GEMS Wellington Academy Silicon Oasis becomes first IB World School with A Level offering; partners with ArtsEd
Dubai, 31 March 2019: GEMS Wellington Academy Silicon Oasis has gained approval to become the first IB World School in the region to offer students A Level study courses and International Baccalaureate (IB), to offer families the choice of either curriculum. It is now the only IB World School in the UAE accredited to offer A Level and the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) and the IB Career-related Programme (IBCP).
As part of a GEMS Education wider initiative to offer all-round quality education, the school which promotes the vision of the Group to drive impactful communities of learning - has also partnered with ArtsEd, a UK performing arts academy that celebrates 100 years of world-class training, and which launches in Dubai this year.
Kevin Loft, Principal and CEO, GEMS Wellington Academy, said: We are thrilled to be able to offer students a choice in either A Level programme of study or IBDP and IBCP. This is a first for the region and for GEMS Education, and we hope to pave the way for other schools so that there are a variety of pathways and options for academic study. Our partnership with renowned UK performing arts academy ArtsEd is a welcome addition to our offering in extra-curricular training and will ensure that we deliver on our promise to educate World-Class World-Ready future citizens of the world.
Running under the presidency of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber since 2007, ArtsEd will deliver bespoke training in the arts with partner schools in the UAE and will work with GEMS Wellington Academy to achieve the schools strategic goals, to harness creativity and develop essential skills amongst students and teachers. From September 2019, WSO will be the flagship school for ArtsEd, with a specialist arts academy based at the school.
At a special ceremony at the school to celebrate the ArtsEd partnership, WSO welcomed Loren Allred the voice behind Never Enough' from the hit musical drama The Greatest Showman. She was accompanied by Grammy Award winning educator Melissa Salguero, a Top 10 Finalist from Global Teacher Prize awards in a panel discussion. Moderating the session was Mark Reid, an internally-recognized music educator and top 50 Global Teacher Prize finalist in 2015.
A group of GEMS Wellington Academy students also got the opportunity to rehearse with Loren Allred ahead of a live performance over the weekend at The Assembly, a Global Teacher Prize Concert, where they sang Never Enough and This is Me from The Greatest Showman soundtrack.
