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Raha International School – The Gardens Campus, Al Raha Gardens, Khalifa City A – The Review
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Review

Raha International School – The Gardens Campus, Al Raha Gardens, Khalifa City A – The Review

by April 30, 2016

In May 2016, Raha International School [RIS] was one of just three schools in Abu Dhabi to have achieved the “Band A. High Performing. Outstanding” school award from the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) under the education inspectorate’s Irtiqaa programme of independent school inspections. With Aldar Academies’ Al Bateen Secondary/Al Mushrif Private School and Al Muna Primary School Raha International School stood with the first schools in the UAE to have ever achieved the Tier 1 rating from ADEC.

In 2019, Raha International School secured its second Outstanding (across the board) rating under its belt. And deservedly so.

In 2023, however, Raha International School suffered a downgrading to a ranking of “Very Good with Outstanding Features”. You can read the full report below:

Raha International School 2023 ADEC Inspection

 

Prospective parents should note that RIS is fully and impressively inclusive – the school does not discriminate  Fully inclusive means fully inclusive.

Raha is one of only two IB Continuum schools in Abu Dhabi. The school role is some 2,000 students and there are long waiting lists for admissions.

The school does not discriminate on grounds of academic ability, disability, Special Educational Needs [SEN], nationality, additional language status or sex – and all applications are considered fairly on a “first come, first served” basis defined by the date of application. The later attainment of students academically in the stretching International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP), and, as importantly, in the context of their broader whole child development, is all the more remarkable for this commitment to genuine inclusion. More notes on this can be found in the tables below.

Raha International School is part of the Taaleem family of schools, all of which except RIS, are located in Dubai. They include “Children’s Garden” nurseries; the US Curriculum Al-Mizhar American Academy; English National Curriculum founded Dubai British Foundation and two Dubai British Schools; and, the IB based Greenfield Community School, Jumeirah Baccalaureate School and Uptown Schools. We rate Taaleem schools very highly.

GEMS_INARTICLE  

The International Baccalaureate Career related Programme issue

Taaleem’s The Greenfield Community School is a pioneer in the UAE of the vocationally structured “International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme”, the IB CP. Taaleem has some of the greatest in-house expertise in this area of any schools group in the UAE.

However, Raha International School does not currently provide this final fourth IB option to its students because, whilst accredited in Dubai, it has not historically been accredited in Abu Dhabi by ADEC.

As a result, Raha has had, and continues to have, a very complex task managing the transition from the Middle Year Programme (MYP) to the full International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP).

Our Guide to the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme – and why it matters – can be found here.

Today, ADEK is now accrediting and powerfully supporting the programme – and we really feel in this single area Raha now needs to act.

We believe that the CP programme provides exceptional benefits to children, and particularly for those in schools, like Raha International School, genuinely committed to whole child development and being able to respond to the individual needs of children.

The International Baccalaureate Career related Programme is the only IB programme designed to meet the vocational and technical stream needs of many children, particularly (but NOT exclusively) those that are less academic – whilst also being a programme taken up increasingly worldwide by academic children as a the pre-qualification to Tier 1 universities over the Diploma because of its ability to combine vocational and academic study.

Our view, in a global economy increasingly driven by the needs of industry, is that the IB CP is going to become more, not less important, over time. We understand that Raha will aim to provide the IB CP but we are not yet aware of any firm plans.

Our view, and that of our sister site WhichSchoolAdvisor.com, is that the IB CP, and alternative vocational curricular programmes, are critical, particularly in inclusive schools like RIS where traditionally there is demand from students for a qualification tailored to providing hands-on industry experience to enable students to fast track entry into industry at the age of 18 rather than continuing to undergraduate programmes.

The IB CP programmes in Dubai, as their (much less academic and arguably less balanced) BTEC counterparts in the UK curriculum schools, generally focus on tourism and hospitality, obviously fundamental to the local economy – in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Schools like the British School Al Khubairat, however, are delivering (in a British school context) BTEC qualifications in Engineering – showing that there where there is a will, the options for grounding the International Baccalaureate Career related Programme, are much more wide-ranging.

The IB, fees and facilities at Raha International School

The IB CP aside, Raha International School offers a consistently outstanding IB experiences across the IB Early Years [EYP], Middle Years [MYP] and Diploma programmes to students from FS1 and Grade 12.

