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The best British schools in Abu Dhabi

by Tabitha BardaJanuary 24, 2022

Looking for the best British schools in Abu Dhabi? While the perfect school is subjective and will always depend on your individual child, there are certain factors that can help narrow down your decision. These schools in Abu Dhabi all follow the British, English National Curriculum – and have all been rated as Outstanding in the most recent ‘Irtiqaa’ School Inspections Program by the Abu Dhabi schools regulator, ADEK, which assesses the quality of a school in six key performance areas:

Quality of students’ achievement.
Quality of personal and social development as well as innovation skills of the students.
Quality of teaching and assessment.
Quality of curriculum.
Quality of student safety and wellbeing, as well as the guidance and support provided to them.
Quality of school leadership and management.

The best British-curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi

Aldar Academies The Pearl Primary School

Location
ABU DHABI – ABU DHABI ISLAND. See on map

School fees
AED 41,700 – 43,150

Age range
FS1 – Year 6

Irtiqaa Rating
Outstanding

The Pearl Primary School prides itself on its “family feel” and is a recognized option for parents seeking a smaller-scale, stand-alone Primary school specializing in the education of children between FS1 and Year 6 (Ages 3 – 11), while also offering a natural feeder stream into secondary education; in this case to either of the outstanding Al Bateen and Al Yasmina secondaries, both Aldar Academy sister schools. Abu Dhabi parents report a positive experience of sending their children to The Pearl Primary School, with 82% of them rating their overall impression of the school as very good. Parental engagement, school safety and quality of leadership and learning all score highly in feedback from families. A specialist primary, Pearl differentiates itself in its unique (and effective) teaching methodology which, whilst following the English National Curriculum in subject content, adopts an enquiry-based format much more analogous to the IB programme; all topics are subject-integrated and question based. The school values are Empathy, Agility and Hard Work, and Principal Barbara Heaton says: “We highly value collaboration and social responsibility; creativity and risk-taking; practice and resilience.” Pearl was rated Outstanding in all six Performance Areas the latest ADEK report, which dates back to 2019-2020. See school website.

Aldar Academies – Al Muna Academy

Location
AL MARKAZIYAH. See on map

School Fees
AED 43,500 – 45,260

Age range
FS – Year 6

Irtiqaa Rating
Outstanding

Al Muna Academy stands out for being a happy school, where children are placed at the centre of every decision. It is well-loved by parents, with 88% of families rating their experience of the school as very good, and 90-99% of parents saying that they have a high level of confidence in the school. Facilities are Tier 1 at the school including extensive music, drama and art facilities; specialist teaching rooms; a research laboratory; graphic design area; music recording studio; recital hall; multi-purpose sports hall; dance studio; 25m swimming pool; very large library; OASIS seminar rooms for specialist SEN provision; a full-sized football pitch; and basketball courts. According to the SchoolsCompared.com review, Aldar Academy is a school that “quite exceptionally, does not put a foot wrong. That it does so by creating an environment in which all its children feel able to make mistakes as they learn without worry, innovate, create and laugh – learning in the fullest sense of the word – are highlights of a school operating at the very top of its game.” See school website.

The British School Al Khubairat

Location
ABU DHABI – ABU DHABI ISLAND. See on map

School fees
AED 43,160 – 70,630

Year groups
FS1 – Year 13

Irtiqaa Rating
Outstanding

Seen by many as one of, if not the, best school in the capital, The British School Al Khubairat (BSAK) in Abu Dhabi serves approximately 1,878 students across all phases of the English National Curriculum from the ages of three to eighteen years old. Al Khubairat has considerable prestige and, having opened in 1968, is the oldest British curriculum school in Abu Dhabi. The school was originally established on land generously donated by the then Ruler of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Today the school continues to enjoy a “special relationship” with the ruling family, being sponsored, since 1980, by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, The President of the UAE.

The British School Al Khubairat is one of the very few “Ivy League” not-for-profit schools in the UAE – reinvesting all school income back into the school for the benefit of children, rather than, as is the case for the majority for-profit schools, returning some, or all of, profitable income to shareholders. What defines this school, amongst a plethora of gifts for children and young men and women, is arguably the best post-16 provision in the UAE, extraordinarily gifted and compassionate school leadership, an inclusive school ethic that lights up the school lives of children almost beyond compare and a positivity and sense of an abiding force for good at play that washes over you when walking into the school that simply ….inspires. And yes, it’s also a fabulous school for children gifted in sport – and those who just take joy in taking part.

