Arcadia School started life as a primary school opening in August 2016. Located in the Jumeirah Village Triangle area of Dubai, the school offers an enriched National Curriculum for England. From September 2020 the school launched its secondary section, located just across the square from the original primary section. The school has recently been rated Very Good for the first time in the 2022-23 KHDA inspection.

The story so far...

Originally established as the Arcadia Preparatory School, the later change of name reflects the expansion of the school to include its Secondary section in 2020. Now operating from EYFS to GCSE, the school will offer A Levels and BTEC when its Sixth Form programme opens in the 2024-25 academic year.   

Arcadia has recently (April 2023) been awarded a Very Good rating (the second highest available) by the KHDA's DSIB inspectors on their second inspection.  To have achieved this level so early in its inspection history is an exceptional.

Arcadia School has been a one of a kind project in many ways.  There is no large corporate organisation behind it, but rather the school was a means to 'give back' for Indian businessman Mohan Valrani.

Mr. Valrani's son, Navin, is CEO of the venture.  Mr. Navin Valrani has recently completed a Doctorate in Education from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

Arcadia School describes itself as "a family school, owned and run by a family that is ever present and hands on, therefore, standards in teaching and teachers are high, there are no compromises on facilities or investment in children and parents. We make parents lives easier, with homework completed at school and monthly fee payments. Arcadia is a school that cares and listens and is reflective and of a similar standard to a private school in the UK."

The school is led by Executive Principal, Giles Pruett, who joined Arcadia in July 2020 as it began its expansion of the Secondary section.  Mr. Pruett came from GEMS Education, where he had been Head of Secondary at IB curriculum GEMS World Academy, and Vice-Principal at Outstanding-rated UK curriculum GEMS Jumeirah College. 

In November 2022, Arcadia announced a further crucial leadership appointment of Mr. Michael Strachan, from August 2023, as the Head of Secondary. With the school's first cohort of I/GCSE students due to take their exams in 2024, and the subsequent expansion to Sixth Form, Arcadia clearly felt the need for a strong Secondary School leader. 

Mr. Strachan joins Arcadia from Repton School Dubai where he was Head of Science Faculty, before being appointed Deputy Head Academic.  He has a Masters of Education from the University of Bath and has recently completed his National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). Mr. Strachan has been particularly active in leading professional development for both new and experienced teachers in Dubai and a number of other international locations.

Arcadia School has some 58 nationalities of children (up from 20 in its opening year). Approximately 30% of the children are British, leaving 70% coming from 57 other nations. This creates what the school calls a "Global School in a British environment".  To support its nationality mix the school has an experienced 'English as an additional language' department, giving Arcadia School the ability to welcome children with varying levels of ability in the English language.

Overall student numbers have now reached 900, with four form entry across the school.  Due to their popularity, in 2023-24, the school is adding a fifth 'booster' class in years 3, 4 and 5 to accommodate extra numbers.  The Secondary school will have two full classes in Years 7 to 9, and by the 2023-24 academic year, will accommodate over 350 students aged 11 to 14 years.

The split of children between boys and girls is pretty even, with an upper ceiling of 25 children per class, who are supported by a teacher and a teaching assistant.  Average class sizes are around 20 children.  The school employs 84 teachers, all from the UK and a further 57 teaching assistants. The teacher to student ratio at the school of 1:11 ensures that children receive personalised learning and support. 

At the outset, Arcadia focused on the quality of its teachers.  The school had over 800 applicants for the positions in the school. Interest was in part driven by generous packages with accommodation, and a strong emphasis on Continuous Professional Development. Arcadia has clearly recognised the need to attract - and then retain - good teachers, an area that will be an increasing challenge for all schools in the coming years.  Staff turnover, at 5% in 2022, is well below the UAE average of 20-22% - a positive sign in terms of ongoing stability and commitment.

Find out more about the school and its facilities by reading about our Experience visit.

