Raha International New School Branch for 2020

Raha International School is a school that prides itself on being "a big school but a small family". It is about to get a whole lot bigger.

The school will open a second branch - Raha International School - Khalifa City - in September 2020 to cater for up to 3,000 new students from KG to Grade 12. Located in close proximity to the current Raha International School, the new school's facilities will focus on sport and will be used by all students.

The existing Raha International - Gardens Campus is currently the only school in Abu Dhabi to offer the International Baccalaureate Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programs for students aged from 4 – 18 years. According to owners, Taaleem Education, it is also running at capacity with waiting lists in many year groups. The new campus is meant to be a release valve on the pressure on its admissions. 

According to Ros Marshall, CEO of Taaleem:

"We are finding it impossible to cater for the demands for places, with many grades closed for applications. The school is finding it extremely challenging just to cater for the demands for places for siblings of its current students. This is not only challenging for us but especially for our parents too.” 

The original school will continue to focus on the ‘Arts’ while the new campus will offer a centre of ‘Sporting Excellence’ to complement the sports activities in both school campuses. Al Raha International - Khalifa City will include an 8 lane 25-metre training pool, a double size gym with indoor running track and two football pitches. 

The Raha International branch school will also offer a separate Early Years Centre with an "emphasis on safe, innovative and integrated outdoor learning spaces".

Students from both campuses will benefit from the the new school's facilities, designed by CPG Consultants from Singapore, architects responsible for award-winning educational facilities globally, with sustainability as a key driver in the design.

According to Iain Colledge, Principal of Raha International, the new campus will be welcomed by parents in Abu Dhabi.

"Raha International School’s (RIS) standing in the community... is high,  reflected in the many hundreds of enquiries we receive each month for places.  The most recent ADEK inspection rated RIS, again, as ‘Outstanding’, the first K-12 school in the city to achieve this recognition twice... [The school has seen its] reputation grow not only within the UAE but globally... Our students now regularly offered places at the best universities and colleges in the world.” 

Norm Dean, Chief Education Officer, Taaleem also believes the new campus will be instrumental in attracting IB's best teaching talent.

"We believe by offering new facilities to compare with the best globally, the school, in a highly competitive market, will also be able to attract the very highest quality teaching talent.” 

For more information and updates, click here for the Raha International Khalifa City review, which will be updated as more information is made available.