The National, March 12, 2022.

A new school is set to open in Dubai offering parents and pupils a later start time of 9am. Bloom World Academy will open its doors in August with capacity for 1,800 pupils. Operating a 9am to 4pm school day, the state of the art school will be the first in the city to offer a later start, with lessons getting under way more than an hour after most schools in the emirate.

Open to pupils aged 3 to 18, founding principal John Bell said the later start time will be supported by optional care, from 7am to 8am and from 5pm to 7pm, including services such as breakfast and dinner at an additional cost. “The timings we chose were based on the idea of offering something unique and different in a competitive market place,” he said.

“In my experience, there are a lot of tired pupils in school, and tired teachers too. Many families come to Dubai for a better work-life balance, so why shouldn’t families experience that? Additionally, we are not going to be a homework school. There will not be expectations for children to work too much at home.”

With tuition fees starting at Dh40,000 ($10,890) a year, climbing to Dh72,000 annually for older pupils, a selection of co-curricular activities including sports, arts and a homework club is available. They run from 8am to 8.45am and from 4pm to 5pm. Located in Al Barsha, Bloom World Academy, operated by Bloom Education, will be the group’s first own-brand school in the UAE. The group currently operates the outstanding-rated Brighton Colleges in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, among others. This new campus, spanning 43,000 square metres, will take over Dwight School, which currently operates on the site.

Recruitment is already underway with the school looking to attract about 60 teachers by August. As many surrounding neighbourhoods continue to expand, including Dubai Hills, Damac Hills, Mira Oasis and Town Square, Mr Bell said the school is on a “major transport route and is a thoroughfare route for parents working in Dubai”.

The school will be divided into five main areas: Primo, the early years' centre; primary, middle school, seniors and the pre-university centre, which helps prepare youngsters for life after school. “One of our unique selling points are the individual Learning Achievement Passports that we will adopt,” said Mr Bell. “Every child will get their own passport, which will be reviewed collectively and openly with parents every single month. Within the passport, pupils and teachers will set out goals, challenges and bespoke timetables. For instance, if a pupil is really keen to develop certain areas of their learning, such as languages, we will give them additional opportunities to do that during the school day. So, in effect, the passport is a document which describes the whole flexible package that we offer a child and it will map out what they will do during the day.”