What is the name of your child's school? (Please report on one school per survey.)

MADAR International School

In what town or city is this school located?

Al Ain

How would you describe this school? (i.e. American, British, International, Local, etc.)

International: Students are prepared for British A Levels and American SATs and TOEFL

What grade levels are represented at this school?

KG to Grade 12

How do most children get to school everyday? (bus, train, walk, etc.)

Most children come to school by car; the rest use the school bus service.

How would you describe the facilities at this school? What extra-curricular activities are available?

It is the only school that we know about that has its own (very effective) staff development IT department. The school has a green field, a landscaped KG garden, a number outdoor play areas, two swimming pools (one for seniors and one for juniors), an indoor airconditioned basketball court (multipurpose), a library, sophisticated completely equipped laboratories with all international standard safety requirements, indoor airconditioned play areas, a cafeteria, a theater, a puppet minitheater, a local area computer network in every grade 3 and above with a computer at every desk and Interactive boards are being introduced. There is an active student society that organises interschool and intraschool sports, social and arts events and runs various clubs.

What has this school done to help your child transition from the curriculum in your home country into the curriculum in your new country? Are there programs to prepare your child for repatriation?

In general we find no difficulty in transition from one curriculum to another except if our child in not 'placed' correctly. We were concerned about maths and english as they are the only two subjects where a child has to rely on previous knowledge to learn new material; the school has support classes for those who need them.

How would you describe the social activities available for parents through this school? Are there parent-teacher organizations?

At MADAR they organise an annual 'outdoors' where parents and community join students in the fun. There are a number of other annual events like KG graduation, Grade 12 tree planting and commencement, theater productions etc.

What advice would you give to someone considering enrolling their child in this school?

We encourage parents who care about providing their children with good academic and discipline standards to enrol them at MADAR.