Available School Places, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah

Hi Mia,

You don't mention which Emirate you are moving to, but generally, there are very few schools that offer academic scholarships in the UAE. Schools are almost all privately owned and for profit, so scholarships are quite rare. We recently published an article which may help you - http://whichschooladvisor.com/news/dubais-best-scholarships-and-discounts-for-201617/ - which is for Dubai. If you are in Abu Dhabi, it may be worth approaching the GEMS schools there and also Brighton College. The good news is that there are more school places available this year in Dubai, but the other Emirates may still be more of a challenge.

HI Yogita,

Your son needs to be 4 years old by 31st July. If his birthday is in June, then he meets the age criteria for KG1, which is 3 years and 8 months by 1st April.

Dear Prakash,

Most Indian curriculum schools start Admissions in the October/November prior to the new academic year starting in April, but you will need to confirm with the schools in which you are interested. Most schools post this information on their websites.

Hi R,

Have you asked the schools what the assessment issue is with your son? Unless you know where the challenge lies, it is difficult to identify what you can do to help. Most assessments at his age would be for Maths and English, so I would advise you to check back with the schools to see where the difficulty lies and what you can do to support your son to overcome this.

Hi Rose,

Please read the recent articles published on www.whichschooladvisor.com in relation to the KHDA inspection reports. These contain details of all the Dubai private schools, their ratings from the inspections and the approved school fees. You can select based on the fees, location and the school performance which will help you narrow down your options. Ideally you should then check with the schools for availability and aim to visit them so that you get a personal impression of the schools which will help your decision. There are many more UK curriculum schools with a wider range of fees than IB, so this may be the better curriculum to focus on.

Hi,

I'm afraid that you will need to contact the schools individually to find out about current availability; we publish this information when the schools provide it to us. I am not sure that I understand your question about equivalency unless you are moving your children from the British to Indian curriculum. Can you please explain the circumstances further?

HI Fred,

Assuming that your son is in an Indian curriculum school with an April start (which I base on the fact that he will have been in school in KG2 for two months when you relocate), you should be able to enrol him in KG2 here provided that his birthdate is appropriate. To be in KG2, he will need to have turned 5 by 31st July. The age is the deciding factor for all children who have not yet reached grade 2. The main challenge you will face (assuming his age is appropriate), will be to find a place for him. Schools will not permit him to start in June in all likelihood, since they will be breaking for the Summer by the end of the month. He would therefore start school in August and you will need to ensure that you have found a place for him in advance. The newer schools are the most likely to have places available part way through the year and you should definitely contact several schools at the start of the new school year, to find out when they would accept an application.

Dear aks,

If you plan to enrol your daughter in the Indian curriculum, she will not be able to start school until April 2018 as she will need to have turned 4 by 31st July and her October birthday means that she will not be 4 until October 2017. There are a limited number of Indian curriculum schools in the areas you mention aside from Bur Dubai where there are one or two additional options. For further information, please visit our Consultancy services for which a fee is payable.

Hi nikil,

I am also facing the same problem as my children are available here by april 2016 after their exams.If you get any solution for this let me share me too.

Hi Preet,

Congratulations on your move. To some extent you will be dependent on the decision of the schools to which you apply as to whether your son can start in year 5 as he will have missed the first time of the school year here. The decision will be based on his school reports and in all likelihood, he will need to sit an entrance test of some form. Most Australian families tend to choose the UK curriculum as it is similar. An alternative is the IB which is becoming more popular both here and overseas including Australia. The benefit of this is that the IB curriculum is very portable as it really does not vary from school to school or country to country. To some extent, your decision will be driven by your own future plans (how long you plan to stay here, where you may relocate to next and university options). School places in Abu Dhabi are a challenge unless you aim for some of the newer schools which are more likely to have availability. The main decision you will face is in terms of where you will be living and available schools within that area. You can search schools using the search bar on the Home page of our site. Alternatively, the Abu Dhabi Education Council provides details of all schools through their Schools Directory https://www.adec.ac.ae/en/pages/schoolscontacts.aspx and their School Selector (which enables you to search by area and curriculum) https://www.adec.ac.ae/en/Parents/ParentsGuide/Pages/SelectaSchool.aspx. It will be a case of emailing individual schools to see who can assist you. The largest group is Aldar Academies, but dependent on when you plan to live, there will be other local options. It will also be worthwhile checking the ADEC inspection reports for the schools you are considering https://www.adec.ac.ae/en/Education/KeyInitiatives/Pages/Irtiqaa-Reports.aspx.

