Award Categories and Nomination Guidelines
View Awards For: | Educators | Student | Schools | Parent
Educators
1. GEMS Primary Teacher of The Year
This award celebrates a primary teacher who inspires, consistently delivers outstanding experiences and outcomes for students, works collaboratively within the school, making significant contributions to learning. Nominees should be outstanding educators who:
- Make lessons and class time welcoming, enjoyable and accessible to all
- Consistently delivers outstanding classroom outcomes for all students through varied, challenging and rewarding lessons
- Demonstrates the ability to inspire and engage students from diverse backgrounds and abilitiesEarns the respect of colleagues, students, and parents
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively includes and promotes initiatives of Family First and Jewels of Kindness and Respect within the daily lesson and classroom practices
This award is open to all primary teachers, across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or colleague.
2. GEMS Secondary Teacher of The Year
This award celebrates a secondary teacher who inspires, consistently delivers outstanding experiences and outcomes for students, works collaboratively within the school, making significant contributions to learning. Nominees should be outstanding educators who:
- Make lessons and class time welcoming, enjoyable and accessible to all
- Consistently delivers outstanding classroom outcomes for all students through varied, challenging and rewarding lessons
- Demonstrates the ability to inspire and engage students from diverse backgrounds and abilities
- Earns the respect of colleagues, students, and parents
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively includes and promotes initiatives of Family First and Jewels of Kindness and Respect within the daily lesson and classroom practices
This award is open to all secondary teachers, across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or colleague.
3. GEMS Early Career Teacher of The Year
This award celebrates an early career teacher who inspires, consistently delivers outstanding experiences and outcomes for students, works collaboratively within the school, making significant contributions to learning. Nominees should be in their first three (3) years of teaching and:
- Make lessons and class time welcoming, enjoyable and accessible to all
- Strives to consistently deliver outstanding classroom outcomes for all students through varied, challenging and rewarding lessons
- Actively seeks professional development and growth opportunities to apply new skills to the classroom
- Actively seeks advice, feedback and / or mentoring from colleagues in the development of classroom practices
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively includes and promotes initiatives of Family First and Jewels of Kindness and Respect within the daily lesson and classroom practices
This award is open to all early career teachers, within the first 3 years of their teaching career, across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or colleague.
4. GEMS Teaching Assistant of The Year
This award recognises the exceptional contributions of those who provide vital teaching assistance in the classroom and consistently make an impact in supporting teaching outcomes. Nominees should be outstanding Teaching Assistants who:
- Collaborate with teaching staff to support the teaching and student outcomes
- Approaches their role with enthusiasm and contributes to making the classroom a positive learning space
- Proactively seeks to support teaching staff and students through creativity and going beyond requirements
- Earns the respect of colleagues, students, and parents
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
5. GEMS Learning Support Assistant of The Year
This award supports the invaluable work and contribution of a Learning Support Assistant who has gone above and beyond in supporting student’s learning and development. This award celebrates a Learning Support Assistant who demonstrates commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive educational environment.
Nominees should be a person who:- Provides exceptional support to students with learning difficulties, disabilities, or those requiring additional help
- Demonstrates patience, empathy and dedication in assisting students to achieve academic and social goals
- Engages with students to understand their needs and adapts accordingly
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
This award is open to all Learning Support Assistants across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or colleague.
6. GEMS Principal of the Year
This award celebrates a primary or secondary principal who leads by example, inspires their educators and students, consistently delivers outstanding experiences within their school and constantly strives for high level outcomes for students. A principal who works collaboratively within the school, making significant contributions to learning of their staff and students. Nominees should be outstanding principals who:
- Demonstrates strong leadership and a clear vision for the school
- Motivates and inspires staff, students and the school community
- Implements effective strategies to constantly improve the school and learning environment
- Earns the respect of colleagues, students, and parents
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all principals across all schools.
Nomination by teacher.
