Dubai, UAE – His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has officially inaugurated the Swiss International Scientific School in Dubai (SISD), Dubai’s first ever day and boarding school to offer multilingual education in French, English, German and Arabic, at its newly opened school campus in Dubai Healthcare City, Phase 2.

H.E. Dr. Karam was joined by Mr. Jürg Metz, Consul and Head of Consular Affairs at the Embassy of Switzerland to the UAE; Christophe Darbellay, Head of Department of Economics and Education at Canton du Valais; Mr. Omar Danial, Founder SISD; Mr. Beat Sommer, Head of School; a delegation from the Canton du Valais and key members of the school’s staff.

His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority commented: “Dubai’s schools sector is very diverse – there are 194 private schools, offering 17 different curricula, with 280,000 students from 180 different nationalities. Just the right setting for the Swiss School in Dubai. KHDA has recently held the first Dubai Student Wellbeing Census for all Grade 6 to Grade 9 students in Dubai – about 65,000 students altogether. What is showed was that 84% of students in Dubai say they’re happy most or nearly all of the time. I looked at the results for the Swiss School in terms of the diversity of its students. On average, 23% of students in Dubai say that their friends are from many different countries in the world. For the Swiss School, that figure is 49%. We know that when we have friends from different countries, we feel more connected to the world, and we have higher levels of empathy.”

The celebration included opening speeches from SISD’s leadership and the delegation of the Canton du Valais followed by a press a conference with Swiss and local journalists. The event concluded with a visit of SISD’s campus along with a tour of their state-of-the-art facilities and the newly completed boarding houses.

Commenting on the visit, SISD Head of School, Beat Sommer, said: “We were delighted to welcome KHDA, Mr. Jürg Metz from the Swiss Embassy and the delegation from the State of Valais to visit our campus. At SISD, our goal is to foster a community of global citizens that are inquisitive, active and compassionate learners who contribute to their society through intercultural understanding and respect. We believe that being international means opening your mind to other cultures and different ways of thinking. Our students are uniquely privileged to learn the skills and aptitudes required to thrive in a perpetually changing world, as a fundamental part of their education.”

Having recently been awarded the patronage of the Canton du Valais, one of 26 in Switzerland, SISD is laying the foundation for the introduction for the Swiss Baccalaureate in the UAE and the wider region. Recognized for its high academic performance as per the PISA report (Programme for International Student Assessment), the Canton will support SISD in an advisory capacity on academic matters. SISD is the 27th school abroad to receive a patronage from a Swiss Canton.

Currently in its third year of operation, SISD is home to 1000 day and boarding students from over 60 nationalities forming a uniquely international community where students, teachers and staff from all over the world work, live and prosper together.

The Swiss International Scientific School in Dubai (SISD) officially opened its first boy’s boarding house. Girl’s boarding will also be available from September 2018 onwards.

Students from Grades 6-11 have access to all campus facilities and the option between full-time, weekly and flexi boarding. The newly furnished boarding facilities have four floors with 14 rooms and en-suite bathrooms in each double room for a total capacity of 100 students per house. Each floor has a fully equipped pantry room and there is a spacious community room full of things to do for when the students have time to relax. The dormitory building also features dedicated apartments for housemasters and tutors.

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About SISD

The Swiss International Scientific School in Dubai is an international day and boarding school where future generations are inspired to become confident and enthusiastic life-long learners, ready to embrace the opportunities and challenges in a global world.

Our school offers the full continuum International Baccalaureate (IB) programme from Pre-KG to Grade 11 (Grade 12 opening in 2019/20*) in English or in two bilingual English-French and English-German sections. We believe in having high standards; encouraging our students to stretch themselves to achieve success, unlocking talents and discovering new strengths.

In June 2016, we received the Happy Healthy School award by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) for our school-wide initiatives aimed at improving healthy eating, active living and a positive environment. Our large eco-friendly campus ensures that we can offer a wide range of sporting facilities, including an Olympic sized swimming pool and water sports that make the most of our location adjacent to Dubai Creek.

*subject to KHDA approval

© Press Release 2018