Dear Mannar,

The Ministry of Education has changed the rules on cut-off dates in the UAE and for a child to enter grade 1, she would need to have turned 6 years by 31st July. Since your daughter will not yet be 6 on that date, I do not believe she will be permitted to enter Grade 1, but will instead be required to re-sit KG2. My advice would be to contact the schools to which you plan to apply to seek confirmation in this regard. Please refer to the attached article that was recently published - http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/education/students-to-repeat-school-year-if-they-don-t-meet-age-requirement-1.1591029

Hi Tandy,

There is Horizon Kids Nursery which is close to the Dubai Municipality building near Al Manara which is part of the same group as the Horizon schools - www.horizonkidsnursery.com/
They give priority to children coming from the nursery to the schools.

Dear Haleema,

You would need to contact the school directly to find out about Admission and availability of places. You can email them at info@rakaag.com. Mid year admission is possible as far as the Ministry of Education rules and regulations are concerned; it will be a question of availability and any assessment that you may be required to take. Good Luck!

Dear Shah,

I fear that it may not be possible for you to enrol your son in KG2. The academic year here for CBSE schools runs from April to March and schools have recently started the second semester. You would need to contact individual schools to confirm whether a place in KG2 (assuming availability) would be an option. You do not mention which Emirate you will be living in or seeking a school in. I would advise you to look at the main "Schools" (Primary) on the Home page bar to see which schools offer the curriculum initially and contact these schools.

Dear Ashy,

Only UK curriculum schools in Dubai will accept children under the age of 3 years and 8 months (in September) into Foundation 1 (which is the equivalent of pre-KG). You can find a list of schools on the WSA Home page (under School/Dubai/Nursery and Primary). Generally, the newer schools are more likely to have availability. The vast majority of established schools will not have places available now.

Dear Danish,

You don't mention which curriculum you are seeking for your daughter. In Dubai, this is important as there are different cut-off dates dependent on the curriculum chosen. If you plan to enrol your daughter in the British curriculum, she can start FS1 in September 2016, since she will already be 3 years and 4 months. In order to start in an alternative international curriculum, she would need to be 3 years and 8 months at the end of August; she would therefore need to wait until September 2017.

Most schools will open applications for September 2016 in the coming weeks, so if you are planning for her to join a UK curriculum school, you should start the research and application process within the next month. Please note that some schools open applications even further ahead (two years +), so it is wise not to delay. For other curricula, where your daughter will not start school for a further year, I would advise you to start the research now also, and then check with your chosen schools as to when the application process opens, as this varies from school to school. Good Luck.

Dear Tan,

If you check out the Area guide on the Home page of Whichschooladvisor, it will provide you with details of schools in the area you are seeking. There are a number of schools you could investigate; it is likely to be the newer or expanding schools that will be able to help. I would suggest Horizon International, Kings Al Barsha, Raffles International, Regent International and Safa Community School - all are within 10 minutes of Mall of the Emirates.

Dear Pankaj,

You do not mention in which curriculum she is studying, but generally the appropriate grade will be determined by her birth date. Based on the fact that she will be 5 turning 6 by 31st December 2016, she would be age appropriate for KG2 in a 12 grade school. You would need to discuss with the schools to which you apply whether they would be able to enrol her in grade 1.

Dear S Nair,

The date has not yet been released for the Indian School, but in 2014 (for the 2015/16 year), admissions were open from 30th October to 10th November. We would advise that you start checking the school website in early October. For GEMS Our Own Indian School, full details can be found on the following link:
http://www.gemsoo-alquoz.com/contents.php?pageid=1120&submenuid=6461

Dear PN,

Officially all children have to have their residence visa and Emirates ID card in place before they can attend school. Some schools will allow children to attend once confirmation that the Emirates ID has been applied for is available, but many insist that the full process is complete before allowing the child to attend school. This is because all students must be registered with the local schools regulator - the KHDA - and this is not possible without the Emirates ID card being issued. One possible option that you may want to consider whilst you are awaiting completion of the process is to register your son with K12 i-academy where he can follow an on-line programme of study. It is worthwhile checking with the individual schools that you are meeting with, as some are more flexible than others.

