Help re schools in Abu Dhabi please

Aldar schools are definitely not for profit - any surplus goes back into the school. well thats what i thought.

Aldar schools are definitely not for profit - any surplus goes back into the school.

Glad it all seems to have worked out well with the new head at BC and with minimal disruption to the school. It does all look very nice, the small areas I've seen and a very positive feel to it. @busybee - DC is a more academic, selective school than Repton - according to website minimum 5B's for 6th form and 86% A and A* results this year. However, I think you are right that the not-for-profit aspect of DC and BSAK gives them a linked ethos perhaps. not sure if the Aldar schools operate for profit. yes dc is more academic hence why its selective bsak is not selective it takes everyone even with special needs etc. aldar is a company, did hear in the beginning that they were going to run their schools non profit, but hmmmmmh not sure if they do. but as you say dc and bsak are non profit schools and their ethos will be very similar unlike other schools.

Glad it all seems to have worked out well with the new head at BC and with minimal disruption to the school. It does all look very nice, the small areas I've seen and a very positive feel to it. @busybee - DC is a more academic, selective school than Repton - according to website minimum 5B's for 6th form and 86% A and A* results this year. However, I think you are right that the not-for-profit aspect of DC and BSAK gives them a linked ethos perhaps. not sure if the Aldar schools operate for profit.

Can you say why the head was let go after 2 terms? Didn't his wife used to post here about the school in the run up to its opening and they had 2 kids they were moving there? I was sure I saw her acting in a BC players play at the school in the summer but I guess not if they went at Easter. Does BC takes boarders? Is it compararble as someone said with Repton in that and other ways or more like Dubai College ie selective day school. Sorry if you don't know dubai schools that will be hard to answer.If it takes boarders i guess it may attract from other Emirates as some find Repton is not for them but want that sort of school. We weren't given very much detail but were told that it was a unanimous decision by the board, think it boiled down to a clash of personalities but not really sure, will probably never know. Brendan Law was a great head and did great things for the school so it was hard for the parents to understand but they have replaced him with a really good guy from Brighton UK and so far so good. As far as I'm aware Brendan's 2 kids are still at the school. perhaps the politics between brighton college and bloom properties?, and obviously as you have lived here a few years you know that things are run differently here and it does take new people a while to understand the way it works.

Can you say why the head was let go after 2 terms? Didn't his wife used to post here about the school in the run up to its opening and they had 2 kids they were moving there? I was sure I saw her acting in a BC players play at the school in the summer but I guess not if they went at Easter. Does BC takes boarders? Is it compararble as someone said with Repton in that and other ways or more like Dubai College ie selective day school. Sorry if you don't know dubai schools that will be hard to answer.If it takes boarders i guess it may attract from other Emirates as some find Repton is not for them but want that sort of school. We weren't given very much detail but were told that it was a unanimous decision by the board, think it boiled down to a clash of personalities but not really sure, will probably never know. Brendan Law was a great head and did great things for the school so it was hard for the parents to understand but they have replaced him with a really good guy from Brighton UK and so far so good. As far as I'm aware Brendan's 2 kids are still at the school. Brighton does not take boarders and it's never been mentioned so don't think it's in the pipeline. It's a selective day school. As I have said before we are very happy, although yes it's only in its 2nd year but the quality of teachers is superb. A few niggles with communication and administration but from the classroom point of view no complaints, in fact the opposite. You should book to have a tour and see what you think.