Investment continues to take place in every area of the school, including in staff development, whereby teachers have at least two training and development courses per term and are invited to team building events every term.  

What about the curriculum?

Arcadia School follows the English National Curriculum with a concentration on the core subjects of Mathematics, English and Science, alongside seven focus areas:

• academic attainment
• sport
• performing arts
• digital innovation
• adventurous activities
• entrepreneurship
• STREAM (Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, arts and Mathematics).

The school follows the Prep School model of Extra-curricular activities and homework being supervised in school through an extended day. School finishes at 2pm for FS and 4pm for Year 1 upwards. Arcadia also provides options for FS1 or FS2 children to remain in school until 4pm, to support working parents.  No homework is taken home in the Primary school.

The extended school days on Monday to Thursday also provide the opportunity to integrate ASAs (After School Activities) into the school day. Students are offered the chance to engage in a wide range of activities to help them develop their lifelong learning skills through the ASPIRE (Secondary) and QUEST (Primary) programmes. These activities are included within the school fees, allowing for squads and competitive competitive clubs for sport and performing arts between 4 and 5pm.

The school has subject specialists for Art, IT, PE, Music, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Social Studies, Spanish, and French. It offers 'enriched learning' running in harmony with the English National Curriculum, including two additional sports and one additional non-sport subject.

Students in the Secondary School have a particular focus on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Outdoor Education.  They will work towards iGCSE and GSCE examinations in Year 11, followed by AS, A Level and a range of vocational BTEC options for Sixth Form. The first cohort of students to take their iGCSE and GCSE examinations will complete their exams in June 2024, followed by A Levels in September 2026.

Arcadia has entered into a partnership with Sands Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership, which will offer a bespoke programme for Years 7 – 11 and as a launch pad for the Sixth Form. The programme features Social Entrepreneurship, Business, New Media, Coding, Engineering, Communication, and Collaboration - all based within real learning contexts with positive benefits for the local and wider community.

Arcadia's newly designed STREAM programme helps to underpin high quality teaching and learning across the school. Partnership programmes with organisations such as Bildits and Atlab begin in Year 1 with a term of dedicated learning within the timetable for every primary student. 

The focus of the programme is to develop creative problem-solving skills in order to solve global and local issues, providing students with 'out of the seat', immersive and hands on practical experiences linked to the curriculum.

As students transition to Key Stage 3 in the Secondary school, the programme switches into subject-specific art and design initiatives, coordinating with the entrepreneurial programme to created detailed project-based learning.  This enables students to build up a platform of practical learning applications to help them grow their pre-university experience.

 A strong focus of the school is on IT.  Arcadia follows the UK curriculum for technology and is an Apple School. Every child has an iPad and coding/programming is taught from FS1.  Technology is used within the classrooms and in the open-plan IT suite, which is part of the large communal IT resource and Library area on the first floor of the school.

The iPads are used like library books with teachers sharing photos, videos, activities and work undertaken by the children with parents via a video feed to which parents log in.  The aim is to ensure that there are no surprises for parents about what is happening in school – they can view this in real-time.

However, there is not solely an emphasis on technology. Arcadia School intends to be a centre of Excellence for the 'Collins reading scheme' programme which is used widely for literacy.

Research as shown that through a process of imitation, through dance, song, acting and then a process of drawing and finally writing, children learn to visualise what they want to say and are able to produce much more complex and detailed written material as a result.  Essentially, their imaginations prepare the story before they come to write it down, and it is more complete and detailed as a result.

The literacy work is reinforced by two modern libraries with comfortable seating and lounge areas, the Oxbridge Study area – aimed at more traditional study  – and an array of thematic books chosen to stimulate reading across a variety of genres. 

Enrichment activities have been further enhanced after the opening of the Secondary School campus in 2020 with the addition of a climbing wall, Olympic 25m swimming pool, full-size 4G astroturf pitch, roof court and fitness centres.  This has given rise to a significant growth in school sport, with games afternoons being part of the programme for students from Years 3 to 11.

