Parent – School Contract

The Winchester School

2. Curriculum and Educational programmes:

Mandatory subjects: As per the rules and regulations in the UAE, it is mandatory for:

l All Muslim students to study Islamic Education Grade1-12/Year 2 -13 inclusive.

l All Arab students (registered at the school with an Arab passport) to study Arabic as a first language Grade1-12/Year 2 -13
inclusive.

l All students registered at the school with a non-Arab passport to study Arabic as an additional language from Grade1-
9/Year 2 -10 inclusive

l Moral Education is mandatory from Grade1-12/year 2-13, and can be taught in Arabic or English.

l Social studies is mandatory from Grade 1-9/year2-10.

l All mandatory subjects are subject to UAE Ministry of Education modifications.

Please refer to table below for detailed information regarding the school's curriculum and programmes. The table also indicates
boards and organisations which have accredited or authorised the school. Websites are included if parents wish to seek further
information.

Phase/ Cycle: Curriculum/ Accreditation/ Authorisation

Programme:
Foundation Stage UK EYFS
(FS 1 -2)
www.gov.uk/early-years-foundation-stage

Primary UK www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/key-stage-1and-2

(Years 1-6)
Secondary UK www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/key-stage-3and-4

(Years 7-11) CIE

Edexcel

www.cambridgeinternational.org

www.pearson.com
Post 16 UK CIE /Edexcel / BTEC

(Years 12-13) www.cambridgeinternational.org

www.pearson.com

a. Subjects offering:
Foundation Stage Personal, Social, Emotional Development, Physical Development,
Communication Language, Maths, Literacy, Understanding the World,
Expressive Arts and Design and Characteristics of Effective learning
Primary Arabic, Islamic Education, English, Maths, Science, Humanities, PE,
Music, UAE Social Studies, PSHCEE, ICT, French (Years 4 to 6),
(Years 1-6) Moral Education (Years 1 to 6)
Secondary
Key Stage 3 Arabic, Islamic Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Geography,
History, French, PE, Art, UAE Social Studies, Moral Education, ICT,
(Year 7, 8 and 9) PSHCEE
Key Stage 4 Arabic for Arabs and Islamic for Muslim students, English, Maths and
Moral Education are mandatory for all. Arabic for Non Arabs and UAE
(Year 10 and 11) Social Studies is compulsory for all Year 10. From the rest of the
subjects, students choose one subject from other six options blocks
with at least one Science, out of Physics, Chemistry, Biology or
Combined Science as stated in the table given, most suited to their
interest and ability. To be able to take a subject (or/and extended
stream) a student must secure at least 60% in Year 9. Change of
subjects are not allowed after 6 weeks in the first year of IGCSE
programme in Year 10. Please refer to Admission and Re-enrolment
Policy on the school website.
Key Stage 5 (Year 12 Moral Education is compulsory for all students in Year 12 and 13.
and 13) Islamic Education is compulsory for all Muslim students and Arabic is
 compulsory for all Arab students in Year 12 and 13.

Note that IT and Computer Science cannot be taken together.

In Year 12, students need to choose 4 subjects provided they have

gained a minimum of grade B in their IGCSE exam.

In Year 13, there are no mandatory subjects. Students should take

minimum 3 subjects.

Please refer to Admission and Re-enrolment Policy on the school

website.
 

b. Option forms Year 10 to 13

IGCSE Option Form (For Reference Only) Year 10 and 11

Year 10 Option Form 2020-21

Please select one subject from each option strand  

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 Option 5

Accounting Business Economics Physics Business

Studies Studies
Physical Biology Chemistry Information and Chemistry
Education Communication
Technology
Information and Art & Design Food and Biology Information
Communication Nutrition and
Technology Communication
Technology
Physics Geography Psychology Psychology Sociology

English Computer Combined Global History

Literature Science Science Perspectives

Sociology Environmental French Economics Travel &

Management Tourism

Year 11 Option Form 2020-2021

Please select one subject from each option strand

           

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 Option 5 Option 6

      
         