It's hard to say what is the best British curriculum school as what's important to one parent is not so much to others. I'm a Brighton college parent and extremely happy with the school. The school is only in the 2nd year and have had some administrative teething problems but from a teaching and classroom point of view it's fantastic. Our first head who was very good was 'let go' at Easter but we now have a head who has come over from Brighton uk and most parents feel tis was the right decision. Other good schools are al Yasmina and bisad which are off the island and bask on the island. Can you say why the head was let go after 2 terms? Didn't his wife used to post here about the school in the run up to its opening and they had 2 kids they were moving there? I was sure I saw her acting in a BC players play at the school in the summer but I guess not if they went at Easter. Does BC takes boarders? Is it compararble as someone said with Repton in that and other ways or more like Dubai College ie selective day school. Sorry if you don't know dubai schools that will be hard to answer.If it takes boarders i guess it may attract from other Emirates as some find Repton is not for them but want that sort of school. i cant say for certain why the head was let go, as it was all very rushed.... i heard it was politics but my kids dont go there so i am not privy to the reasons the school gave, but this can be the problem with many of the schools here, brighton college is a profit school it is run by a company, bloom properties, they have put in the money to build it etc, so they will have a say in what goes, as well as bc uk, but as we know things are run very differently here in the MENA. yes his wife was here and the 2 kids, but as i dont know exactly what happened i cannot comment. the same happened recently with yasmina head, this is run by aldar the same, a company, so politics will come into effect too, he was let go, i knew the head in question as he was a previous head at bsak many many years ago but also the same with the guy in charge of aldar academies again an ex bsak head, again perhaps aldar politics and maybe early retirement. all i can say is that bsak being a non profit school it runs itself by the governors etc and so cannot be interfered with an outside compay etc. bc does not take boarders here in uae presently that may change i dont know, as they have only opened last year it only went up to certain grades, repton does as they have been around a few years now. i would say that dubai college is similar to bsak in that for eg sixth form entrance it requires 5 passes at C grade for gcse, same as bsak. dubai college is selective yes, bsak isnt, but i cant find out the admissions criteria for sixth form entrance to bc uk, but i know that most private schools in uk require 5 passes at B grade for gcse and i would suspect it may be the same. i would say that repton and bc will be very very similar. i know pupils in both. as i said you need to go and see the schools in person and make up your own mind, many people here follow sheep, i even know kids that were in bsak and moved to brighton college last year, their mother is a teacher at brighton college, and i am sure that her kids have moved back to be in bsak, why? dont know?

It's hard to say what is the best British curriculum school as what's important to one parent is not so much to others. I'm a Brighton college parent and extremely happy with the school. The school is only in the 2nd year and have had some administrative teething problems but from a teaching and classroom point of view it's fantastic. Our first head who was very good was 'let go' at Easter but we now have a head who has come over from Brighton uk and most parents feel tis was the right decision. Other good schools are al Yasmina and bisad which are off the island and bask on the island. Can you say why the head was let go after 2 terms? Didn't his wife used to post here about the school in the run up to its opening and they had 2 kids they were moving there? I was sure I saw her acting in a BC players play at the school in the summer but I guess not if they went at Easter. Does BC takes boarders? Is it compararble as someone said with Repton in that and other ways or more like Dubai College ie selective day school. Sorry if you don't know dubai schools that will be hard to answer.If it takes boarders i guess it may attract from other Emirates as some find Repton is not for them but want that sort of school.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. Quite unbelievably due to cancellations we got places at BSAK! Needless to say we're thrilled :-) Has been a crazy couple of days but the kids will be in the car with DH and I on Thursday...now I just have to find us somewhere to live! Thanks again for all the help Hi Twinsmum. May i ask if BSAK accepted your application now or is there a specific time of the year for application? i am considering a move for my LO. TIA bsak normally accept applications for the september academic year in january previous, but they will take people at any time when places become available, the issue is that if you are already enrolled in schools now in uae you cannot switch schools/curriculum certain dates.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. Quite unbelievably due to cancellations we got places at BSAK! Needless to say we're thrilled :-) Has been a crazy couple of days but the kids will be in the car with DH and I on Thursday...now I just have to find us somewhere to live! Thanks again for all the help Hi Twinsmum. May i ask if BSAK accepted your application now or is there a specific time of the year for application? i am considering a move for my LO. TIA

It's hard to say what is the best British curriculum school as what's important to one parent is not so much to others. I'm a Brighton college parent and extremely happy with the school. The school is only in the 2nd year and have had some administrative teething problems but from a teaching and classroom point of view it's fantastic. Our first head who was very good was 'let go' at Easter but we now have a head who has come over from Brighton uk and most parents feel tis was the right decision. Other good schools are al Yasmina and bisad which are off the island and bask on the island.

Hello ladies, We are considering a move to AD....currently live in Doha, Qatar. Can anyone who has done that move from Doha to Qatar advise on schools as I am interested in a comparison. My two children are now both in DESS (Doha English Speaking School) which is a super school here, they are so happy and we did have to wait a while to get them in there (changing schools already once). But now there are mutterings from DH about a potential move to AD. The school issue is a an important one for us so wondered if you, or anyone else had any comparisons. DESS here in Doha is the British Embassy school and the oldest established school here...I have been reading about BSAK. Any comments? Which is the best British curriculum school in AD? (I really don't want to have move them twice when we get to AD!) Thank you.

