VISS is a premium not- for profit international school in the United Arab Emirates providing a quality Victorian education to a diverse international community. It is a highly sought after school and is seen as a leader in education in the region.
The school teaches the Victorian version of the Australian curriculum and its teachers are predominately sourced from schools in Australia, the majority being from Victoria.
As the preeminent provider of Australian education in the Middle East, VISS often works with external bodies to promote Victoria and Victorian education in the region.
The school has developed strong relationships with a number of bodies both in the Middle East and in Australia and has close ties with both the Australian embassy and the Victorian Business Office in the UAE where it is often called to showcase the Victorian curriculum and pedagogy.
An agreement was signed between His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Al Qassimi and the then Victorian Labor government for the establishment of Victoria International School of Sharjah in November 2005. This relationship was re-affirmed by the signing of a new MOU in December 2017 during the school’s 10 year celebrations.
The school opened for classes in September 2007 on a purpose built (Victorian designed) campus on the border of Dubai and Sharjah. The teaching methods and the curriculum standards from Victoria impressed HH, whose vision to build a lighthouse school that would act to support improvement and development in education in Sharjah, saw him look to the Victorian Department of Education to collaborate on creating a Victorian model school. The first teachers and Heads of School were recruited, with assistance from the DET, from Victoria and arrived before the 2007 opening to set the school up.
The official ceremony to formally open the school in 2010, to ratify the agreement between the Victorian and Sharjah governments, was attended by both the Ruler of Sharjah and the Premier of Victoria John Brumby.
The school continues to carry the name of the state of Victoria and continues to promote the quality of Victorian education and teaching in the region.