Dubai HS Festival

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High School

Educators

Dates

April

–

Coming soon

April 2026

Coming soon

Location

GEMS Modern Academy Dubai

Dubai

For

Students

14–18 Years Old

Festivals

Booking opens

May 2025

Event IS full

Step into the vibrant crossroads of tradition and innovation at the ISTA Dubai High School Festival—where young artists explore, create, and connect through the transformative power of theatre at GEMS Modern Academy Dubai.

Book now

Booking is open

Book now

Booking opens

Event is full

May 2025

May 5, 2025

Book now

About

Dubai HS Festival

Hosted by

GEMS Modern Academy Dubai

No items found.

Artistic information

Area of Learning: Coming Soon

Festival Story: A festival story is the central idea that inspires exploration and creative work throughout an ISTA festival. The festival story for this event is coming soon.

Cultural Experience: Coming Soon. A cultural experience at an ISTA festival is an opportunity for participants to connect with the local culture, people, or place, inspiring creative exploration during the festival. The cultural experience for this event is coming soon.

ISTA Global Challenge: This event is part of ISTA’s season-wide theme: Waves of Change. The challenge invites young people to explore how change—personal, social, cultural, environmental, and historical—shapes our world. Through theatre, students reflect on their role in creating, responding to, and riding the waves of change in their own communities and beyond.

Unique to this event

Workshop Focus

Booking & Registration

Booking secures your place at an ISTA festival by providing estimated participant numbers and paying a deposit. Registration finalises all participant details to support accurate planning for workshops, catering, and logistics.

‍
Booking

Opens: 1:00 pm (UK time), Monday 5 May 2025
Before booking, ensure your school can attend by confirming:
- Travel restrictions and visa requirements
- Parental approval
- School authorisation
At the time of booking, you must provide:
- Estimated number of students
- Estimated number of educators
- Lead educator contact details

Deposit & Confirmation

Once booked, you’ll receive an invoice for a 50% deposit based on student numbers. The deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable. Booking is only confirmed once the deposit is received (within 30 days).
Please only book spaces you are confident you can fill.

‍Registration

Opens: 1:00 pm (UK time), Monday 5 May 2025
Closes: 11:59 pm (UK time), Thursday 29 January 2026
Once registration opens, schools with confirmed places should complete participant registration as soon as possible. You’ll need to provide final student and educator details along with confirmed travel information.

‍Changes in Student Numbers

Fewer students than booked? Deposits for those students are forfeited.
Need more students? Additional spaces may be requested. A 50% deposit per added student will apply.

Waitlist

If the event reaches capacity, it will be marked Waitlist.
To be added to the waitlist, email the Event Manager with your requested number of students and educators. Spaces will be offered in the order requests are received.

Payment Process

ISTA festivals follow a two-step automated payment process:

Step 1: 50% Deposit at Booking

Upon booking, a 50% deposit is required to secure your place. This deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable.
Bookings are only confirmed once the deposit has been successfully paid.

Step 2: Final Balance After Registration Closes

After registration closes, schools will be automatically invoiced for the remaining 50% of fees, based on the final number of students registered, plus any applicable surcharges.

Changes in Student Numbers

Fewer students than booked: Deposits for non-attending students will be forfeited. (e.g. If 15 students are booked but only 10 attend, the deposit for 5 students is not refunded.)
Additional students: A 50% deposit per added student will be invoiced at the time of the increase.

Travel, visas & accommodation

Arrival & Departure

Arrival: Before 1:00pm Thursday 9 April 2026
Departure: After 4:30pm Sunday 12 April 2026

Transport

Nearest Airport: Dubai International Airport (DBX)
Participants will be picked up at the airport and transferred to the school upon arrival.
Participants will be taken to the airport immediately after the event ends on Sunday 12 April 2026.
Travel time between the school and the airport is approximately 30 minutes depending on traffic. Please plan your arrival and departure times accordingly.
Local transportation information will be provided once Event Hotel is confirmed.

Visas

It is the responsibility of the schools/participants to ensure they have the appropriate visas, as required.
Please ensure that you start looking into visa requirements sooner rather than later as the process can take a significant amount of time.
If you require assistance or additional documentation to support your visa applications please ensure to contact the event manager well in advance.

Accommodation

This is a hotel stay event
Participants are responsible for arranging their own accommodation.

Hotel Name & Location

Information coming soon

Schedule & Specialist Workshop

Festival Schedule

Start: 4:00pm Thursday 9 April 2026
End: 1:30pm Sunday 12 April 2026

‍Educator Workshops

One theatre focused workshop for teacher chaperones

Schedule & educator workshops

Festival Schedule

Start: 4:00pm Thursday 9 April 2026
End: 1:30pm Sunday 12 April 2026

‍Educator Workshops

One theatre focused workshop for teacher chaperones

Performances & Screenings

Event Materials

📄 E-Programmes containing detailed schedules, artist bios, and key event information will be sent to participating organisations two weeks before the even

Meals & Refeshments

🍏 3 evening meals, 2 lunches and daily snacks will be provided by the host school. Breakfasts should be booked at the hotel

‍

Young Creative Leadership Programme

What to Bring

Appropriate attire

All participants must bring clothing that is suitable for physically active workshops during the day (athletic wear, PE kit, performance blacks, etc.)

Please note

Participants not dressed appropriately for physically active workshops may be asked to sit out.
Participants may be asked to remove footwear, jewellery etc. for some workshops.
Chewing gum is not permitted in any of the workshop spaces.

Materials

Pens, pencils, highlighters etc. for notetaking.
Refillable water bottle

‍

Event location

GEMS Modern Academy Dubai

Nad Al Sheba - Nad Al Sheba 3

Dubai

United Arab Emerites

Event MANAGER

Sophie Galton

sophie@ista.co.uk

Fees

Student Fees
Member Organisations: £272
Non-Member Organisations: £327

‍Educator Chaperones
Members: £122
Non-Members: £142

Surcharges
Airport Transfer: £15
Daily Transportation: £15

All fees include an ISTA T-Shirt.
All prices are in GBP.

Key documents

ISTA Event Terms & Conditions
Festival Booking & Registration Guide (PDF)
Benefits of attending an ISTA Festival (PDF)
Student Code of Conduct

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Dubai HS Festival

High School

Educators

About

Dubai HS Festival

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