Dear Vijay,

There are schools that will accept mid-year entry, but as you probably know, Indian curriculum schools here are usually oversubscribed and you would be very fortunate to find a place mid-year. If you delay bringing her to Dubai until next year, unfortunately, even with an attested TC, your daughter does not meet the age criterion for KG2. She would need to have turned 5 by 31st July and my understanding is that she would only be accepted into KG1. I would suggest that you contact directly the schools that may be of interest to you to reconfirm this.

Dear Gurmeet,

Apologies for the delay in replying to you. I think it is very unlikely that your son will be able to enter grade 12 in the US curriculum. All schools follow a 2 year programme in grades 11 and 12, and unless he is taking the same programme with the exact subject match, it will be very difficult for him to assimilate. In all likelihood, he would need to re-do grade 11 on arrival here. The individual schools will be best able to guide you.

Dear Sujith,

The date has not yet been released, but in 2014 (for the 2015/16 year), admissions were open from 30th October to 10th November. We would advise that you start checking the school website in early October.

Dear Islam,

You would need to contact the schools individually to find out about available places. All the feedback we are receiving is that finding places in existing schools in Abu Dhabi is extremely difficult, but there are a number of new schools opening and a few that opened last September that may be able to help. These tend to be located off-island in areas such as Baniyas, Khalifa A and B and Baniyas. Good Luck!

Hi Fathima,

Under new regulations from ADEC and the Ministry of Education, children are not permitted to enter school until they have reached the age of 3 years and 9 months for all international curriculum schools. Since your child will not be this age by September, it will not be possible register for the next school year.

Hi Vijay,

I have spoken with one of the CBSE schools in Dubai and they advise that age is the over-riding factor. Even though your son has completed grade 1 in India and would have a transfer certificate to this effect, he would not be able to enter grade 2 since he will not be 7 by 31st July.

HI Manoj,

There are several UK curriculum schools around the Al Nahda area and also towards Mirdif. If you check out the interactive map on our home page, you will see which schools are in the locations closest to those. I am afraid that we do not have details of availability of all schools in these areas, but we know that there has been high demand from parents in the same situation as yourself. You will need to contact the schools individually to check availability. There is a full list of private schools and their locations, contact details and fees on the KHDA website http://www.khda.gov.ae/pages/en/schoolsen.aspx and you can then find out further information on our site under Schools on the home page. Good Luck.

Hi Junia,

Your best option is to focus on the newer and expanding schools. US curriculum options are probably limited, but there are several new or expanding UK curriculum schools including Reach British School, Ajyal British School, Al Basma, Cranleigh, Al Yasat and Repton. As far as US curriculum is concerned, you will have to accept that the best possibility will be a wait list at the current time, as schools will be reliant on leavers for KG2 places to become available.

HI George,

The only CBSE school that I know of which may have places is the GEMS New Millennium School - Al Khail. All other CBSE schools have closed their admissions for the current school year to the best of my knowledge. If you are willing to consider ISCE, it may be worth contacting Dehli Private School Academy and JSS International - as newer schools, they may have some flexibility.

HI George, I'm afraid that although we do try to update the availability on a monthly basis, we do not have details of places at many schools. I'm afraid that the only option you have is to call the CBSE curriculum schools one by one - you can check their details on the ADEC website - www.adec.ac.ae under contacts. Check also https://www.facebook.com/giis.abudhabi a new school that is in the process of opening currently. Their website is not fully functional, but they can be contacted via the Facebook page.

