GEMS American Academy, Qatar

The school is located in "Mian Street? Al Wukair, Al Wakrah, Qatar".

Yes, the school has canteen facility.

Yes, the school provides bus as a transport facility.

The school timings are as follows: For PK and KG1 it is 7:30 AM to 12:30 PM and for KG2 to Grade 12 it is 7:30 AM to 2:15 PM i.e. from Sundays to Wednesdays, while on Thursdays it is 7:30 AM to 1:30 PM for PK and KG1 and for KG2 to Grade 12 it is 7:30 AM to 1:30 PM.

The GEMS American Academy Qatar offers a large variety of athletic, academic enrichment and interest-based extracurricular activities and clubs that are free. For example, they include, but are not limited to, the academic enrichment clubs such as the reading club, math club, Spanish club and science tutoring. The interest-based clubs include, but are not limited to, the art club, fitness club, Qur'an study, Girl Scouts and environment science club. Lastly, the athletic clubs include, but are not limited to, the yoga, basketball, football (soccer) and volleyball etc.

Yes, at the GEMS American Academy Qatar, it is compulsory for all the students to wear school uniforms. The high standards that they expect and deliver is what their uniform represents as well as for their students a common theme and identity. Supporting their ethos of “one team, one purpose” only helps promote equality across all the students. In their school store their uniforms can be purchased directly etc.

The sports activities the school provide are the Track & Field, Soccer, Cross Country, Basketball, Swimming, Volleyball, Netball, Badminton, Taekwondo and Fencing etc.

The sports facilities the school provide are the Dedicated Cross Fit zone, Multipurpose Sports Hall, Rooftop sports court, Full soccer (football) pitch, Shaded playground areas, Indoor mini-gyms and Professional dance studio.

At the GEMS American Academy Qatar, there are a plethora of afterschool activities (ASAs) and student organizations for their scholars to engage in. From the Eco Club that incorporates Lower School and Upper School to their THIMUN delegates, student clubs and organizations are considered an important part of the GEMS American Academy Qatar’s programming. Lower School: For students the teacher-led after school activities provide more opportunities to bond with the educators as well as participate in fun extracurricular experiences. Please note that at KG2 these ASAs start and the students can choose to participate up to two days a week in these programs. LOWER SCHOOL ASAs:- KG2 - Grade 2 Activities: Multi-Sport Athletics: Frisbee, Multi-Sport Athletics: Basketball / Pickle ball, Cosmic Yoga, Arts and Crafts, Winter Day Crafts, Sketching and Cartooning, Reader's Theater, Playdoh, Math Games, Out of Eden, Kids Dance, Handwriting, Reading Club, Spirit Team, Mindful Coloring and Step-by-Step Drawing. Grade 3 - Grade 5 Activities: Singing Club, Drama, STEM Activities, Eco-Green Club, Math Support, Multi-Sport Athletics: Frisbee, Gymnastics, Arabic Support, Fun and Games, Retro Games, Reading Club, Computer Programming, Recycling, Percussion and Singing and Dances Around the World. UPPER SCHOOL ASAs:- Middle School ASAs: MS Student Council (Grade-Level Reps), Dance Club, French, Math Olympiad, Qur'an Reading, Magic the Gathering, Robotics, Film Club, Gavel Club, College and Career Exploration, Newspaper Club, Arabic Writing Competition, Chess Club, Cooking Club, Photography Club and Ukelele. High School ASAs: HS Student Council, Yearbook Club, Dance Club, Model United Nations (MUN), Math Help, Robotics, Coding Club, Toastmasters, Newspaper Club, Guitar for Beginners, Eco Club, Photography Club, Choir and Lunchtime Football League.

The start and end of the school year is "August to June".

Generally, during the school year, they enroll at the beginning of Term 1 (late August/early September) through the beginning of March. For instance, for students that have never attended school before (typically Pre-K, KG1 or KG2 students), the deadline for enrollment is traditionally mid-October. For international student transfers, the deadline for enrollment is traditionally mid-February. Lastly, for local student transfers within Qatar, the deadline for enrollment is traditionally the beginning of March. Subject to availability, deadlines and case-by-case scenarios, they will endeavor to accommodate admission throughout the year.

