Choosing a School

The curriculum is much more than the textbooks or examinations – it refers to everything the school teaches, including subjects and activities inside and outside the classroom. These include extra-curricular activities, school trips, and visitors to the school. Different curricula also adopt different approaches to learning.

All curricula lead to public examinations and qualifications. These will be important considerations in your choice of curriculum for your child - you may need to think about the requirements of any future application to university or further education, either in the UAE or abroad. In addition, if you are coming from abroad, your selection of a curriculum may depend upon your country of origin as you may want your child to integrate back into your home country’s education system at some time in the future. 

Dubai’s private schools offer 17 different curricula. You can search our schools directory by curriculum to find a suitable school for you. 


 

The learning outcomes and performance of schools will be important to you in making your decision. DSIB’s annual inspection reports allow you to look at these and other aspects of schools in detail. Click here to search for individual inspection reports. 

Your child will be spending a lot of time in school and all aspects of the school have an impact on your child’s social development and personality. As part of the decision-making process, try to arrange a tour of the school, talk with administrators, teachers and students and see the school in action. 
Areas you should talk about include how the school is structured, whether classes are mixed and/or whether classes are streamed for ability, how transport is arranged, and the arrangements for lunch and breaks. You can also find out the school policies on examinations, assessment, discipline, dealing with bullying, communications with parents, and technology integration, to name just a few.  

In short, get as much information as possible before you decide which school is best for your child. 

The tools below will help in your search for schools:

• KHDA iPhone App: This mobile application allows you to search for Dubai schools using a number of criteria, including school performance, location and curriculum. Click here to download it.
   
• KHDA Directory: This allows you to find schools in Dubai, their contact details and website addresses. 
   
• School Inspection Reports: The Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) issues annual inspection reports that include detailed feedback on each school. Click here to find the inspection report for the school(s) you are considering.