UAE’s Fortes to open new school in Jumeirah Village Triangle this year

United Arab Emirates-based Fortes Education will be opening a new school this year at the Jumeirah Village Triangle community in Dubai, the company announced on Tuesday.

Sunmarke School, set to open in September 2016, will offer nursery to Year 13. It will follow the British national curriculum and IB, with the latter offered in years 12 and 13 from the third year of operation.

A technology enabled school, students will have laptop and tablet connectivity in every classroom, Smart TVs and interactive whiteboards, blended learning labs and a digital library with e-books, educational apps and online resources.

Director of Education at Fortes Allen Bird, said: “At the recent World Education Summit in Dubai, the importance of schools focussing on pupils’ happiness as well as academic achievement to foster learning, problem solving skills and creativity was announced.

“Our MultiSmart Learning platform is a high impact education programme that unlocks multiple pathways to learning, resulting in all-round development and academic excellence.

“It gives students a myriad of learning opportunities – through academic study and co-curricular activities, personalised and group learning – to develop their innate ‘multiple intelligences’ and ‘core skills’ which include the ability to apply knowledge, think creatively, express oneself, persevere, work with others and learn.”

The MultiSmart platform will include a STEM (science, technology and digital literacy, engineering and design, and maths) programme and a creative learning programme focussed on the arts, humanities and extracurriculars.

Students will also be exposed to the local industry through speakers, mentorship programmes and guidance on work internships.

Sunmarke School will also offer an Education in Human Values (EHV) programme to help students develop “character and values,” the company said.

“Evidence from schools around the world that have implemented the EHV programme in countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Zambia, India and Thailand, suggests a positive impact on the development of a child’s emotional intelligence, mental strength and overall development,” it added.

Enrolments are being accepted for the September 2016 academic term.

Currently, Fortes also runs the Regent International School and the Jumeirah International Nurseries in the UAE. The group has further schools in development, it added.

In August last year, Dubai’s education regulator Knowledge and Human Development Authority said that the emirate will have 27 new private schools by September 2016 that will offer 63,000 seats for students.

By 2017, Dubai is anticipated to have more than 196 schools with a capacity to accommodate 341,000 students in total.