Business
Accounting Business Economics Physics Studies History
Studies
 

Physical Information And

Biology Chemistry Chemistry Sociology
Education
Communication
Technology
 
Information and
Information
Food & Travel &
Communication Art & design Biology and
Nutrition Tourism
Technology Communication
technology

Physics Geography Psychology Food & Nutrition Arabic French

English Computer Combined Global Environmental
 
Literature Science Science Perspectives Management

Year 12 Option Form 2020-21

Please select one subject from each option strand

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4

 
*Travel and
Business
Accounting Economics Tourism
(Grade A*-B in IGCSE
(Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in IGCSE
Business or A*-B in
IGCSE) IGCSE) TT or A*-B in English
English 1st or 2nd Lang)
☐ ☐ 1st or 2nd Lang)
☐
☐
 
Physics Biology Computer Science
Chemistry
(Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in IGCSE)
(Grade A*-B in IGCSE)
IGCSE) IGCSE)
☐
☐ ☐ ☐
Information
Technology Mathematics *Psychology
Mathematics
(Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in IGCSE
(Grade A*-B in IGCSE)
IGCSE) IGCSE) English 1st Lang.)
☐
☐ ☐
☐
English Language *Sociology
Geography History
(Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in
(Grade A*-B in IGCSE (Grade A*-B in IGCSE
IGCSE English 1st IGCSE Soc. or A*-B
Geography) History)
Language) in English1st Lang)
☐ ☐
☐ ☐
Global
Art and Design
Perspectives
Mathematics
(Grade A*-B in
(Grade A*-B in  
IGCSE) (Grade A*-B in IGCSE)
IGCSE Global
☐
Perspectives )
☐
☐
BTEC Applied
BTEC ICT BTEC Business
Sciences
 
☐ ☐
☐

              Year 13 Option Form 2020-21

       Please select one subject from each option strand

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4

Business *Travel and Tourism
Economics
Accounting
(Grade A*-B in IGCSE (Grade A*-B in IGCSE
(Grade A*-B in TT or A*-B in English
(Grade A*-B in IGCSE)
IGCSE)
Business or A*-B in 1st or 2nd Lang)
☐ English 1st or 2nd
Lang) ☐
☐
 
☐
Physics Biology
Chemistry Computer Science
(Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in
(Grade A*-B in IGCSE) (Grade A*-B in IGCSE)
IGCSE) IGCSE)
☐ ☐
☐ ☐
Information English Language
Mathematics
Technology Mathematics
 (Grade A*-B in IGCSE
(Grade A*-B in
(Grade A*-B in
IGCSE) English 1st Language) (Grade A*-B in IGCSE)
IGCSE)
☐ ☐
☐
☐
*Psychology History Geography *Sociology

(Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in (Grade A*-B in IGCSE (Grade A*-B in IGCSE
IGCSE English 1st IGCSE History) Geography) Soc. or A*-B in
Lang.) English1st Lang)
☐ ☐
☐ ☐
Global Art and Design
Perspectives Information
(Grade A*-B in IGCSE) Technology
(Grade A*-B in
 
IGCSE Global ☐ (Grade A*-B in IGCSE)
Perspectives )
☐
☐
BTEC Business BTEC ICT   BTEC Applied
Sciences
☐ ☐
☐

c. Assessment Policy

The school conducts the following assessments:

Ongoing Formative Assessments

1. Termly Summative Assessments

2. Mandatory International and Benchmark Assessments as per KHDA and GEMS guidelines
3. ExternalCIE, EDEXCEL, BTEC Assessments

d. Promotion and Retention Policies:

The Winchester School operates a Retention Policy based on students' academic performance and contributing factors such as
maturity and social ability. This may be linked to the special needs of the student, poor attendance and/or poor punctuality. As
per the National Curriculum for England, The Winchester School does not operate a promotion policy for children that are placed
with age appropriate year groups and focuses, instead on a student's breadth of learning. Students will only be promoted
provided that they made the expected academic progress during the academic year.

e. Extra-curricular activities and celebrations:

Given below is a list of the main celebrations and activities in the school.