School Headmaster Mark Leppard MBE is one of the most fascinating, extraordinarily outward-looking, kind, impactful and dedicated Principals in the UAE; some one who makes a difference.

The British School of Al Khubairat, in short, is an absolute tour de force of the very best an education can achieve for children. See school website. See school website.

Al Yasmina Academy

Location
ABU DHABI – KHALIFA CITY. See on map.

School fees
AED 42,900 – 61,150

Irtiqaa Rating
Outstanding

Age range
FS1 – Year 13

Al Yasmina Academy was the second school to be opened by Aldar Academies after Pearl Primary, and was founded in 2008. The Academy says that although it regularly receives applicants from other Aldar schools, the vast majority of students at Al Yasmina continue from primary into secondary. Al Yasmina itself is held to be one of the best British curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi, competing with, but often second choice to, the more established British School of Al Khubeirat for those wanting their children to follow a GCSE and then A’ Level path. The school scores 4.04 out of 5 when it comes to ‘Parent’s overall impression’, giving it a percentage of 61.8% and a rating of Good in the ADEK Parent Satisfaction survey. In the most recent ADEK Inspection Report, Al Yasmina received an Outstanding ranking. See school website.

Brighton College Al Ain

Location
AL AIN – ZAKHIR. See on map.

School fees
AED 53,000 – 87,190

Irtiqaa Rating
Outstanding

Curiosity, confidence and kindness are the values that underpin everything at Brighton College Al Ain, part of the Bloom Education Group and the younger sister of the longer established Brighton College Abu Dhabi. A sister-school opened in Dubai in 2018, and all three have strong connections to the original Brighton College in the UK. The three UAE schools follow – as would be expected – the UK National Curriculum. While the ADEK Parent Satisfaction Survey results would benefit from improvement, the latest available inspection report from 2019 rated the school as Outstanding. See school website.

Brighton College Abu Dhabi

Location

ABU DHABI – BLOOM GARDENS, ABU DHABI ISLAND. See on map.

School fees

AED 48,900 – 77,720

Irtiqaa Rating

Outstanding

Year group

FS1 – Year 13

Brighton College Abu Dhabi (BCAD) opened in September 2011 and rapidly established itself in the premier league of the capital’s schools. Across every aspect of the school, Brighton College shines. It is selective and certainly a school established for the more academic child. But Performing Arts provision, including in Drama and Music, is formidable and breadth of subject offer at both IGCSE and A level is outstanding. Telling of an academic school is the investment in the broadest range of subjects and the beyond outstanding achievement of children in Art shines a powerful light on the bigger picture, whole child achievement that fires the holistic engine of Brighton College Abu Dhabi. This is a British school that really delivers. Brighton College Abu Dhabi has been the recipient of the Top Schools Award for Best School in the UAE for the Visual Arts and Best School in the UAE for Theatre, Dance and the Performing Arts. The combination of academic and whole child education is rare – and inspiring. See school website.

Cranleigh School Abu Dhabi

Location
ABU DHABI – SADIYAT ISLAND. See on map.

School fees
AED 65,000 – 96,333

Irtiqaa Rating
Outstanding

It is hard to think of another school in the Emirates that has so successfully, and inspirationally, drawn on and captured the heritage of its British public school founding school and then gone on to improve it by focusing, with genuine care and substance, on each individual child’s journey. Given its founding school is Cranleigh, a real Tier 1 UK heavyweight, this is some accolade. This is an important, fabulous, in many ways remarkable school, that sparks the imaginations, passions – and value-added potential – of all its children. See school website.

Merryland International School

Location
ABU DHABI – MOHAMED BIN ZAYED CITY

School fees
AED 23,500 – 41,100

Irtiqaa Rating
Outstanding

There is no doubt that this is an exceptional school in many ways– and that it delivers for its students a level of whole child provision that is pretty much unparalleled in this sector, especially at Merryland’s very competitive price point. For us, however, there remains a fundamental concern about the approach adopted to SEN, something that does not meet current guidelines for provision and is at odds with the overall grading achieved by the school. In other areas Merryland International School borders on outstanding judged on its own terms. There is certainly also no doubt about the conviction, integrity, selflessness and passionate commitment to the school of its founder owner. This is a school parents must visit to decide for themselves. See school website.

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