7. GEMS Heritage Hero Award
This award recognises an Emirati or Arabic educator who has had a demonstrable and immeasurable impact on students with Arabic language, culture and faith. Nominees should be educators who:
- Promote understanding and appreciation of Arabic culture through cultural events or activities to further students understanding and knowledge
- Engages students in their learning of Arabic language and culture through rewarding lessons
- Earns the respect of colleagues, students, and parents
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively includes and promotes initiatives of Family First and Jewels of Kindness and Respect within the daily lesson and classroom practices
This award is open to Emirati and Arabic educators across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal.
Students
8. GEMS Primary School Student of The Year
This award honours a primary school student who has made an outstanding contribution to the success and vitality of their school and the wider community and embodies the values of hard work, dedication, and a positive attitude, serving as a role model for their peers. Nominees should be students who:
- Have a genuine love for learning and work hard to achieve good results
- Demonstrate excellent behaviour and attendance
- Demonstrates initiative by participating in or leading projects and events
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all primary school students across all primary levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
9. GEMS Secondary School Student of The Year
This award honours a secondary school student who has made an outstanding contribution to the success and vitality of their school and the wider community and embodies the values of hard work, dedication, and a positive attitude, serving as a role model for their peers. Nominees should be students who:
- Have a genuine love for learning and work hard to achieve good results
- Demonstrate excellent behaviour and attendance
- Demonstrates initiative by participating in or leading projects and events
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all secondary school students across all secondary levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.10. GEMS Inspirational Learner of The Year
This award recognises students with special educational needs or disabilities who have made good progress, shown inspirational commitment to their education or overcome difficult academic or personal circumstances. Nominees must be resilient and hardworking students who:
- Demonstrates resilience and determination in overcoming personal, academic, or social challenges
- Make good progress in spite of the barriers to learning they encounter
- Demonstrate a keen interest in their studies
- Demonstrate excellent behaviour and attendance
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all students across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
11. GEMS Social Action Leadership Award
This award recognises an individual or group of students who have shown outstanding commitment to community service or fundraising. This award seeks to recognise students who show a genuine, long-term commitment to civic and social action. Nominees must be individuals who:
- Are passionate volunteers or fundraisers for charities or community organisations
- Make a significant positive impact on the community through social action effort
- Spend a significant amount of their free time helping others or raising money for charities, campaigns or community groups, both in and outside of school
- Are well-regarded by the people that they serve
- Show commitment to driving and sustaining positive change
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all students across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
12. GEMS Sports Leadership Award
This award recognises an individual who demonstrates strong leadership skills in sports activities and takes initiative in organising and leading sports events or practices within or out of school. Nominees should be students who:
- Excel at a local, regional, national or international level in their chosen sport(s)
- Inspires and motivates teammates through positive actions and attitude
- Always demonstrates good sportsmanship
- Exemplifies qualities of fair play, respect, and integrity both on and off the field
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all students across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
13. GEMS Arts Leadership Award
This award recognises an individual or group of students who excel in arts-related disciplines, including dance, drama, music, art, design, creative writing, photography, fashion, film production or digital media. Nominees must be creative and talented individuals who:
- Produce work of an exceptional quality that resonates with others
- Inspires and motivates peers to participate in and appreciate the arts and promotes the importance of the arts within the school and beyond
- Strive to improve their skills and hone their craft
- Act as ambassadors for the arts in their school and advocates for the value and importance of the arts in education and the community
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all students across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
14. GEMS STEM Leadership Award
This award recognises an individual or group of students who excel in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) through their leadership in promoting STEM in their school and community. Nominees should be students who:
- Have a strong academic record in one or more STEM subjects
- Participation and success in STEM competitions such as Science Week, Science Fair, Math quizzes / competitions, AI or robotic challenges or similar
- Demonstrate leadership amongst their peers and working effectively in teams