Thank you Ahmed :)

Hi Shanty,

I am sorry to learn that your twins may not be well enough to start school in September. Legally, children do not have to be in school in the UAE until the academic year in which they turn 6, so in your case, not for 2 more years. However, realistically it will be hard to place them if they have not been in school. My advice would be that you talk to the school and discuss the situation with them. They may be willing to "roll over" your application until 2016 for KG2 and there should be no additional fee for this. Do check though whether your children would be given priority for 2016 - ideally, they should be at the top of any waiting list - and also whether the school would place them in KG1 or KG2 as this has implications for how they may settle in school. Most schools do not like to place children out of the correct age group but placing your twins in KG2 may be very tough for them if they miss the whole KG1 year.

Hi Thomas, you can find information about Indian curriculum schools and the fees on our site via the following link: http://whichschooladvisor.com/reviews/dubai-primary/. There is also information about fees which, although these may have changed slightly, will give you an indication : http://whichschooladvisor.com/guides/dubai-school-fees-complete-table/.

Hi Ashok, provided your son has the correctly issued and attested Transfer Certificate showing that he has completed grade 2 and is promoted to grade 3, you will have the necessary paperwork for him to be registered with the KHDA here. However, each school has its own admissions process and criteria for taking new students and you will need to apply to them individually to see if they have availability and after assessment, if they are able to offer a place. You should start this process as soon as possible - you do not need the TC or visas to apply to schools, but will require them for your son to start at school. Good Luck.

Hi Brian,

Your son will be too young to start school, as the requirement is for children to be 3 years old on 1st September of the school year in which they join if UK curriculum and 3 years and 9 months for any other curricula. There are a wide variety of nursery options, though, for which you can apply.

Good luck with your move.

Hi Ghassan,

Schools vary in terms of when they open for Admissions, so it's best to check their websites regularly. Generally, most start registration one year ahead of the start date (so September for the following school year for International curricula). Indian schools often don't start the process until half a year ahead (so again September for the following April). As your daughter turned 2 last August, you will need to decide whether you wish her to attend a UK curriculum school, where she can commence in FS1 in September if in Dubai (Sharjah and Abu Dhabi require her to be 3 years and 9 months to start school), or in an international curriculum school, where she would need to be 3 years and 9 months - so cannot start school in KG1 until September 2016. For Indian curriculum, she would need to wait until April 2017 as she is too young for the 2016 intake.

Dear Nadia,

You don't mention which curriculum you are seeking, but if Indian, then your daughter is too young to start school in the current school year, since she will not be 4 until August and the cut-off date is 31st July. If you are seeking International curricula (aside from UK), she would be able to start school in a KG1 class in September. She is old enough to start school in the UK system in September and she would be admitted to FS2.

Dear Prabaharan,

The Ministry of Education changes to the cut-off dates implemented last year mean that children must turn 4 before 31st July in order to enter KG1 in the Indian curriculum. Unfortunately, your son's date of birth makes him 4 weeks too young for 2015-16. There is no flexibility in this regard. I'm afraid that he will need to wait a further year - until April 2016 - before he can start school.

HI Sam, you don't mention where you are or which curriculum you are seeking, but there are schools that provide support for children in need of additional academic coaching. This varies depending on the level of support required and in some cases, may involve additional fees. If you can provide us with a little more information in terms of location, curriculum and the age of the child, we can try to assist you further.

Dear Ajit,

One of the difficulties in moving curriculum here is also the different school year start dates. As a result of the difference in school calendar, your son will almost certainly need to repeat part of the current school year, as he will not have completed the next grade when he leaves his current school in the summer. There may also be issues around the change from a 12 grade structure in India to a 13 year structure in the British system. Students in the UK curriculum start their public (I)GCSE 2 year exam programme at the start of year 10 (grade 9). If your son is currently in grade 9, it may be possible for him to join year 10 in September, but this would be subject to entrance testing showing that he is academically able and approval from the KHDA. If he moves to a US curriculum school, the grade and public exam issues do not apply, but he would still need to repeat part of the year.
I think it is highly unlikely that any of the schools will be willing to offer a place without your son taking an entrance test at such a crucial point in his education. You would almost certainly need to arrange for him to come to Dubai.
The best advice we can offer is that you contact the schools you are interested in directly and ask for advice from them on the admission process. The "outstanding" schools inevitably are those with the longest waiting lists; you may need to consider applying to one of the schools currently rated Good, where the demand may not be so high.
However, please also bear in mind that the schools will generally only be able to offer places as they receive notification of children leaving, unless it is one of the newer schools that is not full.
I hope this information helps you to take the next steps.

