Background Information

Firwood Manor Preparatory School is a member of the GEMS (Global Education Management Systems) group of schools.

The History of GEMS

GEMS was started five decades ago as the Varkey Group, by the current Chairman’s parents, who moved from Southern India to open “Our Own English High School” in Dubai. The current Chairman, Mr. Sunny Varkey, took this over from his parents in 1980 and developed the GEMS into a group of, currently, 60 schools, educating 55,000 pupils. The group has experience across a wide range of curricula, mainly the English National Curriculum, but also the International Baccalaureate, the American Curriculum and other local curricula.

Mission Statement

To be the best provider of high quality, value for money, education in every country in which we serve.

Core Values

GEMS has four core values at the heart of its educational beliefs – World Citizenship, Universal Values, Leadership Skills and Forward Thinking.

Vision

GEMS will have a continually growing reputation for providing parents with a choice of high quality, good value for money, education matched to the demographic profile in its local market and beyond.

Each school will become a recognised centre for excellence.

GEMS headteachers will be educational leaders of national repute, and our academic staff will in each case earn a reputation amongst parents and students for being outstanding teachers of their subject/age range.

GEMS will become the largest group of independent schools in the UK, attracting increasing interest and support from governments in the UK and worldwide.