- Act as ambassadors for STEM curriculum in their school and advocates for the value and importance of STEM in education and the community
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all students across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
15. GEMS Sunny Varkey Outstanding Student Family First Ambassador of The Year
This award recognises a student who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to fostering a supportive and inclusive school environment by actively engaging with families and promoting family involvement in school activities. This award celebrates a student who acts as a role model for other students in promoting Family First engagement. Nominees should be students who:
- Actively involves their family in school events and activities and encourages other students to do the same
- Creates opportunities at home for the family to connect and spend time together Makes a significant positive impact on the school community through family engagement efforts
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all students across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
16. GEMS Outstanding Jewels of Kindness and Respect Ambassador of The Year
This award recognises a student that demonstrates the ethos of Jewels of Kindness and Respect values - respect, empathy, helpfulness and compassion – both in school and at home. This award seeks to recognise a student that goes above and beyond the expected behaviours and attitudes towards others. Nominees should be students who:
- Have demonstrated Jewels of Kindness and Respect through supporting their peers in difficult times or shown kindness and compassion to someone in need
- Undertaken charitable acts at school or in the community
- nitiates and leads Jewels of Kindness and Respect activities
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all students across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
Schools
17.GEMS Outstanding Community Initiative of The Year
This award recognises schools that are leading the way in making lasting and meaningful contributions to their communities and making a difference beyond the classroom. It celebrates a school that demonstrates a significant positive impact on the local community.
Nominees should be schools who:
- Foster effective collaboration among students, staff, parents, community stakeholders and partners
- Deliver rich and ambitious initiatives that lead to measurable benefits and positive changes within the local community; and engages a wide range of community members in the initiative
- Actively involves students in the planning, execution, and evaluation of the initiative
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively promotes and delivers initiatives of Family First and Jewels of Kindness and Respect both in and out of the school
This award is open to all schools of the GEMS Family.
Principals can self-nominate their school.
18. GEMS Innovative School of the Year
This award recognises a school that shows a willingness to try new approaches and implement innovative learning programmes or practices. A school that is forward thinking in educating and developing global citizens. Nominees should be schools that can demonstrate:
- Unique and original approaches to education
- Show innovative educational practice that is scalable over time and can be adapted for broader use
- Innovative practices that have a positive and measurable approach on the educational experience and student learning outcomes
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all schools. Schools must provide evidence of the innovative program or approach relevant to this award.
Nomination by Principal.
19. GEMS School of the Year
The GMS School of the Year will be awarded to a school that demonstrates outstanding academic performance, strives for constant improvement for its students and creates an inclusive learning environment for all students. Nominated schools must be able to demonstrate:
- Outstanding achievements in academia, sports, arts, STEM or other curricula
- Active involvement with the parent community in the education and wellbeing of students
- A strong emphasis on extracurricular activities that contribute to the overall GEMS global citizen
- Demonstrate efforts and practices of an inclusive learning environment
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all schools.
Nomination by Principal.
20. GEMS Centre for Excellence Award
This award recognises the outstanding contributions and achievements of a Centre for Excellence within a school that showcases and nurtures talent in music, art, sports etc, resulting in exceptional outcomes. Schools nominating for this for this award must:
- Have a Centre for Excellence programme that encourages student participation and talent development
- Adopts cutting edge technology and / or teaching practices in the engagement of learning activities
- Foster community engagement or partnerships in the development of student talent
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
This award is open to all schools that have Centre for Excellence.
Nomination by Principal.
Parent
21. GEMS Outstanding Parent Contribution of The Year
This award honors a parent who has made exceptional contributions to the school community through their dedication, enthusiasm, and leadership. This award recognises a parent who goes above and beyond to support the school's mission, foster a positive environment, and engage other parents and community members.
Nominees should be parents who:
- Regularly participates in school events, meetings, and activities
- Takes on leadership roles in organising and coordinating school events or programs
- Demonstrates initiative by starting or leading projects that benefit the school community
- Suggests new ideas to enhance the school. This could be in the areas of curriculum, arts, sports, grounds, buildings or parent engagement.