Activities/Celebrations

Parent Aim High Orientations

Parent Aim High Workshop

Student Leaders' and Prefects' Investiture Ceremony

World Teachers Day

Career Fairs

Interhouse basketball tournament

School Prize day

Sports Day Primary and Secondary

Interschool Technobizad Enactment Competition +

Entrepreneur week

Arabic Week

Martyrs' day
 International Day - National Day Celebrations

U-12 Interschool Soccer Tournament starts (whole week)

Annual Family Fun Fair

Interhouse Football Tournament

Options Evening Year 9 +Year11(parents and students)

Overseas Trip

Graduation Evening Year 13

Transition Orientation for students and parents (Year 6 to Year

7)

FS Graduation and Concert

Oscar's Evening

Parent Teacher Meetings

Field Trips

Overnight Field Trip

World Scholars

MUN Debate

After school activities

Afterschool support lessons/practice lessons

Subject themed weeks

Details of all events, celebrations and extra-curricular activities will be given to parents through the website, newsletters, social media
platforms, Phoenix, SMS, emails.

SPORTS
Basketball
Tennis
Gymnastics
Football
Cricket
Badminton
Karate

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
Dance
Speech and Drama
Science and Experiment
Cooking without Fire
Robotics/Lego
Effective Communication &
Collaboration

FS Activities
Sensory play
Fun with numbers
Budding artist

f. Graduation requirements:
For a student to be a school graduate, he/she needs to attain a grade between A*- D in a minimum of 3 subjects at A level in
external exams held by CIE or Edexcel at the end of Year 13 or complete the BTEC Level 3 2-year programme.

g. Graduate certificate
CIE/Edexcel/BTEC certificates

For the UAE certificate equivalency requirements, please visit the UAE Ministry of Education website
(https://www.moe.gov.ae)

3. Fees:

Fees will be updated and approved by KHDA on a yearly basis in accordance with DSIB rating and the
Educational Cost Index (ECI) which is announced yearly by Dubai Statistics Center (DSC), and it will be
communicated by KHDA through various channels.

a. Responsible/authorised party for payment of fees name .

b. The School, vouches that no additional mandatory fees will be required from parents during the academic year 2020-
2021 except for fees clearly indicated in this contract.
c. The Tuition fee structure at for the academic year 2020-2021 is as follows:
d. The following are additional mandatory fees required for the academic year 2020-2021 :
Mandatory item Fee (AED) Due date (dd/mm/yyyy) Add to installments

e. The following additional fees apply for mandatory external examinations in the following Grade/Year levels:
Examination Fee (AED) Due date (dd/mm/yyyy) Comments

Parents are required to pay the Board examination fees on a cost recovery basis as charged by the Board examination
itself with no extra charges.

f. Payment of approved fees is expected in instalments according to the following timetable:

Status Percentage Amount (AED) Date due (dd/mm/yyyy)
First installment %
Second installment %
Third installment %
Fourth installment %
Fifth installment %
Sixth installment %
Seventh installment %
Eighth installment %
Ninth installment %
Tenth installment %
Eleventh installment %
Twelfth installment %
Re-registration fees % Deduct from first installment
Sibling Discount %
Staff Discount %
Other Discount % Amount comment Deduct from first installment Deduct from all installments
Shift Discount
g. Total fees for the academic year:
Tuition fees Other fees (AED) (mandatory Discount Total Cost Prepayment Total due
(AED) + exams) (AED) (AED) (AED) (AED)
Private agreements to “facilitate” payments for some families are to have permanent standing, and not to be altered from year to
year.

Registration and Refund Policy

General Definitions

Application fees:

Schools may charge up to AED 500/ to process the application of new students. This fee includes standard assessment fees. The
application fee is not deductible from the tuition fees.

Registration fees:

Schools may ask parents to pay a deposit to confirm new enrolment. This deposit is payable after the student has been offered a
place and parents have accepted the offer. The registration deposit cannot be more than 10% of the total tuition fees, and is
deductible from the total tuition fees for the academic year.

Re-registration fees:

Schools may ask parents to pay a re-registration deposit to guarantee a place for their children for the following academic year.
This deposit cannot be more than 5% of the total tuition fees, or AED 500/ (whichever is higher) and is deductible from the total
tuition fees for the academic year.