Over 100 teams entered the DASSA leagues, and focus sports have also given rise to a number of post-school academies in football, rugby 7s, cricket and basketball for boys, netball and football for girls, and swimming an athletics for both. Arcadia offers the Duke of Edinburgh International Award for students in Year 10 and above, with overnight excursions and trekking opportunities.

With the growth of the Secondary school into exam classes, Arcadia has developed a strong career counselling and internship programme with a dedicated team of professionals leading this process. Annual internship opportunities are available for students from Year 8 and above, dovetailing with their own career week in Dubai during the Spring break, where visiting speakers are invited as part of the ALL skills sessions, Junior MBA programme and the detailed university application process.

What about Students of Determination and those with Gifts and Talents?

Close to 10% of students received support as English Language Learners. 95 students had additional learning needs and were being supported by a specialist SEN team at the time of the school's DSIB inspection visit in 2023. 

 Acardia was awarded an Outstanding judgement for the provision and outcomes for Students of Determination - the highest possible rating and one held  by only a small number of Dubai schools.  

The school has one Inclusion champion, three Inclusion teachers, two pupil counsellors and 10 Learning Support Assistants. If intermittent help is required for a student, then it is provided free of charge. If the child needs a full time Learning Support Assistant  Arcadia School supports the parent in finding one, but full costs are borne by the parent.

In November 2020, Arcadia announced the inauguration of the Aspire Hub, in collaboration with Neuropedia. The Aspire Hub, said by the school to be the first of its kind in the private education landscape of Dubai, is an integrated facility which specialises in speech, language and occupational therapy. It includes state-of-the-art facilities catering for a broad range of needs by highly qualified team members. 

The school has also introduced the highly regarded ASDAN curriculum which is specifically designed to support students with additional learning needs through a programme of academic and life-skills subjects targeted to their individual abilities.

Arcadia was found to offer a 'highly inclusive' environment with focus at the most senior level of the school, and also gained the highest endorsement for its Wellbeing and National Agenda delivery during the inspection.

What about Academic Achievement?

Arcadia School benchmarks students' progress against the GL assessment system which is the preferred KHDA tool for measurement of achievement.  The GL assessment expectation for Years 2 to 6, is that 60% of students should meet or exceed the expected level of attainment in their standardised tests in English, Mathematics and Science.

Data provided by Arcadia School shows that students at all levels from Year 1 to Year 6 are working considerably above the GL expectations.

^{* Year 1 student percentages are average attainment data.}

What about the facilities?

Arcadia School is actually much larger than it initially appears, with two buildings separating the Primary and Secondary sections.  It certainly does not lack in staff, resources or facilities for primary age children.  It also has a very dedicated team of staff who seem to really cherish the boutique style and ethos of the school. 

Primary classrooms are located around the exterior three sides of the building.  All are light and bright, facing into the central courtyard areas which are set out with appropriate play equipment. The play areas on the ground floor are carefully arranged to be shaded and to create corridors where a fresh breeze can travel.  

The school prides itself of being "warm, friendly, and community-oriented". 

The Secondary School is located on a plot of 140,000 square feet (over double the size of the original school building) and has built up area of 264,000 square feet, 70% larger than the original school.   Two additional sporting facilities include a 3,500 square feet Swimming Pool and a football pitch of some 58,879 square feet. The school also features a Dining Hall for communal eating, a library designed to accommodate a range of study areas and an indoor sports hall set up to offer a range of sports activities.

The environment of Secondary building is described as 'Ultra-modern' and offers attractive and efficient spaces which have been designed for the ease of use of portable technology.  There are open, light and transparent areas throughout the school which complement the modern classrooms which are designed to be modular and flexible. Special features of the classrooms include variable height furniture, based on research that suggests that children learn better in a flexibly furnished space (think reading a book on the floor at home or perched on stool as opposed to the formal structure of a chair at a table), and interactive projection facilities onto classroom walls. 