- Is a positive role model to other parents
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
This award is open to parents of all schools of the GEMS Family.
Nomination by Principal.
22. GEMS Outstanding Parent Family First Ambassador of The Year
This award honours a parent who has shown exceptional dedication to fostering a supportive and inclusive school environment, through active engagement with the school community, promoting family involvement, and serving as a bridge between the school and families. Nominees should be parents who:
- Actively engages with other parents, teachers, and school staff to build a strong school community, and regularly participate in school events, meetings, and activities
- Actively fosters a work-life balance to ensure quality time with children and their learning
- Involved in activities that support the community and other families
- Acts as a positive role model for other parents and students
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively promotes and delivers initiatives of Family First both in and out of the school
This award is open to parents of all schools of the GEMS Family.
Nomination by Principal.
23. GEMS Parent Volunteer Ambassador of the Year
This award will recognise a parent that actively volunteers for school events or service to the school community. Nominees for the award should be parents who:
- Show dedication and commitment in volunteering to support their school over a period of time
- Demonstrate leadership and initiative in volunteering activities and events for the school
- Have a measurable impact on the school through their volunteering efforts
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to parents of all schools of the GEMS Family.
Nomination by Principal.
Educator, Parent or Student
24. GEMS Health and Wellbeing Ambassador of the Year
This award recognises an educator, parent or student that actively promotes the health and wellbeing of colleagues and students, having a measurable and positive impact on the school community through promotion of healthy lifestyle and wellbeing practices. Nominees should be educators that:
- Actively promote healthy lifestyle practices and initiatives within the school
- Have implemented programmes or activities that enhance the physical, mental or emotional wellbeing of the school community, such as events or workshops
- Ensure health and wellbeing initiatives are inclusive and accessible to all members of the school community, addressing diverse needs and backgrounds
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all educators across all year levels and schools. Evidence of health and wellbeing initiatives relevant to this award must be provided.
Nomination by Principal.
25. GEMS Sustainability Ambassador of the Year
This award recognises a parent, student or educator who has an impact on sustainability within the school and community and is making a difference at the local or school level in implementing sustainable practices. Nominees should be individuals who:
- Have introduced sustainable initiatives or programs into the school community
- Show a personal commitment to sustainability and is a positive role model and ambassador for sustainable practices
- Exemplifies GEMS Social Responsibility Schools for Good - Social Responsibility
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all educators, parents and students across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
26. GEMS Inclusivity Ambassador Award
This award recognises an educator, parent or student that promotes an inclusive and welcoming environment, fostering an environment where everyone feels welcome and respected. Nominees should be individuals who:
- Implemented or participated in programmes that support inclusivity such as workshop, activities, events or assemblies that promote and celebrate different perspectives or cultures
- Demonstrates leadership in advocating for inclusivity and diversity within the school community
- Can demonstrate that initiatives have had an increase in awareness of or enhanced support of underrepresented students
- Models and exemplifies the GEMS Values - Care, Excellence, Always Learning and One Team
- Actively demonstrates Jewels of Kindness and Respect within school life
This award is open to all educators, parents and students across all year levels and schools.
Nomination by Principal or teacher.
27. The Mariamma Varkey Award for Most Inspirational Teacher
Click here to nominate for The Mariamma Varkey Award for Most Inspirational Teacher Award. You will be redirected to the official Mariamma Varkey Award website for the nomination.
GEMS Long Service Awards (not open to nomination)
The Long Service Awards recognise the dedication and commitment of educational staff to the GEMS Schools and Family. Educational staff with 15 Years of Service, 20 Years of Service and 25+ Years of Service will be invited to attend the event on Saturday 10 May to be recognised for their service.
GEMS HR will validate years of service nominees and the provide a list to each Principal of educators in their school who fall into the categories of length of service recognition. Each educator with a length of service recognition will be advised by HR.