Registration and Admission Fees (applicable to all Dubai private schools)

As well as the conditions mentioned in the parent-school contract, the regulations for fees and deposits for admission and
registration are as follows:

Existing students:  

l The school may open re-registration anytime during the academic year
l The re-registration deposit should not exceed 5% of the annual tuition fees or AED500 (whichever is higher)
l The re-registration deposit is deductible from the first term’s fees
l The school cannot ask for payment of any additionalfees or deposits other than the re-registrationmentioned above
l Schools that begin the academic year in September can only collect re-registration deposit after the end of the spring break
l Schools that begin the academic year in April can only collect re-registration deposit after the end of the winter break

New students:  

l Schools can register new students at any time during the academic year
l New schools must have KHDA pre-approval prior to registering students
l The registration deposit for new students should not exceed 10% of the annual tuition fees
l This registration deposit is deductible from the first term’s tuition fees
l If new students enrol at a school during the course of the academic year, the school can charge tuition fees starting from
the month of enrolment. (For example, if a student enrols in a new school in the 3rd week of October, the school can
charge tuition fees from the beginning of October).
l Schools cannot ask for payment of registration deposit until they have made a formal offer of enrolment. Prior to this,
schools can only charge an application fee of AED 500/ maximum.
l The application fee of AED 500/ is:
¡ refundable if the school does not offer the student a place

¡ onon-refundable if the school offers the student a place but the student chooses not to take it

¡ onot deductible from the total tuition fees to be paid if the student is offered and accepts a place

General conditions:

l Apart from the Registration or Re-registration deposits, schools cannot ask for any additional payment to guarantee student
enrolment and re-enrolment
l Schools can only collect annual tuition fees in three instalments, due at the beginning of each term.The first term’s payment
should not exceed 40% of the annual tuition fees; the second term payment not more than 30% of annual tuition fees;
and the third term not more than 30% of annual tuition fees
l Schools can also choose to collect annual tuition fees as 10 equal monthly instalments. The monthly repayment amount is
calculated by dividing the total tuition fees by 10
l Schools may ask for payment of registration deposit only when students have been offered a place.
l The school forfeits the right to collect registration/re-registration fees if these fees were not collected at the time of
registration/re-registration, and the student decides to leave the school prior to the start of the academic year.

Tuition fees Refund:

In the cases of both existing and new students, the registration/re-registration deposit will not be refunded unless there are
extenuating circumstances. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, evidence of family/student relocation to another
country/emirate or any other unforeseen circumstances. Such cases may be submitted to KHDA for review.

 In the case of refund, the school fees will be calculated as follows: 

l Tuition fees paid prior to the beginning of the academic year are refundable and only the registration/ re-registration fees
will be deducted
l If the student was enrolled in the school for two weeks or less, a month’s fees will be deducted;
l If the student was enrolled in the school for a period ranging between two weeks and one month, two months’ fees will be
deducted
l If the student was enrolled in the school for more than a month, the full term’s fees will be deducted

General conditions:

l The above refund policy is applicable per term depending on the date of the withdrawal request
l The refund will be calculated from the start of the term and the date of the official request by the parent stating the intent
of withdrawal and not from the date when the student was absent. Being on the school registrar counts as days in school
l Registration or Re-registration deposits are refundable in cases where a school’s quality rating has dropped and students
wish to move to a school with a better rating, as stated in the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau report.
l Book fees are refundable if the student decides to leave the school prior to the beginning of the academic year
l Any provisions in any other policies or approvals will be repealed in the event that they contradict this policy.

** when fees are not paid in any mode of learning,the school reserves the right to:

1-Suspend students from learning for a maximum of 3 days per semester, excluding exam days.

2-Not re-enroll students for the following academic year. This will be documented by the school through the
issuance of dated warning letters.

3-Withhold students’ progress reports and to refer the issue to the KHDA.

4-Not issue the Transfer Certificate.

**Parents are required to pay the Board examination fees on a cost recovery basis as charged by the Board examination itself
with no extra charges.  They are subject to change according to the examination board.