In addition to the regular facilities of the school, additional investment has recently been made to include UV lights and an air purification system in order to ensure the highest levels of safety and health, following the Coronavirus pandemic.

What the inspectors say  

Arcadia School received its first KHDA/DSIB inspection in March 2019 and was rated Good - the minimum rating that the KHDA aims for all school in the emirate to achieve. It is also commonly the case for a new school, entering its first inspection round, that this is the highest likely outcome if the school is operating at a level the KHDA would expect.  

Due to the cancellation of inspections as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, no inspection was carried out in the 2019-20 academic year. 

However, in March 2022, the Senior section of the school (consisting of Years 7, 8 and 9) underwent a separate DSIB inspection, aimed, we assume, at enabling the school to continue with the opening of Year 10 in August 2022, facilitating the growth of the school to Year 13 over the coming years.  The Secondary section similarly achieved a Good rating, the highest awarded to schools on their first inspection.

And in March 2023,  a full inspection of both sections of the school took place, when Arcadia was awarded an overall Very Good rating. This is the second highest rating available from the KHDA, and to have achieved this on only the second full inspection of the school is a real feat.

The strengths of the school, recognised by the inspection team through a sizable number of rating improvements, include Student Achievement, where for English, Maths and Science all measures of attainment and progress in the FS and Primary sections have improved to Very Good. In the Secondary section, Maths and English attainment also achieved Very Good ratings, with the remaining measures all awarded Good. There were also a number of improvements in Arabic and Islamic Education from Acceptable to Good.

Teaching and Assessment and the Curriculum - the two other performance standards that contribute so directly to academic achievement, were rated Very Good across the school other than in the Secondary section where Teaching for effective learning was rated Good. 

Students' personal and social development and their Innovation skills obtained a smattering of Outstanding ratings, together with largely Very Good. Only Understanding of Islamic values and awareness of Emirati and world cultures received a Good rating in the Secondary section.

And the Protection, care, guidance and support of students achieved Outstanding ratings across the school.

The final key performance standard of Leadership and Management was also awarded Very Good across the four individual measures, and Outstanding for Management, staffing, facilities and resources.

The DSIB inspectors identified the strengths of Arcadia School as:

• Very strong leadership with excellent parental engagement in a very well-governed school.
• The excellent and very well-resourced facilities with excellent arrangements to ensure the health, safety and safeguarding of students.
• Exceptional inclusive education provision (rated Outstanding), care, guidance and support, and the systemic and highly effective promotion of wellbeing.
• Students’ excellent personal and social development and their strong knowledge and appreciation of Islamic values, and the culture of the UAE.
• Very good and improving achievement in English, mathematics and science. 

In terms of areas of improvement, the inspection team identified that the school should:

• Raise students’ attainment in Arabic as both first and additional languages and ensure that assessments are accurately aligned with the relevant curriculum standards.
• Ensure that during the school’s internal checks on the quality of teaching, leaders systematically identify and share exemplary practices, particularly in FS and Primary.

If you would like to read the full KHDA inspection report - and we strongly recommend that you do so in order to understand the reasons behind the ratings - you will find it here.

In common with a number of UK curriculum schools in the city who wanted to ensure that an inspection did take place for quality assurance purposes, Arcadia was also inspected by a team representing British Schools Overseas, which follows the inspection process carried out by the UK Department of Education's inspection teams and measures the school under inspection by strict UK standards.  Arcadia achieved a Good rating, one of four possible ratings and the second highest, with achievement of this level across all key performance standards.

The full report can be found here.

Where areas for improvement were identified, Arcadia was advised to:

• Continue to strengthen the school’s robust safeguarding practices and protocols by developing a dedicated policy that guides all adult users in the acceptable use of digital technologies within the context of best safeguarding practice.
• Improve the quality, reliability and usefulness of assessment information by ensuring that the assessment of pupils achieving above UK expectations (higher level) accurately reflects their achievements.
• Improve pupils’ progress in science by:
  - ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to engage in practical activities using real materials
  - increasing the level of challenge, particularly for those in the primary phase and for more-able pupils across the school. 

