Greenfield Community School provides a high quality, creative and challenging international education, based on the International Baccalaureate Philosophy. We foster within each student, staff member and community member an enduring passion for learning and empowering each individual to become a caring global citizen.

1. November 23, 2014
Greenfield Community School is a rich community of children and families drawn from 80
countries. We pride ourselves on being not only a centre for academic excellence but a
home away from home, a vibrant hub that brings families together.
There are few schools that can lay claim to being so widely and truly international whilst
also being fortunate enough to be supported and recognized by two strong educational
organisations, Taaleem and the IBO. Taaleem is UAE based educational organization that
manages ten schools and enjoys a sound reputation in the international and private
educational community. Secondly, the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO),
renowned for its rigorous academic programmes and diverse methods of teaching and
learning.
At the heart of an IBO education is international-mindedness and tolerance for cultural
differences. Students are developed to become critical thinkers who are reflective and
open-minded and prepared for the challenges of the world. Greenfield Community School
has been a pioneer in education both in the UAE and internationally. We were one of the
first schools to offer all four International Baccalaureate programmes: Primary Years
Programme (Early Years to Grade 5), Middle Years Programme (Grades 6 – 10, Diploma
Programme (Grades 11 and 12), Careers Programme (Grades 11 and 12).
We offer strong English as an Additional Language Programme. Many of our students arrive
in Dubai with little or no English. We support them both in the classroom and with
additional language tuition. We understand the challenges of settling into a new country, all
in a new language, and through our EAL programme, we help smoothen the process. We
have a strong French and German curriculum which enables our graduates to go on to study
at top UK and European universities. We also offer Art and Athletics Programmes that
support the students in their co-curricular and extra-curricular interests. The rich drama and
music programmes, the wide range of sports on offer, the art exhibits and the inter-school
competitions are venues to celebrate talent, cultural expression and develop well-rounded,
holistic students .
Both my children wrote the IB Diploma and I have seen the benefits that it has had as they
have gone on to university. As both an IB father and Principal I believe that it is, without
doubt, the gold standard in international education. It is a demanding academic course, one
that requires commitment, dedication and the willingness to ‘think outside the box’, ‘have a
voice’ and to discuss globally relevant topics daily. There is sound research that IB Diploma
students are more likely to be admitted to top universities, achieve first class passes and go
on to better jobs than students who have followed other curricula.

2. For the school and myself, I have set three goals. Firstly, to ensure that we grow in stature
as an International Baccalaureate centre of excellence. The programme is underpinned by
the timeless international values and ethics that form a basis for the behaviour of students
and teachers and an inquiry based approach to learning that produces both life-long
learners and children who take ownership of their education. Secondly, to raise the pride
that our students have in their work and their school, a pride founded upon respect for self,
their work, classmates, teachers and our school as a whole. And thirdly, to focus on
continually improving the already excellent quality of teaching and learning.
We are a school with high standards. Students are expected to set goals for themselves and
perform well in their academics. I want our children to respect themselves, one another,
their learning and their teachers. This will be evident in the quality of their work, the high
standards that they set for themselves and, in time, and a clear sense that second best is
just not good enough.
I look for a high standard of teaching in learning in the classrooms. Together with my
management team, we conduct regular classrooms observations to monitor the quality of
education. As teachers, our task is to inspire, direct, challenge and nurture them. Self-
discipline and dedication are vital components to achieving in life, be it learning to play golf,
the violin or attaining excellent academic results.
As I look to the future I want to see that we will see a strengthening of school spirit and
pride and with that, each student taking ownership of their progress and success. GCS is
committed to steady improvement in all aspects of its academics and encouraging its
students to make full use of all the extra-curricular opportunities in the school. Our students
will be proud to have come from a school that was their home away from home. For sure,
GCS is the place where they discovered and developed their talents, made lifelong friends
and gave them the very best start they could have in life.
Andrew Wood