School stages and streams in Dubai: how the system is organised

How the stages and streams fit together

1. 1

   Understand the stage structure

   In government schools each school stage will have four grades instead of six as it was before. Knowing which stage your child sits in helps you compare schools and plan the years ahead.

   Documents:Child's current grade record
2. 2

   The high school certificate

   Once completing this level, the student will be granted a high school certificate, which indicates passing 12 years of compulsory education. Keep this certificate — it is the document that proves the compulsory stage is complete.

   Documents:High school certificate
3. 3

   Know that the old two-way choice is gone

   Prior to 2015, students chose either the scientific or the literary stream. However, MoE abolished this system and instead introduced four streams: the General stream, the Applied stream, the Advanced stream, and the Elite stream (Advanced Science Program-ASP). So the decision your child faces is no longer a simple science-versus-arts split.

4. 4

   Everyone starts in the general stream

   All students will begin from Grade one in the general stream of learning. There is no stream to pick at the very start — the branching comes later, once a foundation has been built.

5. 5

   The Professional (Vocational) route

   After finishing Grade 8, a student can choose to join the Professional stream (Vocational stream), where he will continue studying Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 and will obtain an applied high school certificate which is equivalent to a technical high school certificate. This is the path for a more hands-on, applied education.

   Documents:Applied high school certificate
6. 6

   General or Advanced

   After finishing Grade 9 and depending on their performance, students can choose either to remain in the general stream or to join the advanced stream. The key difference between the general stream and the advanced stream is the range of scientific subjects — the advanced stream carries the wider set.

   Documents:Grade performance record

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