Cognita Cements Presence with Second School Acquisition in the Heart of Arabian Ranches

Global education group Cognita has extended its reach into the UAE school scene with the acquisition of Ranches Primary School (RPS), a Very Good rated school in Arabian Ranches 2. The announcement was made in a letter that was sent to parents at RPS yesterday afternoon.

The acquisition follows that of Horizon English School (HES) in February of this year, and brings to three the number of schools the group currently has in the UAE. The school is in a developed community on Arabian Ranches 2 in the heart of the rapidly developing Al Qudra corridor, and should secure a healthy slipstream of students into the groups flagship, and recently launched new school, The Royal Grammar School Guildford, Dubai.

A letter to parents, jointly signed by RPS directors Aahan and Amay Bhojani as well as Cognita’s Middle East Managing Director David Baldwin, says:

“It is with tremendous respect for our community that we write to you about an exciting milestone in the school’s journey. We are announcing today that Ranches Primary School is joining the Cognita family of schools, with ownership of the School transferring from the original founders to Cognita.

Under this new ownership, we are proud to see RPS soar to new heights as one of Dubai’s leading schools and most vibrant communities. 

There will be no change to the day-to-day life, management, or strategy of the school, and no changes to the terms and conditions of RPS staff or tuition fees.”

Ranches Primary School, currently led by Julian Pederick, has just over 551 pupils , some way off capacity leaving room for growth for Cognita. According to data obtained by SchoolsCompared.com that school had seen four years of rising student numbers until the 2021/2021 academic year, and the arrival of Covid-19.

Cognita is the largest international school group with 85 schools in 11 countries. The company’s Managing Director in the Middle East David Baldwin has more than 10 years’ experience working in Dubai and is a former Principal of Horizon English School. He was previously responsible for supporting Cognita’s 40 plus schools in the UK as Director of Education.

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