GEMS Wellington Academy - Silicon Oasis
GEMS Wellington Academy - Silicon Oasis
GEMS Wellington Academy - Silicon Oasis (WSO) is a premium co-educational British curriculum school in Dubai Silicon Oasis, opened in September 2011 and part of GEMS Education. It extended its age range in 2022 with a nursery, which takes children from six months to three years old with a Baby Room for six- to 12-month-olds new for 2026/27, and runs from Nursery through to Year 13. At the BSO inspection of March 2025 it had 4,403 pupils from 116 nationalities, making it one of the largest all-through schools in Dubai. The school follows the National Curriculum for England to Year 11, with IGCSE and GCSE at Key Stage 4, and offers the IB Diploma Programme, IB Career-related Programme, A Levels and BTEC at Post-16. It is the GEMS Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts and Theatre Technology, with partnerships including West End Stage, Urdang and UDO. KHDA rated the school Very Good overall in 2023-2024, with Inclusion Outstanding and the Foundation Stage outstanding across most indicators, and British Schools Overseas judged it an outstanding school in March 2025.
Fees read from the school's published 2026-27 fee schedule; KHDA rating from its 2023-24 inspection report. Last checked 26 September 2026. How Talem verifies →
Fees for 2026/2027, per year group. Excludes registration, uniform, and transport.
The fees shown are what the school charges for 2026-27, from its fee page and KHDA's 2026-27 fact sheets, which record that the school requested no increase. From Year 7 KHDA approves a higher tuition and records a discount against it (6.15% in Year 7, 2.028% from Year 8), so the KHDA Approved column shows the fee before that discount; the nursery bands, Foundation Stage and Years 1 to 6 carry no discount. Nursery fees are for five days a week from 7:30am to 3:30pm; morning-only (to 12:30pm) and three-day patterns are charged pro rata. Not included: GCSE and IB examination fees, which are compulsory and billed separately; a one-to-one Learning Support Assistant where a student needs one; and uniform, a digital device, transport, lunch and trips.
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KHDA 2023–2024 inspection
The Nursery opened in 2022, when the academy extended its age range, and takes children from six months to three years; from 2026/27 a dedicated Baby Room takes up to six babies aged six to 12 months. Learning is child-led and play-based, with the environment treated as the third teacher, and families choose three or five days a week. Class sizes are nine in Pre-Nursery (age one to two) and 15 in Nursery (age two to three).
FS1 and FS2 follow the Early Years Foundation Stage framework through play and child-led learning across its seven areas. Children have specialist lessons in Arabic, Performing Arts, Physical Education with swimming, and Outdoor Learning, with French from FS2, and every FS class has a teacher and a teaching assistant. KHDA rated the Foundation Stage outstanding in every indicator it rated in 2023-24 except the quality of leadership (very good), and BSO judged early years provision outstanding in March 2025.
Years 1 and 2 follow the National Curriculum for England through the school's enquiry-led Conceptual Curriculum. Early reading and phonics are taught through Read Write Inc and mathematics through a mastery approach; Arabic, Islamic Studies for Muslim pupils and Social Studies are core, and specialist teachers lead French, Performing Arts, PE and swimming, and Outdoor Learning. Classes have 27 pupils.
Years 3 to 6 continue the National Curriculum for England through the Conceptual Curriculum, with French for all pupils and German or Spanish options added in Years 5 and 6. Sports squads start in Year 3, Years 3 and 4 stage a Mini Musical, and Years 5 and 6 can audition for the Junior Theatre Company and take off-site enrichment such as sailing and golf. In Year 6, pupils present a Shakespeare project to secondary teachers and parents before moving up.
Years 7 and 8 study English, mathematics, science, Arabic, a modern foreign language, history, geography, art, design and technology, performing arts, physical education and Moral, Social and Cultural Studies, with Computer Science added in Year 8. Students begin shaping their own pathway at the end of Year 8, when they choose their Year 9 options.
Students personalise their pathways through a diverse (i)GCSE options programme, with IGCSE, GCSE, BTEC, ASDAN and functional skills routes available. Year 9 runs as a skills year in which pupils explore optional subjects before choosing from the 33 GCSE options offered: alongside English, mathematics, science, Arabic and PE, each student takes four options, one from each block, and science continues as a Double or Triple Award from Year 10.
Four Post-16 pathways: A Levels (over 20 subjects, with the Extended Project Qualification), the IB Diploma Programme, the IB Career-related Programme (built on BTEC courses) and BTEC (seven options, as Extended Diplomas, Diplomas or Subsidiary Diplomas), with blended routes for some students. Entry needs grade 7 in a subject to take it at A Level, grade 6 for an IB subject and grade 5 in a related GCSE for BTEC, and every student needs five approved GCSEs at grade 3 or above, including English, mathematics and science, for Ministry of Education equivalency. Students use a dedicated Post-16 centre. In 2025, 18% of the school's A level entries were graded A*, 39% A* to A and 63% A* to B. BSO reported that 90% of students completed the IB Diploma in 2024 with an average of 35 points, and that in the previous year almost all students went on to university, about 25% to the world's top 100 institutions and about 40% to UK universities.
Primary classrooms with break-out spaces, plus a dedicated Year 6 Hub Room.
Blended learning plazas in both the Primary and Secondary schools, shown on the school's virtual tours.
Science labs, which the school describes as state of the art.
Technology workshops listed among the school's specialist learning spaces.
ICT rooms and coding labs for computing and digital learning.
Primary and secondary libraries; BSO inspectors found them well stocked and suited to independent research, with weekly timetabled library lessons up to Key Stage 3.
Flexible breakout spaces and innovation suites for enquiry-driven learning.
A dedicated centre for Post-16 students, with quiet read zones and collaboration spaces for study periods.
Principal/CEO
Sarah O'Regan is the Principal/CEO and a founding member of GEMS Wellington Academy - Silicon Oasis (WSO), where she is now in her fourteenth year of leadership. She has led the Academy through ten KHDA inspections and three British Schools Overseas (BSO) inspections, achieving an 'Outstanding' rating. An ambitious and forward-thinking leader, Sarah is committed to maximising every student's potential through academic excellence, enriching opportunities and a strong culture of inclusion and wellbeing. Her vision is to ensure students develop the confidence, independence and skills to be World Class, World Ready.
Primary Principal
Secondary Principal
Manager of Academy Operations
Academy Vice Principal
Academy Vice Principal
Vice Principal
Vice Principal
Vice Principal
Vice Principal
Vice Principal
Academy Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal, Ministry of Education Subjects
Nursery Director
Director of Pastoral Care - Primary
Director of Pastoral Care - Secondary
Director of Post-16
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Silicon Oasis, Dubai, P.O. Box 49746, United Arab Emirates