The school, established in 2006, has had time to bed in its development, with 14 acres of landscaped grounds setting off a traditionally (quite beautiful) Arabic style school with a number of turreted features setting off its somewhat block build. It is certainly not an architecturally modern glass and steel affair increasingly characteristic of the Emirates ultra-premiums, but it is a hugely warm and inviting school as a result.

Fees, for the quality of Raha International School whole-child provision and resource hungry IB profile offer in our view real value, falling just into the premium structure between 40,880 AED and 64,340 AED. These are almost half the fees of the UAE’s most expensive comparative schools.

Facilities at Raha International School are excellent and although short of the bells and whistles of the most expensive schools, are subject to ongoing and significant development and investment (arguably the real test of commitment to a school).

The Early Years Building for children in Early Years 2 at Raha International School was opened in 2016 and included 8 new classrooms, new playgrounds and (fabulous) dedicated gymnasium for Early Years. The school’s Performing Arts Centre (opened in September 2016) includes a 600 capacity theatre auditorium; art galleries; 2 drama studios; 2 music centres; 7 music rehearsal studios; 3 arts classrooms and a black box theatre. Raha International School has now completed three new design and technology studios which are equipped with enhanced 3D printing facilities, laser cutters and a CNC Router. One major motivation for this investment is to enable Raha to fully integrate Design & Technology classes within the Diploma Programme next year – something we believe builds strong foundations for vocational balance (as well as setting up capacity for introduction of the Career related programme.) Impressive stuff.

A key feature of Taaleem is just this impressive record of on-going serious investment in its existing schools – and these developments mean that Raha International School now offers children in each of its three school areas (Early Years, Primary and Secondary) their own libraries, gymnasiums and specialist music and art classrooms.

For prospective parents the importance of this is that Raha is now one of a limited number of schools genuinely able to offer an educational experience to children matched to the distinct needs of each child at each phase of their development.

Many parents often choose separate schooling for children, particularly at Early Years (but also increasingly at Sixth Form), because all-through schools without proper investment in the facilities to clearly demarcate phases, can lump children together with negative consequences on their development. In the case of Early Years children this can mean their “growing up too soon” with a perceived loss of childhood and the play centred learning seen as critical to this phase of development. In the case of older children it can mean that their transition to young adults can be stifled by the inability of schools to extend freedoms that could disrupt Middle Years students but which are vital to children as a bridge to their later transition to university and industry. Raha International School is now in a position to deliver very targeted provision to children by phase, again hugely impressive and we feel something which should be positively weighted by prospective parents.

Photo of the Main School Building and playing fields of Raha International School in Abu Dhabi

Other facilities at Raha International School include a fully digital campus; two libraries by phase; independent Biology, Chemistry and Physics labs (it can be telling of a school when it combines Sciences in single labs, this generally to lower costs but with a knock on deleterious effect on the quality of provision); a Design and Technology studio; three music studios (this set to expand as above); three visual arts studios and multiple ICT labs. ADEC inspectors draw particular attention to the school’s investment in shaded areas for children’s play and its wholly redesigned external play areas for children in the Early Years so that they “now have a varied and exciting range of outside play areas, including a mud kitchen, containing high quality facilities that enable children to explore and engage with the world.”

As the Performing Arts facilities ratchet up a gear we would hope to see this reflected in Raha International School attracting a more significant core of talent drawn from dance, music, theatre and the broader performing arts. Interestingly, as it stands, Raha International School does not match its high G&T student quotient in academic disciplines across to the Arts, despite being a flourishing school for Performing Arts disciplines. Prospective parents should note that Raha International School scored very highly in our annual awards for the Best Schools in the Emirates for Performing Arts.

We have long been campaigning for schools to introduce scholarship and bursary programmes, something finally bearing fruit in a number of prestige schools across the sector. Bringing a broader core of talent into schools drawn from families who would not otherwise afford the fees benefits all students – launching new scholarships on the back of its new flagship arts centre might be a good place to start.

Sports facilities at Raha International School are equally as impressive, including two gymnasiums; four tennis courts; two pools including a learner and 25M main pool; and two football pitches. The grounds, as above, are a striking feature of the school and there is no absence of inspiring places for children to explore and exercise.