The Buzz

WhichSchoolAdvisor.com as received a particularly high number of responses (over 150) to our School Survey for the Arcadia School with an overall rating of 4.2/5 or a positivity rating of 84%.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about their children's enjoyment of school and their sense of belonging, the academic performance of the school (only 17% felt that external tuition was necessary compared with a UAE average of 29%), their confidence the school's ability to meet their children's needs, and communication. 40% of respondents had made a deliberate decision to move their child from another school to Arcadia.  

88% of respondents would unreservedly recommend the school to other parents, and even school fees - often the biggest niggle - appear to represent good value for money to the majority of parents with over 2/3 agreeing that they do represent value for money - well above the UAE average of 51%.  Only 7% of respondents disagreed with this statement. 

If you are a parent, teacher or older student at Arcadia School, please share your thoughts and experience with potential members of your school community by completing our Survey here.

In a new key performance standard for 2022-23, which incorporates feedback from students, teachers and parents, all school were rated on the Quality of Wellbeing Provision and Outcomes.  Arcadia achieved the highest Very High rating.

The KHDA inspection report notes that:

• The school leaders demonstrate a strong commitment to inclusion and have a clear vision to ensure the wellbeing of all students. Well-conceived programmes employ teaching methods and interventions that cultivate positive learning behaviour and enhance students' physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. Leaders effectively use information from external and school-generated surveys of students' wellbeing to guide changes and pinpoint areas for improvement.
• Highly proficient staff, including qualified counsellors, lead exceptional care, guidance, and support that significantly benefit students' wellbeing. Leaders also emphasise adult wellbeing, with initiatives systematically introduced throughout the year to support staff in managing their overall health and wellbeing. Governors take a lead in driving the school's vision for the wellbeing of students, staff, and families. 
• The entire school community recognises the high prominence given to wellbeing and shares the responsibility to contribute. Consequently, the school day is carefully planned across each phase to ensure students encounter a balance of calming and physically active opportunities that support a culture of healthy choices and lifestyles. Parents greatly appreciate the school's contribution to their children's wellbeing. 

Our View

In Dubai, where big is increasingly seen to be best among school developers, Arcadia School is certainly worth seeking out for an exception to that rule and a school that proves (relatively) small really can be quite beautiful.  The development of the Secondary school now assures that parents have the option of offering their children a through-school experience, albeit split across two neighbouring, but highly resourced, campuses.

Our own experience of  Arcadia, from Mr. Valrani, across the leadership and its teachers, is one of a team that is absolutely devoted to ensuring the very best of educational practice for all of their students - a singular commitment that is very visible.

And as a further sign of this commitment, a second school - Arcadia Global School - will open in August 2023. Located in Al Furjan, the new school will offer an affordable option for families to experience the approach of the Valrani family and their highly skilled staff.

What about the fees?

Arcadia models itself on being Premium Plus school in terms of staff and facilities, but with mid-tier plus pricing. Reduced fees range from AED 45,900 for FS1, AED 52,020 for FS2, AED 59,840 for Years 1-6 and AED 63,750 for Year 7, AED 68,000 for Years 8 and 9, and AED 72,250 for Years 10 and 11. Sixth Form fees for Years 12 and 13 are approved by the KHDA at AED 76,500. 

This school is in a Best School by parents ranking

Arcadia School is a Best of school, a ranking determined by parent surveys on the site. It can be found in the following Best of rankings:

• #34 in Best Schools in the UAE
• #19 in Best Premium Schools in Dubai
• #15 in Best Premium British Schools in Dubai
• #11 in Best A Level Schools in Dubai
• #18 in Best British Schools in Dubai
• #7 in Best BTEC Schools in Dubai
• #26 in Best Schools in Dubai

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