MochenKitche at 19:34, 3 April 2026

2026-04-03T19:34:38Z

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{{Infobox school
| name = GEMS Our Own Indian School
| native_name = جيمس مدرستنا الهندية
| logo = GEMS Our Own Indian logo.png
| logo_size = 300
| motto = Nurturing Dynamic Learners in an Inclusive Environment
| motto_translation = رعاية المتعلمين الديناميكيين في بيئة شاملة
| city = [[Dubai]]
| postal_code = 26845
| country = United Arab Emirates
| coordinates = {{Coord|25.1707| 55.2618|display=inline,title}}
| former_name = Varkey International Private School
| established = 1991 (34 years ago)
| founders = {{hlist|Mariamma Varkey|K.S. Varkey|[[Sunny Varkey]]|}}
| school_board = [[Central Board of Secondary Education|CBSE]] {{flagicon|India}}
| authority = [[Knowledge and Human Development Authority|KHDA]] {{flagicon|Dubai}}
| principal = Lalitha Suresh
| staff = ~171 Teachers
| enrollment = ~3735 Students
| ratio = 22:1
| language = English
| hours_in_day = Regular Days: 6 Hours .
Fridays: 3.5 Hours .
| houses = {{Unbulleted list| {{Color box|green|border=black}} Aries | {{Color box|red|border=black}} Taurus | {{Color box|blue|border=black}} Aquarius | {{Color box|yellow|border=black}} Leo}}
| nickname = OIS
| fees = [[File:UAE Dirham Symbol.svg|20px]] 7,043 - [[File:UAE Dirham Symbol.svg|20px]] 14,696
| affiliation = {{hlist
| [[GEMS Education]]
| [[Eco-Schools]]
| [[UNESCO|UNESCO Associated Schools Network]]
| [[Microsoft|Microsoft Showcase School]]
| [[HP Inc.|HP Idea School]]
| [[Toastmasters International]]
| [[Emirates Scout Association]]
}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.gemsoo-alquoz.com/en}}
}}

'''GEMS Our Own Indian School''' is a [[Central Board of Secondary Education|CBSE]]-affiliated school in [[Dubai]], [[United Arab Emirates]]. The school was established in 1991 to provide education to children from the [[Indians in the United Arab Emirates|Indian diaspora living in the Emirates]]. The school has been rated as "very good"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=KHDA |first=DSIB |date=2023-04-18 |title=KHDA DSIB Inspections |url=https://www.khda.gov.ae/DISB/AttachmentDownload.aspx?DOC_ID=D0AsRvea/vM= |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422212557/https://www.khda.gov.ae/DISB/AttachmentDownload.aspx?DOC_ID=D0AsRvea/vM= |archive-date=2023-04-22 |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=www.khda.gov.ae}}</ref> by the [[Knowledge and Human Development Authority|KHDA]] during the DSIB Inspections for the academic year 2023-2024. The school started in 1991 as Varkey International Private School and renamed itself to [[GEMS Education|GEMS]] Our Own Indian School in 2012. The school saw its relocation to its current campus in [[Al Quoz|Al Quoz 1]] in 2002. The school vision is 'Nurturing Dynamic Learners in an Inclusive Environment'<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vision and Mission |url=https://www.gemsoo-alquoz.com/About%20Us/Vision%20and%20Mission |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=www.gemsoo-alquoz.com |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
The school started as Varkey International Private School in an effort to provide education to the [[Kerala Gulf diaspora|Keralite community]] living in the Emirates and was affiliated with the [[Kerala Board of Public Examination|Kerala State Board]]. The school was located in Al Gharoud until it moved to the current campus on Al Meydan Street. The school opened its doors to children in 1991 with Mrs. Annie George as its first principal who led the school until 1999. The school began with 438 students and 30 teachers and basic support staff. After its relocation in 2002, it was renamed Our Own Indian School in 2004 and again to its current name GEMS Our Own Indian School in 2012. Lalitha Suresh became the school's principal in 2012 along with other major changes that laid the foundation for the current school. The school received their first "Very-Good" DSIB rating for the academic year 2022-23. The school became a fully [[Mixed-sex education|co-ed]] school starting from the academic year 2024-25.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Saseendran |first=Sajila |date=December 13, 2016 |title=Ex-students, teachers reunite at silver jubilee of Dubai school |work=Gulf News |url=https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/ex-students-teachers-reunite-at-silver-jubilee-of-dubai-school-1.1944367 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429044455/https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/ex-students-teachers-reunite-at-silver-jubilee-of-dubai-school-1.1944367 |archive-date=29 April 2023}}</ref> The school is rumoured to again relocate its campus in the academic year 2027-28 from the current location to which it had relocated in 2002, marking the end of 25 years in the current campus.

=== The early leadership ===
The school was founded by the Mariamma Varkey, her husband K.S. Varkey and their son, [[Sunny Varkey]]. Mariamma Varkey and her family moved to the [[Emirate of Dubai]] in 1959, 12 years before the [[History of the United Arab Emirates|Unification of the Emirates]]. She was an English teacher from the Indian state of [[Kerala]] who moved to the Emirate. She and her husband K.S. Varkey established the [[Our Own English High School]] in 1968. She was also a key role in establishing the Varkey International Private School in 1991 and was a major part of its leadership till her death at the age of 89 in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=John |first=Issac |date=2023-05-05 |title=UAE: Mariamma Varkey passes away |url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-mariamma-varkey-founder-of-first-gems-education-school-passes-away |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621043418/https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-mariamma-varkey-founder-of-first-gems-education-school-passes-away |archive-date=2023-06-21 |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=www.khaleejtimes.com |language=english}}</ref>

== Overview ==
[[File:VIPS_campus.jpg|alt=old campus VIPS .jpg|right|1x1px]]

The school has approximately 171 teachers and 3735 students of which 349 are children of determination. The largest nationality for both students and teachers at the school is [[Indian people|Indian]].<ref name=":0" /> A regular school day starts at 7:40 am and ends at 1:35 pm, whereas on Fridays, in light of the [[Friday prayer|Jumu'ah prayer]] offered by [[Muslims|Muslim]] students, the school day starts at 7:40 am and ends at 11:10 am.