School Leadership and faculty

The school’s (much loved) Founding Head (Principal), Wayne MacInnis, invested a decade in establishing and building Raha over a nine-year period and drew particular praise from ADEC inspectors for the the longevity of his tenure another telling indicator of Taaleem’s investment in its schools.

Following his retirement, Mr MacInnis, in August 2016, was followed by Mr. Iain Colledge, who brought with him more than two decade’s international experience originally rooted in UK primary provision, a critical phase of education which drove his passion at Raha. Links to a WhichSchoolAdvisor.com round table exploration of the differences between IB and British approaches to the Early Years phases can be found below.

Current Principal Pali Nahal joined the school in 2022 from her role as Head of Primary and Vice Principal at Taaleem’s Uptown International School (UIS) – a position Mrs Nahal held since August 2017. She was appointed Acting Principal of the whole school during a transition of leadership in 2021.

An English and History graduate from the University of Birmingham, she holds the Post Graduate Certificate in Education as well as the National Professional Qualification for Headteachers (NPQH) from the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). She brings with her direct teaching and leadership experience in the UK where her last school ranked top 10% nationally for student progress.

One feature of Raha International School also stands out in this regard – its publication of its faculty across the school. We wish more schools would do this – the best schools inevitably reflect a Head’s ability to build teams. Too often in the Emirates, teaching and administrative staff are not sufficiently recognised for their equally important role, with the Head, in delivering an outstanding school. It is also telling that schools who are unable to retain their staff are almost uniformly silent in publishing their names and contribution.

Inclusion

Prospective parents of weaker to mixed ability children should note that Raha International School does use academic performance in its entrance assessment of children from Grade 1 to decide final offers of places at the school, but only when demand outstrips supply of available places. Otherwise RIS is inclusive of the full spectrum of abilities and SEN (including G&T). 50% of all students entering the school have English as an Additional Language [EAL] and more than 80 nationalities are represented across the school.

One previous frustration with Raha International School was its choosing not to be transparent in publishing the attainment of its students in any phase of the IB programmes. This set it behind leading schools which recognise the importance of prospective parents being able to properly benchmark any school’s academic provision. This is fundamental information needed by parents. Raha have now addressed this by fully publishing its results year-on-year.

For the sake of completeness here, ADEC published the following relevant insight which we quote in full:

“For the relatively small cohort of Grade 12 students, results in the Diploma Programme (DP) are good or better in most subjects with 60% attaining Level 5 and above in English, Arabic, the sciences and languages. In mathematics, attainment is acceptable. Nearly three out of every four students score sufficiently well to earn an IB Diploma.”

Raha International School justifiably we think celebrates its relatively high pass rate – prospective parents should recognise that this is an inclusive school. More importantly, however, it is indicative of the quality of the school’s understanding of, and attention to each child that its predicted outcomes/grade predictions for 85% of children were within one point of what each student achieved.

Raha deserves considerable praise for publishing this information – and, with Jumeirah College, it was the first school in the Emirates to do so. However, what is now needed is for this to be translated into comprehensive value-added data for parents – how Raha International School meets the potential of each child, or improves it

Ensuring children meet flightpaths – and getting these accurately assessed is critical. We would like to see Raha International School now openly publish this flightpath data in full each year. Arguably it is this information that is most needed by parents – and it is of particular importance for prospective parents of inclusive schools which are often unfairly judged against academically selective schools which, whilst achieving high results, may well in practice have under-achieved against the flightpaths of already bright children.

Raha International School also provides information on the scholarships and placements achieved by many of its students to universities worldwide. Impressive as this is (successes also picked up by ADEC), we would like to see this matched by much greater transparency in the publication of value-added and more detailed analysis of results.  We would also like to see publication of newsletters available to prospective parents. Newsletters provide a window into the life of a school beyond marketing and controlled messages. We still believe that Raha International School could do much more to bring its clearly outstanding school to life for prospective parents.

Raha International School bottom line? The SchoolsCompared.com Verdict 

Raha International School is, in our view, a flagship, stand-out school for the Emirates.

