Dubai secondary schools for year 7 start.

[hotairball]

Hi,

We are looking to relocate to Dubai for next Sept start. What are the top 3 British Schools? One child is very academic and loves sport, the other hates sports and loves the Arts/Drama.

We are fortunate not to have a budget for schools.

Any tips and advice will be most welcome.
Thanks

It’s a while since I lived in Dubai, and even longer since I had a child at school there, and for various reasons, we took the International Baccalaureate route. In your case, I would suggest the Dubai British School (DBS, everything is abbreviated to its initials in Dubai) - the newer branch in Jumeirah Park seems to have a thriving Performing Arts Department. DESC (Dubai English Speaking College) is also popular amongst the English community. The English College (no initialising that I remember!) used to have a good reputation. I thought it had closed down in 2019 but a quick google shows it still seems to be going.

For arts/drama classes outside school, I have heard both DPA (Dubai Performing Arts) Academy, and Diverse (though that seems to concentrate on dance) mentioned with huge enthusiasm. I don’t have personal experience of either.

KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority) ratings are all-important for Dubai schools. The better the KHDA rating, the higher the fees charged.

There used to be huge waiting lists for British schools in Dubai, I don’t know if that is still the case, but I would suggest you apply as soon as possible once you have decided which you prefer. You may need to apply to several schools in case there is no room at your first choice and IIRC, you have to pay a non-refundable reservation fee at the time of application, though my memory is a bit hazy on that.

Good luck, I hope it goes well for you and your children.

Look at which school Advisor and schools compared sites for info.