=== Campus ===
The school campus covers an area of 11,994 square meters (129,102 square feet) with the average classroom measuring 50 square meters, there are 106 classrooms. The school also has 6 laboratories measuring 70 square meters on average.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Suresh |first=Lalitha |date=2021-05-20 |title=Mandatory Public Disclosure |url=https://www.gemsoo-alquoz.com/-/media/project/gems/ois_gems_our_own_indian_school_dubai/_files-and-documents/cbse-details/mandatory-public-disclosure-20-5-21.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401212115/https://www.gemsoo-alquoz.com/-/media/project/gems/ois_gems_our_own_indian_school_dubai/_files-and-documents/cbse-details/mandatory-public-disclosure-20-5-21.pdf |archive-date=2023-04-01 |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=/www.gemsoo-alquoz.com}}</ref>
[[File:Oois-Alqouz-GEMS.jpg|thumb|The Main Entrance to the school]]

=== Extra-curricular activities ===
The school promotes extra-curricular activities of all kinds. It has multiple student-led clubs that promote communication skills, photography, art, music and others. The school also offers a volleyball, basketball court and a cricket net. Every year the school hosts a [[Model United Nations|United Nations Simulation]] conference debate with students representing different countries.<ref name=":2" />

=== KHDA inspection report ===
'''''Source'' <ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=KHDA |first=DSIB |date=2009–2022 |title=KHDADSIB |url=https://web.khda.gov.ae/en/Education-Directory/Schools/School-Details?Id=237&CenterID=89 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.khda.gov.ae}}</ref>'''

The [[Knowledge and Human Development Authority|KHDA]] (Knowledge and Human Development Authority) is the primary authority for education in the [[Emirate of Dubai]]. They create an inspection report every year of all the educational institutions in the emirate. This is done by the DSIB (Dubai School Inspection Bureau), a branch of the KHDA. Inspections normally start in October every year and go on till February and occasionally beyond.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Al Karam |first=Dr. Abdulla |date=2023-05-18 |title=DSIB |url=https://web.khda.gov.ae/en/Resources/Private-education-quality-in-dubai/Dubai-Schools-Inspection-Bureau-(DSIB) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128170234/https://web.khda.gov.ae/en/Resources/Private-education-quality-in-dubai/Dubai-Schools-Inspection-Bureau-(DSIB) |archive-date=2023-01-28 |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=www.khda.gov.ae}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Al Karam |first=Dr. Abdulla |date=2023-05-15 |title=KHDA DSIB |url=https://www.khda.gov.ae/DSIBRecruit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506143721/https://www.khda.gov.ae/DSIBRecruit/ |archive-date=2023-05-06 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.khda.gov.ae}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!School name
!Curriculum
!Year
!Rating
|-
| rowspan="3" |Our Own Indian School
| rowspan="3" |CBSE
|2009-2010
|Acceptable
|-
|2010-2011
|Good
|-
|2011-2012
|Good
|-
| rowspan="10" |GEMS Our Own Indian School
| rowspan="10" |CBSE
|2012-2013
|Good
|-
|2013-2014
|Good
|-
|2014-2015
|Acceptable
|-
|2015-2016
|Good
|-
|2016-2017
|Good
|-
|2017-2018
|Good
|-
|2018-2019
|Good
|-
|2019-2020
|Good
|-
|2022-2023
|Very-Good
|-
|2023-2024
|Very-Good
|}
=== Uniforms ===
The school's uniforms consist of a white shirt with blue stripes and navy trousers or shorts (boys and girls), navy skirts (for girls), a navy-blue tie (grades 9-12 boys), a navy-blue neck scarf (grades 9-12 girls), navy socks (grades 1-10), black shoes and white shoes (core and physical education respectively), and black leather belts. The grades 11 and 12 students have special dark grey blazers, trousers and socks. The physical education uniform consists of a t-shirt and trackpants in either of the four house colours. The kindergarten uniform consists of a blue and white polo with navy blue trackpants or shorts. The school uniform is issued by Threads.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=threads IT department |first=threads IT department |date=15 May 2023 |title=Threads Uniform Guide for Indian Curriculum in the UAE |url=https://www.threadsme.com/uniform-guide-indian-curriculum/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.threadsme.com}}</ref>

== CBSE and other affiliations ==
The school is a [[for-profit]] managed by [[GEMS Education]] since 2000 when the company was established and administered by the Varkey Group until then. The school is recognized by the [[Ministry of Education (United Arab Emirates)|United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education]] and the [[Central Board of Secondary Education]], [[New Delhi]] (Affiliation No. 6630046) which is India's national-level education board managed by the [[Government of India]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=JOHRI |first=DR. ANTRIKSH |date=2023-05-15 |title=CBSE affiliation list |url=https://saras.cbse.gov.in/cbse_aff/schdir_Report/userview.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515195344/https://saras.cbse.gov.in/cbse_aff/schdir_Report/userview.aspx |archive-date=2023-05-15 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=saras.cbse.gov.in}}</ref>

== References ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Schools in the United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:Schools affiliated to CBSE]]
[[Category:GEMS Education schools]]
[[Category:Private schools in the United Arab Emirates]]

GEMS Our Own Indian School - Revision history

MochenKitche at 19:34, 3 April 2026