ADEC picks up many outstanding features of the school. These include:

  • A caring, supportive and inclusive learning environment
  • Bullying or any form of unkindness are very rare
  • Teaching to develop critical thinking, problem solving, innovation and independent thinking is outstanding in all sections of the school
  • Inspirational teaching engages students through challenging, enquiry based projects
  • Students who learn at a different pace to their peers, and those who see the world differently, are provided with individual pathways that enable them to learn successfully alongside their peers
  • Students are constantly being supported in enabling their own ideas become a reality
  • Broad and balanced curriculum that successfully prepares students to continue as life-long learners
  • Attainment at the end of the primary years is outstanding with almost all students achieving above the minimum grade level
  • Innovation is supported in all aspects of the curriculum
  • Whole hearted commitment of the Board, principal and teachers to create a happy school that is continuously improving
  • Outstanding performance of children in the creative and performing arts

Bottom line? Raha International School is an outstanding school with a pure IB offer that for the right children certainly delivers. As with all schools, it is imperative that prospective parents visit the school to calculate the degree of fit between the IB programme, and the gifts of their child(ren).

We do believe that Taaleem could do more in the area of bursaries and scholarships – as well as improving its transparency and communication of the many outstanding features of RIS.

*** However, we would like to see the IB CP programme developed across all Taaleem IB schools to improve post-16 flexibility in meeting the differing needs and gifts of students.***

Raha International School’s achievement in Arabic Subjects are some of the best in the Emirates for an international school – no small achievement.

Ultimately, in terms of its care of students, teaching, whole child development and ongoing investment in students, Raha International School deserves its A1 Outstanding rating, and a place in the top tier of IB schools in the Emirates.

We just need (children need ….) the IB CP in place to be able to be as unequivocal in our praise of this extraordinary school as it surely deserves elsewhere across its provision…..

Highly recommended.

Are you looking for a place for your child, and want help from our school consultants? If so, click on the link below, and we will forward your request for information to the school or schools of the same type that we are confident have availability. This is a free service for our readers from SchoolsCompared.com in association Edstatica.

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Details to consider
2017/18 Overall ADEC / KHDA Rating

Outstanding

2016/17 Overall ADEC / KHDA Rating

Outstanding

2015/16 Overall KHDA / ADEC Rating

Outstanding

Rating FS

Very Good-Outstanding

Rating Primary / Elementary

Very Good-Outstanding

Rating Secondary / Middle

Very Good-Outstanding

Rating Post 16 / High

Very Good-Outstanding

Type of school

Private, for profit

WSA Good School

Yes

Full WSA Review
Average Cost Per Year

EY1: 37,800
EY2: 39,700
YEAR 1: 52,000
YEAR 2: 52,000
YEAR 3: 52,000
YEAR 4: 52,000
YEAR 5: 52,000
YEAR 6: 52,000
YEAR 7: 59,500
YEAR 8: 59,500
YEAR 9: 59,500
YEAR 10: 59,500
YEAR 11: 59,500
YEAR 12: 59,500
YEAR 13: NA

Curriculum

International Baccalaureate:
International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme [IB PYP]
International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme [IB MYP]
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme [IB DP]

External Exam Boards

International Baccalaureate Organisation [IBO]
The Council of International Schools (CIS)
New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)

IB DipM Pass Rate

89.5% (2018)
93.3% (2017)
95% (2016)
90% (2015)

IB DipM Average Grade

32.1 (2018)
32.5 (2017)
Notes:
(1) 40% of the grades graded 6 or 7

Selective

Fully inclusive. The school does not discriminate on grounds of academic ability, disability, Special Educational Needs [SEN], nationality, additional language status or sex.
Notes:
(1) Applications are considered fairly on a "first come, first served" basis defined by the date of application.
(2) Applications testing for Grade 1 and above is NOT designed to admit those children who score most highly. Testing, rather, is designed exclusively to establish a baseline so that the school is able to track their progress in school and make adaptations accordingly. Adaptations may include, for example, Gifted & Talented (G&T) ) programmes for very high performing children in a given subject, or support provision including, for example, that for English as an Additional Language (EAL) or Special Educational Needs (SEN). Admission to Grades 1-12 undergo entrance examinations are in cognitive ability, English and Mathematics.
(3) The school has significantly invested in EAL and SEN so that it can welcome children regardless of ability. However, there is a maximum capacity for the EAL and SEN programmes in order that the support needed for individual children is not diluted. As a result, in cases where demand for SEN or EAL outstrips the available resources, there may be times when a student is wait-listed for support.
(4) "We do not, for example, test 100 children for 10 seats and then take the top 10. We test the first ten applications we receive and as long as we can accommodate them, they will be all be offered seats."
(5) The school is ONLY selective from Grade 9 and above. This is unavoidable as the school has no alternatives to the full International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) - and it would be unfair on children to accept them at the school without the necessary grounding that will have been completed for children who have studies at Raha from EY or Early grades. This might be reviewed should the school be able eventually to offer alternatives to the highly demanding IB DP programmes.
(6) The school does NOT have Arabic testing as part of its admissions testing.
(7) EY1 and EY2 applications are not subject to formal assessment.