Dear Shibu,

This is a tricky one! Each school has to have the calendar approved by ADEC/KHDA and they therefore vary slightly. I have not been able to find an approved one on any of the school websites yet. My advice would be to contact your child's school directly - even the KHDA could not provide a copy at this stage.

Hi Amit,

We can't provide you with specific details of available places. but if you check the details included on this page, you will see what places have been notified to us. You can also find out what CBSE and ICSE schools are available through the Schools link on the toolbar. You can still apply to schools without the residence visa having been issued, but proof of application at a minimum will be required before your son can start school - many schools require the residence visa to have been issued and the Emirates ID card to be in place before they will allow a student to start. Provided that you have a properly attested Transfer Certificate from your son's current school, showing that he has completed grade 1 and has been promoted to grade 2, he will be able to attend grade 2.

Regards,

Lyn

Hi Jiya, the best place to start is our article on inclusion in mainstream schools. This will give you an overview. http://whichschooladvisor.com/guides/uae-dubai-special-needs-guide-school-inclusion/

I would also recommend you look at the starter article for our special needs guide: http://whichschooladvisor.com/guides/guide-sen-dubai-uae-start/

The KHDA points out (to schools) that UAE Federal Law 29 (2006) guarantees a person with special needs ‘access to equal opportunities of education within all educational institutions’ and schools are only permitted to refuse admission to a child with SEN if they are at capacity. However, as the report notes, "speak to any parent or centre running school preparation programmes and they will tell you of the continued frustration in trying to place a child with special educational needs into a mainstream school."

Our reviews make note of special needs provision - although pretty much all schools in the UAE should have a policy of inclusion - save in more extreme cases.

Hi Abhishek,

Unfortunately, this is a really tough question to answer as schools vary in how they handle this. Some put the information on to their websites, and I would advise you to check the schools you are interested in for this information. If it is not on the website, you may have no option but to contact the Admissions directly. As a general rule, most Indian curriculum schools seem to open admissions for KG1 in the second semester of the year prior to the following April start date. In some cases, this can be as early as August; in others not until November. Your daughter would need to be turning 4 by 31st July in order to start KG1.

Regards,

Lyn

Dear Joy,

Finding school places is proving to be a huge challenge this year because of the number of families who have relocated to the capital - particularly from Dubai. The following link provides an overview of Abu Dhabi availability and is updated as we receive information: http://whichschooladvisor.com/guides/abu-dhabi-school-admissions-information-september-update/. Some of the newer schools may be able to help - try Diyafah International School, Abu Dhabi Grammar School (branch), Reach British School and Ajyal School - all located off the island - and Repton Abu Dhabi and Cranleigh on-island. All the Adar schools were full in December, but may have the odd place available now - they can only be reached via their Central Registrations Centre - http://www.aldaracademies.com/index.php/en/application-forms.

Good luck,

Lyn

Hello Clive,

Congratulations on your move to Dubai. I would suggest that you check the list of available places on this page and contact the schools from there. The established schools have very few places available and year 9 is also slightly harder as many of the new schools may not yet be offering that year group, but I would suggest you consider Kings Al Barsha, GEMS Metropole and Firstpoint, GEMS Wellington Academy - Al Khail, and Horizon International. Also try English College (a Secondary only school) and Regent International among the established schools. You don't mention where you are living, but these schools are accessible for most areas from Jumeirah as far as Jebel Ali.

Good luck!

Lyn

Dear Samit,

I think this may prove to be very difficult if not impossible. I believe that the ADEC/MoE rules do not permit curriculum transfer in the middle of the year, although you do have the advantage that you are coming from overseas. The other issue is the schools are also very reluctant to accept a curriculum transfer late in the school year. The reason for this is that your daughter would be joining a new school from a completely different curriculum in the third term of the year and would have missed a significant part of the studies for that school year. I can only advise you to contact the Admissions teams at the schools to see if there is any way in which they can assist you. However, normally, curriculum transfers tend to take place only at the start of the school year, which, for the British curriculum is September.

