UAE leaders visits the school

The National -- Hundreds of thousands of pupils returned to school on Sunday to begin the 2017-2018 academic year.

The new school year started early for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, who each began tours of schools across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's first stop was Al Maktoum Primary School for Boys where he interacted with the children and assessed progress on the first day back from summer holidays.

He then visited Jumeirah Model Girls School to inspect some of the classes for pupils with disabilities.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed visited Hamdan bin Zayed School in the capital on Sunday - one of the schools where the new curriculum was introduced. 

A new curriculum was introduced across all public schools in the country which will see many pupils now being taught in both English and Arabic.