Waiting list

Yes

Value Added

Not published

Number of Students

2035

Teacher to Student Ratio

1:13
Notes:
(1) EY1 - 2: 1:11
(2) Grades 1 - 12: 1:20 maximum
(3) EY1-EY2: 24 students per class maximum
(4) Grade 1- Grade 10: maximum 26 students per class
(5) Grade 11-Grade 12: maximum 22 students per class

Largest nationality teachers

British (but strong international mix)

Teacher turnover

18% (below average)

Year opened

2006

Location

Al Raha Gardens, Khalifa City A, Abu Dhabi

Student composition

Emirati: 15%
US/American: 14%
British: 7%
Canadian: 6%
6% Australian
5% German
<2% from each of 69 other countries Nationalities: 80 Languages spoken: 45 EY: 245 Primary: 764 Middle: 671 High: 156 Gifted and Talented (Academic): 66 Special Educational Needs (weaker spectrum): 36 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): 5 Physical disability: 4 English as an Additional Language [EAL]: 50%

Gender

Mixed, co-educational

School canteen

Yes

Owner

Taaleem (The Taaleem Group)

Admissions Telephone

+971 (0) 2 556 1567 ext. 130/120

Web Address
Attainment Nur SEM

93.3%

Attainment Pri SEM

93.3%

Attainment Sec SEM

93.3%

Attainment Post-16 SEM

93.3%

Progress Nur SEM

93.3%

Progress Pri SEM

93.3%

Progress Sec SEM

93.3%

Progress Post-16 SEM

93.3%

Arabic Native Primary Results (Native)

60%

Arabic Secondary Results (Native)

60%

Arabic Post-16 Results (Native)

80%

Arabic Primary Results (Add.)

80%

Arabic Secondary Results (Add.)

80%

Arabic Post-16 Results (Add.)

80%

Islamic St. Primary Results

50%

Islamic St. Secondary Results

60%

Islamic St. Post-16 Results

80%

Leadership

100%

Community

100%

Facilities

100%

Quality of teaching

100%

Student personal responsibility

100%

Quality of curriculum

100%

School Governance

100%

SEN Provision

100%

Strengths

• Outstanding school leadership
• Taaleem expertise, backing and investment
• ADEC flagship “Band A, High Performing, Outstanding” school.
• Genuine, serious and ongoing commitment to school improvement
• Outstanding performing arts provision
• Whole child development
• Hugely warm school environment
• Tier 1 facilities without the distractions of bells and whistles
• Recognition of all staff in developing an outstanding school
• Impressive university slipstream
• Relatively outstanding school for Arabic Subjects in comparison with equivalent international schools

Weaknesses

• No International Baccalaureate Career related Programme

Rating
Our Rating
User Rating
Rate Here
Academic
A
A-
Value
A
A-
ExtraCurricula
A+
B+
Languages
A+
B+
Sports
A
A-
Arts & Drama
A+
A
Teaching
A+
A-
Communications
A+
B+
Warmth
A+
A-
Differentiation
A
A-
SEND Provision
A
A-
Scl Community
A+
A-
Scl Facilities
A
B+
Opportunities

An outstanding, and in key respects extraordinary school, that delivers a level of school administration, whole child development and nurturing that benchmarks what the very best all-through IB provision can achieve for children.

A
Our Rating
A-
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Top of shortlist
65%
In my Top 5
21%
Shortlisted
3%
A possibility
6%
Pass
0%
No way
6%
About The Author
Jon Westley
Jon Westley is the Editor of SchoolsCompared.com and WhichSchoolAdvisor.com UK. You can email him at jonathanwestley [at] schoolscompared.com

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Academic
Value
ExtraCurricula
Languages
Sports
Arts & Drama
Teaching
Communications
Warmth
Differentiation
SEND Provision
Scl Community
Scl Facilities