For students who are withdrawn from the school during the academic year, fee deduction will be applied as per the Schools Fees
Framework quoted below:

Theschoolreservestherightnot toissuetheconcernedstudenthisorherprogressreport, TC, CIE & Edexcel certificate and or any other
document and to refer the issue to the KHDA.

Sibling policy:

It is the policy of the school that siblings shall receive discounted fees. The deductions apply to school fees only and do not
include other fees stipulated in this contract. This is a binding promise for the current academic year 2020/2021 and until
otherwise specified in another binding school- parent contract. Deductions are to be calculated as follows:

Sibling Deduction rating

Sibling 4 - 25%
Sibling 5 onwards - 50%

Discount policy/Scholarship policy:

Teaching Staff 1 child tuition fee is 100% free of the school

they're working in.

Staff will pay the difference if the students is in

another GEMS school.
Teaching Assistant 1 child tuition fee will be given 50%* (upon
joining) and 100% * (1 year onwards)

*of equivalent to Our Own English High School

Administration Staff 1 child tuition fee will be given 50%* (upon
joining) and 100%* (1 year onwards)

*of equivalent to Our Own English High School

Sheikha Fatima Award 100% tuition fee free for one girl awardee

Discount on advance fee

Category Discount schedule

Discount on advance tuition fees A cash discount of 4.25% is applicable for the
parents pay tuition fee in advance by using FAB
GEMS Co-branded credit card.
5. Attendance and punctuality:
First academic day for Last academic day for Term Break 1 Term Break 2 Term Break
students students 3
30/08/2020 01/07/2021 13/12/2020 to 28/03/2021 to Not applicable
31/12/2020 08/04/2021

The dailyroutine:

FS1 and FS2 = 7:55 a.m. - 12:10 noon

Year 1 to Year 13 = 7:55 a.m. - 2:10 p.m.

Timings (from Sunday to Thursday)

The Winchester School -  Lesson Timing

Primary
Lesson : Timings
Registration time 8:00 to 8:30 am
Lesson 1 8:30 to 9:20 am
Lesson 2 9:20 to 10:10 am
Break (40mins) 10:10 to 10:50 am
Lesson 3 10:50 to 11:40 am
Lesson 4 11:40 to 12:30 pm
Lesson 5 12:30 to 1:20 pm
Lesson 6 1:20 to 2:10 pm
 Buses Leave 2:25 PM
After School Activities 2:40 to 4:00 pm
Buses Leave 4:10 PM
Secondary
Lesson : Timings
Registration time 8:00 to 8:30 am
Lesson 1 8:30 to 9:20 am
Lesson 2 9:20 to 10:10 am
Lesson 3 10:10 to 11:00 am
Break ( 40 mins) 11:00 to 11:40 am
Lesson 4 11:40 to 12:30 pm
Lesson 5 12:30 to 1:20 pm
Lesson 6 1:20 to 2:10 pm
Buses Leave 2:25 PM
After School Activities 2:40 to 4:00 pm
Buses Leave 4:10 PM

We expect all children to be in their respective classes by 7:55 a.m.

There is a five minutes start of the day snack break for Key Stage 1 from 7:55 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

Students'absenteeismandtardinessaffecttheschool'sabilitytoprovideeffectiveeducationalservices,theachievementsofconsistently
absent or late students and disrupts the learning experiences of other students in the school.

Likewise, the attendance of teachers is imperative to securing continuous and progressive learning experiences for all students at
the school. The school will secure and improve teachers' attendance at all times and ensure that students are not left without a
qualified teacher for long durations of time exceeding a week.

Parents, the students and the school must work together to improve and maintain high attendance rates.

The responsibilities of the school include:

n Sharing and implementing a school policy on attendance and punctuality which stresses that attendance for all students is
mandatory on all the days the school is declared open.

n Clarifying to parents and students the definition of a school day, the start of registration process in the morning, the
school's expectations in relations to punctuality all through the school day, the definition of absenteeism and a list of what
is considered excused and unexcused absenteeism.