The school recruit highly-qualified, experienced and inspirational teachers from around the world. Many of their teachers are predominantly sourced from the United States and Canada, but other educators come from Europe, South Africa and other parts of the world. Leaning on expertise from GEMS Education and following their trusted teacher recruitment model, they have significant familiarity in hiring dedicated teachers who care deeply about their students’ progress and well-being in addition to delivering inspiring subject lessons to ignite inquiry and creativity in the child.

The GAAQ students are an eclectic and dynamic mix of many nationalities from around the world. In fact, the school have nearly 80 nationalities within their student body.

No, the school do not charge an application fee. The parents will only be charges 200 QAR for an assessment fee (for all Grade 1 – Grade 12 prospective students).

Yes, the school conduct an assessment for each child as a part of their admissions process. Please see their Admissions Process page for further information.

Generally, the school accept applications online via the Apply Now page of their website.

If the parents are are experiencing issues completing the application online, then please contact the school Admissions department at [email protected] or by calling +974 4032 9000 for additional assistance. Lastly, the parents are free to visit the school and they will assist them with the application in-person.

If the parents have supporting documentation that they were not able to submit with their application (i.e., Qatar ID or residence visas), scanned copies can be forwarded to [email protected]. Please be sure to quote your child’s name and SR number in the correspondence.

Yes, the school Admissions team is here to assist. They will be more than happy to meet at the school to guide the parents through the application process and answer any questions they may in English and in Arabic. Please contact [email protected] in order to schedule an appointment.

They are committed to promoting healthy lifestyles at GEMS American Academy Qatar. They serve a wide range of healthy, delicious lunches and snacks in their cafeterias. Children are taught about health and well-being and all students undertake regular physical activity through their PE lessons and numerous afterschool sports clubs and sports team. Their guidance counseling program ensures that students can access emotional and mental well-being support as required.

Please refer to their School Transport page for detailed information. They have bus service ranging from Al Wakrah to The Pearl (Doha). In fact, the majority of their students live in Doha. If you are a family interested in taking the Qatar Rail line to their school, they have a dedicated shuttle bus service for their students and staff which provides transport to and from the Ras Bu Fontas station. Take a look below at some major rail stations and its proximity to the Ras Bu Fontas station: a. Qatar National Library to Ras Bu Fontas 33 minutes, b. Al Rayyan/Al Qadeem to Ras Bu Fontas 30 minutes, c. Al Waab to Ras Bu Fontas 28 minutes, d. Al Sadd to Ras Bu Fontas 22 minutes and e. Msheireb to Ras Bu Fontas 13 minutes.

Yes, but the admissions of students that require learning support is subject to the maximum student caseload of their Student Support Teachers (SST) and seat availability per grade.

Yes, the school has two full-time nurses on site at all times. There is a dedicated First Aid Unit Center for students who are feeling unwell. For any emergency situations, the school is less than 8 minutes away from Al Wakra Hospital.

Please check the school Working With Us page of their website for current vacancies.

Yes, they have a program for The Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award for students in Grades 9 – 12. Participants in the DofE International Award, as it is commonly known, design their own program to fulfill such topics as Service, Physical Activity and Skills and Adventurous Journey. These topics fit very well with the ethos of the American curriculum.

In 2018, a simple sustainability survey conducted by their Advance Placement (AP) Environmental Science students uncovered a lack of eco-friendly and sustainability support in their school. Therefore, these students embarked to change the culture and ethos around this through relentless pursuit of recycling, biodiversity, elimination of plastic bottling and greenhouse planting, to name a few. In this short time, GAAQ became the recipient of the Qatar Green Building Council’s “School Sustainability Award in 2019 and earned the FEE’s prestigious Eco-Schools Green Flag award in 2020 (just the 3rd school in Qatar to receive this award).