International School of Choueifat, Abu Dhabi

The International School of Choueifat is a branch of the International School of Choueifat located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates that follows the 'SABIS' system.The school opened in 1978 and is located just off Airport Road in the Mushref area [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=abu+dhabi+united+arab+emirates&ll=24.455559,54.381959&spn=0.004509,0.009968&t=k&hl=en] . It has a capacity of 3,400 students, an indoor swimming pool, a football field, several full-sized basketball courts, onesquash courts, a multipurpose, air-conditioned, indoor gymnasium, two outdoor canteens and two indoor canteens.

One important aspect of the school curriculum is the emphasis placed on competition with oneself as opposed to competition against others, and the school emphasizes the importance of working in teams. Discipline is maintained by a separate disciplinary staff who are there to keep students behaved. Many critics of the system maintain that an over-formulaic approach leaves teachers and students demoralized. Often draconian measures are implemented on students as well as staff members. The Abu Dhabi school has seen record numbers of staff dismissals in recent years. Students wear a school uniform (which does not match). Students of the school who take external examinations such as Edexcel A-levels or Collegeboard APs usually have exceedingly high scores. Many critics of the system maintain that students are cherry-picked to sit external exams, and therefore these results at Choueifat inflated in order to make the school seem more successful than it is. Furthermore,Choueifat administrators disallow students to take an O-level,A-level or AP on a subject which they have not attained a certain average on in school exams.This,however,affects students' futures to a great extent.The school gives more importance to its image rather than the needs of its own students. Choueifat maintains that this is due to the approach of their students and teachers, who provide help to all who need it.

* [http://sabisstinks.wordpress.com Criticisms of SABIS and the PPP Program in Abu Dhabi]