The responsibilities of the parents include:

n Reading, ratifying and implementing the school's policy on attendance and punctuality.

n Promoting their child's attendance and punctuality and abiding by the timings set by the school for the start and the end of
the school day.

n Understanding and upholding the school's policy which states that continued tardiness and absenteeism will result in
disciplinary measures and will affect the students' chances of enrollment for the upcoming academic year.

n Informing the school about their child's absence in written.

LATE ARRIVAL TO SCHOOL

l The school expects all children/students to be in the respective classroom/form rooms by 7:55 a.m. Registration is between
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. The school gate is closed at 7:55 a.m.
l Any child arriving after 7:55 a.m. is required to log in at the security gate where they will receive a late slip which must be
submitted to the Form Tutor.
l In secondary school, a child arriving after 8:25 a.m. must report to the Secretary of the Head of Secondary and submit the
late slip so their attendance is marked by the Secretary.
l Each time a child arrives late, the parent/child is spoken to. Upon receiving two late slips, the Class Teacher/Form Tutor
either writes or calls the parent. If regular lateness impacts on learning then a meeting must be called. All late slips and
record of phone call/email/note in planner needs to be shared with the parent in the meeting. Notes will be taken using the
lateness and attendance form and a record kept that a meeting has taken place.
l If punctuality continues to be a cause for concern then the teacher should escalate this up to the Head of Year for action
and then if necessary to Head of Key Stage/SLT.

LATE PICK-UPS (PRIMARY)

l Children (Years 1-4) should be picked up no later than 2:25 p.m. from the respective collection area. If parents fail to pick-up till 2:30
p.m. a call will be made to parents. Parents who pick-up after 2:30 p.m. will be asked to log in the late register. If the late pick up
continues more than two times, the Head of Primary will meet the parent virtually to establish clear timelines for prompt pick up and
the negative impact on child’s overall wellbeing and progress.
 n Own transport children must not be dropped at school earlier than 7:25 am and must be picked up by 2:30 pm/4:15 pm at the latest
for their wellbeing, health and safety. Repeated early drop offs and late pick-ups will be addressed by the school with relevant actions.

** The school reserves the right to not re-enroll students for the following academic year when behavioral
issues are repeated. This will be documented by the school through the issuance of dated warning letters
supported with evidence and after obtaining KHDA approval.

7. Health and safety:

It is the responsibility of the school and the parents to secure a safe and healthy environment for the students. In this regard,
thes c h o o l s h a l l i s s u e a n d i m p l e m e n t v a r i o u s h e a l t h a n d s a f e t y g u i d e l i n e s i n c l u d i n g c h i l d s a f e g u a r d i n g a n d
protectionthatparentsareexpectedtoabidebyandensuretheirchildrendosoaswell. Please refer to H&S and Child Safeguarding
Policies for further details.

Theresponsibilitiesoftheschoolinclude:

n Providing students with appropriate medical care as per the regulations set.
n Providing students with medical conditions the care and attention they deserve while treating cases with confidentiality.
n Promoting and reinforcing awareness about healthy lifestyle habits, including choice of food and practice of exercise.
n Promoting and reinforcing awareness as well as implementing the guidelines of child safeguarding with all stakeholders.
n Taking any reasonable action to ensure safety of the students. In case of any concern due to ill-treatment, neglect or other
forms of abuse, school will follow child protection procedures and can escalate the matter to concerned authorities in GEMS
and outside for intervention and guidance.
n Providing parents with school ID to be worn at all times on school site.

Theresponsibilitiesoftheparentsinclude:

n Sharing with the school all information related to their child's medical condition and history.
n Ensuring that meals and snacks provided to students are fresh, healthy and adhere to the school's policies and guidelines in
this regard.
n Upholding the school's decision to confiscate food and drink items which do not fit the expectations set by the school.
n Support the school in ensuring that students are nurtured in a safe, happy and supportive environment at home and
surroundings leading to their complete emotional, physical and academic well-being.
n Wearing the school ID at all times while on the school site.
n Ensuring that provision is made for adult supervision and/or Power of Attorney if and when both parents travel outside of
Dubai.  The school must be kept informed if none of the guardians is in the country.