Academic calendar
Winter Term 2026 runs Aug 24, 2026 – Dec 11, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Winter Term 2026Relevant now
- Spring Term 2027
- Summer Term 2027
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 13 of 13 terms
D
- Diamond
- One of the four competitive school houses, represented by the color yellow/white.
E
- Emerald
- One of the four competitive school houses, represented by the color green.
K
- KHDA
- The Knowledge and Human Development Authority; students often use this to refer specifically to the high-stress annual inspection week.
M
- MLT
- Middle Leadership Team, consisting of heads of departments and year group leaders.
P
- Phoenix
- The GEMS Phoenix portal, used by students to check grades, attendance, and assignments.
- PRE
- Parent Relations Executive, the primary point of contact for parent-school communication.
R
- Ruby
- One of the four competitive school houses, represented by the color red.
S
- Sapphire
- One of the four competitive school houses, represented by the color blue.
- Slices
- The third-party catering provider that manages the school's healthy eating program and cafeteria.
- SLT
- Senior Leadership Team, the group of administrators responsible for school-wide decisions.
T
- The Canteen
- The primary food service area where students purchase snacks and meals during break times.
- The Hub
- A common reference to the central administrative or gathering areas in the school.
W
- WSD
- GEMS Winchester School Dubai, the official abbreviation used by students and staff.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- Block A
- The main building housing the Secondary school classrooms and administrative offices.
- Block B
- The building primarily dedicated to Primary school classrooms.
- Block C
- The building housing additional classrooms and specialized facilities.
- FS Building
- The dedicated area for Foundation Stage (Early Years) students.
- GEMS Rewards
- The mobile app used by families for tuition discounts and partner offers.
- ID Card
- The mandatory identification card used for campus entry and bus registration via STS scanners.
- Parent Portal
- The digital interface (Phoenix) for managing student records and school communication.
- school_canteen_slices_catering
- School Canteen (Slices Catering)
- STS
- School Transport Services, the official bus provider for student commuting.
- Uniform Mart
- The designated retail outlet where students must purchase official school attire.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Winter Term 2026 runs Aug 24, 2026 – Dec 11, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 13 approved campus terms and 10 local details are included in full.
- Are all approved campus terms included?
- Yes. The complete approved glossary is available in the scrollable, searchable campus-language section.
- Where does this guide come from?
- Calendar dates, campus terms, and local details come from DormWay's approved campus reference library.