalaureate School (JBS) or Greenfield Community School (GCS). These schools offer the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP) and IB's Career-related Certificate. JBS in Jumeirah will offer the MYP from September 2011 and DP from September 2012. GCS in Dubai Investment Park offers all three programmes and has been authorised by the IB for the diploma programme. Disclosing plans for a combined campus for UPS and UH, Pierrepont said the Dubai Government had facilitated the acquisition of a premium school plot in Mirdif for the development of K12 Uptown. He said a letter to this effect had been sent out to parents on June 5. "Whereas the option of transfer to JBS or GCS was viable for some families, we realise that it was not for others. I recognise from your feedback the continuing desire amongst a large proportion of parents for a permanent, localised K12 solution," the letter said, adding that as of next year, students at UPS will no longer face the dilemma of where to pursue their secondary education. From / Gulf News