Thanks BB2, believe me I appreciate how extremely lucky we are...I honestly thought they'd laugh at me, talk about right place, right time!! Our budget is 150k up to absolute max 160 & I really want a garden as we have a beautiful one now & kids are out there all day in winter. I'm thinking KCA on airport rd side so away from schools for traffic but MBZ is also nice, we lived there 2 years ago & was very easy to get into town. Is KCB the area near mafraq hotel? I wouldn't mind having a look there, will have to drive round. Are there for rent signs up on houses or is it only through agents? Thanks again x well 150 is doable nowadays for kca or kcb. personally unless you need to have coffee shops/banks etc right on your doorstep (you still cannot walk to them really) then i would go for kcb over kca. i lived in kca before anybody else did like 8 years ago (when people would not travel "over the bridge without a passport") and there was nothing, as long as you have a car you are 5/10 mins from shops etc. now a lot has opened in kca, yes there is a geant/post office/coffee shops/banks etc but then there are like 10 schools and the traffic getting in and out if you have to travel to bsak is a bit of a nitemare. so i prefer kcb, no there are no shops as yet, but they are planned the big advantage of kcb is that there are street lights and pavements which means drains..... when it rains..... kca floods and some of the cars last year were defo over their wheels etc in water. of course, it depends on what you need. baniyas mall is a 5 min or so drive away, etislat is there too, in the mall there is a cinema, car4 and plenty of shops (not like the white elephant of delma mall) capital mall is opening soon in mbz and mazayad mall is in mbz too. i personally would go for mbz or kcb depending on location etc. getting from kcb onto the main road (e11) is easy up the al ain road, and whoosh into town..... 20 mins or so for me from kcb to bsak. having smaller ones you do not need to get there as early as me, (seniors). also kcb and mbz are usually less squashed in if you get my drift, than kca. obviously it does depend on what is around at the time you are looking, it defo is not the same as dubai, but you have lived here before so you should know a little bit about it. of course depending on access to the main road from mbz its a little bit shorter commute, but of course with kca or anywhere sometimes you can take 10 mins or more to drive around the "estate" before getting out on the main roads, and so it can defo add on to the commuting time. we are right close to the main e11 at a junction and so we can easily whoosh in and out whether to ad or dxb. a lot of the houses now have signs, but again sometimes they are through agents as well. its worth driving around, but of course if you want something quick i would just get an agent to do it and go with them, otherwise it can take time.

you are very very very lucky.... there have been a few people that did not come back over the summer, they just dont know this until the first couple of days. you will be thrilled as you get to use the brand spanking new buildings for the little ones. we have had to endure the building site for 2 years, with less than perfect facilities, because they knocked it all down, but now there are brand new swimming pools, my kids havent been swimming there for 2 years, the little ones they bused up the road to the local one. finding somewhere to live is so much easier than in years gone past. what would your budget be? whether you could afford in town or out, I commute from KCB which is far far easier than KCA which i have done before, but with the opening of yasmina, raha, cis, gems, chouefiat, horizon etc etc etc getting in and out is a nitemare. there are a few serviced apartments, off island the larabia in mazad mall mohd. bin zayed city

i would try bisad as mentioned if they have places. the issue with changing schools and curriculum is that you can only change curriculum up to 15th november, and change schools upto 15th feb. so you would not be able to change in january term even if a place became available, as you are already in the us system, you would need to do it before 15th november. if bisad have places then go for that, it may not be the no1 choice of school, and it did have some issues when it opened 4 or so years ago, but now its all good, havent heard anything negative as they now have a really good head. brighton college is a selective school and so there will be a test, its new from last year, but the issue that you have is its the most difficult years groups to get in the lower ones, the more you travel up the school the easier it becomes, so if you have a range of children getting an older one in first will bump you up the list etc as they will then allow siblings in afterwards. there is a new british school called belivere british school opening now in mohd. bin zayed but not sure of the mix of nationalities may be more local kids, but as a stepping stone to get to abu dhabi may be an option.

Hi, Yes I can help, The British International School has places and have currently opened a new class. My daughter will be attending starting from tomorrow in FS2. Do give them a call and reserve your places. Which area are you moving in to? We are looking at Al Raha beach apartments, not quite sure what to go for. Hope the info is useful, I will ask tomorrow for you when I go for her settling in visit. Zaheeda