When I was pregnant with my first daughter back in 2016, I remember a fellow mum asking me if I had put my (not even born yet) daughter on the waitlist for school.
I recall looking rather confused and her informing me that people are putting their unborn babies on lists for school due to such high demand, which I later learned was, in fact, true.
We decided to wait until my daughter was at least born (and to confirm she was female) before putting her down for schools, but it wasn’t long after she was born that we were signing her up in the hope we would get one of the ones we wanted. Eight years ago, the competition was fierce; you had to put your name down, and schools often required debentures to secure a place. Not much has changed now, and with over 200 schools to choose from the decision can seem overwhelming.
Deciding where to send your children comes down to many factors that you need to weigh up and decide where they sit on a scale of most to least important.
Key factors include:
// Distance
In an ideal world, none of us want to be doing an hour+ round trip to do drop only to have to do that again for pick up so picking your location should be a top priority. Most schools start around 7.30-7.50 so you must bear in mind the time your child needs to wake, refuse breakfast, take an hour to put on socks, and convince to get in the car (just me?).
// Secondary School option
Some schools don’t have a secondary department, which means that when the student’s complete year 6, they will need to move schools to continue their education. If you are a family with more than one child, you will have to factor in the possibility of having two separate drop and pick-up times.
// Class sizes
A factor that comes in high when families are looking for a school is the size of the classes. There is a big variation with some smaller schools having class sizes of around 12-15 and others up to 25-30. The average number in a Dubai private school sits at about 25.
// Curriculum choice
From a curriculum standpoint, there are 17 different ones to choose from in the region with the most common being the UK system and IB (International Baccalaureate) followed by the language-specific ones. Doing your research here and knowing the one you feel best fits your family will narrow down your choices.
// Timings & ECA
School drop off and pick-ups can become a logistical nightmare so understanding what that will look like before signing up is very important so you can prepare in advance, especially if you have multiple children with different finish times.
ECA’s are offered in all schools but what that looks like varies. For example, in our school, there are both free and paid ECA’s but the free ones don’t start until year 3 and are done on an allocation basis. Paid ECA’s usually cost around AED800-1000 per term (per child) for activities such as Art, Fencing, Gymnastics, Swimming, Coding, and many more. There is also the option for sibling clubs (which have various names depending on the school) for you to be able to pick up all your kids at the same time, but in many schools, this is an extra fee to keep in mind.
// Cost
Of course, last but by no means least (!) is the cost. The variation between the costs of schools can be broad, which makes it hard to choose, especially if your best option falls within the higher bracket. The best thing to do here is work out your top three and then apply from least to most expensive so it gives you a buffer. You also need to keep in mind what your plans are to expand your family if like me you have fees for three to contend with. Schools often give a sibling preference for admission and discounts for the third child onwards, but not always.
When doing your research make sure to look at all these different factors and apply for more than one school to avoid disappointment.
KHDA is a useful resource for information on all schools
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