Jumeriah English Speaking School

JESS (Jumeirah English Speaking School)

Who are we?

Jumeirah English Speaking School, commonly referred to as ‘JESS’ is one of the few remaining non-profit schools in Dubai. We are a sought-after, well-respected and top-performing school delivering a world-class education to English-speaking students from over 70 different countries.

Our six core values: Commitment, Excellence, Integrity, Curiosity, Care and Respect allow us to deliver our vision of educating to make a difference. We strive to identify and tap into every individual student’s talents, finding areas in which they can shine and build confidence. At JESS, we pride ourselves on being a high-achieving community school where every boy and girl is important.

The History of JESS

JESS, began in a large apartment in a building near the Deira Clock Tower in 1975 with just 17 pupils. Within a year, thanks to a grant from the Ruler of Dubai, JESS moved to a villa in Jumeirah. There, we expanded from the apartment to a huddle of buildings in the middle of the desert, in Al Safa, Jumeirah which is still the home of JESS Jumeirah primary school.

The funding from the original companies took the form of a ‘corporate debenture’; a system that still successfully operates today at our schools with over 170 companies holding debentures at the Jumeirah school and over 80 at the Ranches - many companies having invested in both schools.

JESS Today

Today, after over 45 years of providing exceptional education in Dubai, the school has over 2,500 pupils enrolled in two different sites; c. 800 pupils at the original primary school in Jumeirah and c. 1700 at the newer Arabian Ranches school which opened in September 2005.

Like all expat schools in Dubai, we are a fee-paying school but the debenture system that we operate allows us to operate as one of the (very few) non-profit-making schools in Dubai. Managed by a Board of Governors, any decision regarding the provision of our education is based purely on whether it is in the best interest of our children and all finance is used entirely for school resources and staffing, ensuring that education is always the core driver of what we do as a school.

Our Curriculum

We offer the English curriculum from Foundation 1 to Year 11. In the Sixth Form (Years 12 and 13) which opened in 2009, we offer the IB Diploma and specialist Extended BTEC courses in Art, Sport and Business with more BTEC courses to follow,

JESS supports the philosophy that education goes beyond the limitations of the classroom. Consequently, there is also a varied and exciting range of extracurricular activities for children in Years 3 and above.

Our Staff

We are looking for high-quality, energetic individuals who can join our team and make a difference.  We welcome staff who show a genuine commitment to the vision for the school and who are exemplary practitioners with a proven track record of outstanding teaching.

JESS is a school with learning at its heart; we aim to instil in our students a passion for knowledge and discovery. The same is true of our staff. Our JESS CPD provides a forum for JESS staff to keep learning, fostering their growth mindset and share best practice. We work collaboratively across both JESS campuses to celebrate our strengths and enable us to get the best of ourselves, so we can ensure the best of our students.

JESS CPD umbrellas five strands: JESS Talks, JESS Workshops, JESS Listens, JESS Learns and JESS Leads.

For more details, see Working at JESS 

Exam Results

JESS is consistently one of the top-performing schools in the UAE and our Sixth Form has one of the largest cohorts in Dubai and is the top-performing IB school in the Middle East. Our Examination Results has more details.

JESS Facilities

Physical facilities at both JESS sites are state of the art reflecting the aims of JESS in providing a broad and balanced education for pupils. Both sites have large, well-established campuses with shaded, well-equipped playground areas, interactive whiteboards in every classroom, temperature-controlled swimming pools, air-conditioned sports halls, multi-purpose PE studios, netball courts, large sports fields, fully equipped ICT & Music departments and extremely well-resourced libraries.

The nine-acre site at Arabian Ranches also has a purpose-built music centre with a digital recording studio, excellent science, art & DT facilities, dance and drama studios, a strength and conditioning suite, a lecture theatre and a 500-seater auditorium with an outside amphitheatre. Our dedicated Sixth Form Centre was added in 2009 providing an excellent learning environment for our Sixth Form students.

By far the greatest resource at JESS is the students and our staff. We continue to recruit and retain staff of the highest calibre and this is reflected in examination results and inspection reports.

Location & Contacts

For Recruitment enquiries: recruitment@jess.sch.ae

P O Box 24942, Dubai, UAE

+971 4 3619019