Dear Eshawarishankar,

Since your son will not be 3 until January, the earliest that he could join a British Curriculum school is September 2015. Children need to have turned 3 years by 1st September to join FS1.

Hi Shikha,

I'm afraid that with the change of rules, there does not currently appear to be any flexibility around the cut-off dates at present. My only advice would be to place your daughter in Nursery for an additional year.

Hi Mazeem, best to ask on our Q and A section.

Hi Amy,

If you could post your question to our Q and A section, we will come back to you with some guidance around your options for your move to Dubai.

Best to ask this on our Q and A site where we have consultants who can answer this question… http://whichschooladvisor.com/qanda

Hi all, questions like these are best put in our Q and A section - you can find it on the main navigation bar.

Hi Zeeshan, this article is being updated daily with more availability. Schools are a little difficult to get through to at the moment - understandable as they are preparing to open, but information will be fed through. We expect a greater quantity of information to come through towards the end of next week however, when schools have a better idea of places and no shows...

Best to ask this on our Q and A site where we have consultants who can answer this question... http://whichschooladvisor.com/qanda

Hi Abid, we are able, and do, provide information on school choice, but WSA itself cannot help you gain admissions to a specific school. This is a process you do need to manage.

Hi, yes it is currently common and accepted practice pretty much across all schools. There is a cost attached to examining each application, and in assessments, and this is incurred whether your child gets a place or not. In addition, without a cost you can imagine a situation where parents apply to EVERY school. With the fee, you are more likely to be serious about which schools you apply to. The question some parents legitimately ask however is why schools with long waiting lists still accept applications and the 500 AED fee.

You can check Springdale in Al Barsha. I have enrolled there.

Dear Parents,

Admissions open at Ambassador Kindergarten (EYFS) and Ambassador School(ICSE). You can reach at 04-3983535

I have a daughter this March 15th 2014 completed three years. I am looking to admit kg1. So is the Admission available and is it possible in 3 year old can put KG1. And kindly reply as earliest, bcz I am residing near Muheilla Sharjah

regards;

Shaffi

Hi Henry, if it is not too late, please see our guide on Special Needs in Dubai, and to a lesser extent the UAE. Go here - http://whichschooladvisor.com/guides/guide-sen-dubai-uae-start/

Hi Shazia, we will be releasing our Best British Schools in Dubai report hopefully today, which should help you with this.

Sara, your daughter will be age appropriate for entry to Foundation 1 (age 3+) in a British curriculum school. However, as KG1 entry is usually age 4+ entry to pre-KG appears more appropriate in that system. Early years education in Dubai is often oversubscribed with places being allocated early in the year previous to entry. Being realistic, you are unlikely to find a place in one of the primary schools that has an early years section. It is more likely that a place will be found in one of the many nurseries that can be found in the Dubai.

Check out our Map under the Reviews heading as this will help you to locate schools and nurseries in or close to your residential location. Use our Reviews to create your shortlist and make contact to the schools and nurseries. The admissions staff are now starting to open up their offices after the summer vacation and they will be able to advise on availability. You will often find that these staff are also parents who understand your plight and, if unable to offer a place in their school/nursery, will often make a suggestion of another place to try and so don't be afraid to ask this question.

Under the Guides section you will also find several articles that offer advice on early years education further highlighting the type of questions you could be asking of potential nurseries/schools.

Best wishes on your move to Dubai and in addressing this challenge.

Hi Najia, we have started work the update to the Admissions information, but the holiday season has got in the way a little. We will hopefully have an update early Sept. If we can make it any earlier, we will...

Hi Majid, you will need to contact the schools you are interested in to speak to them about availability in September...

Hi Jami, in about two weeks we will be publishing a report for British schools in Dubai, which should be a huge help to you.

Hi Sana, not sure what you would like us to do, but if you are narrowing down by geography, here is a link to schools in the Qusais area to get you going... http://whichschooladvisor.com/Emirate-and-Area/al-qusais/

Clearly you also need to think about curriculum, the price point of the school, its rating, and go and visit schools to make sure they are right for your children...

Hi Bob - coming in the next update...

Hi, we're in the process of expanding the Admissions information. The next update will have information for Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. We will continue to expand the information in this document...