The second Nord Anglia Education school in the UAE opened in Dubai in September 2014, following the British International School of Abu Dhabi (BISAD), which has been established for a number of years in the capital. NAS Dubai was joined by a further sister school in Abu Dhabi in August 2023.

Nord Anglia International School Dubai has been rated Outstanding in the 2023-24 DSIB inspection round.  This review will be updated and the report uploaded once available.

The Story so Far...

Opening in 2014 on its own large site, with a purpose-designed and constructed three storey building, Nord Anglia International School Dubai (NAS Dubai) part of the Nord Anglia Education Group of over 80 international schools, offers the National Curriculum of England and Wales to Year 11, followed by the IB Diploma for post-16 students, and from September 2021, A Levels, as an alternative pathway in Sixth Form.

From the outset, NAS Dubai has been an extremely popular school, opening with a significant cohort despite several other highly regarded schools also opening in the vicinity.  Its overall popularity does not appear to have waned, based on parent feedback to WhichSchoolAdvisor.com.  .

"This school has a number of strengths including its arts, music, drama and sports programmes, as well as a excellent curriculum."
"Strength: curriculum/ achievement/ good vibes at school / very nice approach from teachers towards students."
"The Performing Arts department is fantastic. Children get a comprehensive curriculum in Music, Drama and Dance. The annual musicals are always a success and my son enjoys them a lot". 

However, we have been surprised to see a number of comments from parents who feel that pastoral care is something of a concern, and the departure of some teachers, who parents feel have been replaced by staff who do not seem to show the same nurturing instincts as their predecessors.

At the start of the 2022-23 academic year, the school went through a change of Head of Secondary  with the departure of the popular Liam Cullinan as Executive Principal to the Nord Anglia-owned British International School Abu Dhabi at the start of the current academic year, and, from April 2023, the launch of Nord Anglia International School Abu Dhabi which opened in August 2023.  This change has also been greeted with some inevitable concern and disappointment, given Mr. Cullinan's popularity.

We have not received significant numbers of teacher comments, but those who have provided their feedback are generally positive: 

"NAS Dubai is a truly energetic and inspiring place for all: students, teachers and parents."
"Expect to work hard, if you are willing to work hard you will enjoy it; this school is rigorous and expects the best from staff and students so it is important you buy into that."

Find out more about feedback from parents in the Buzz.

The NAS Dubai population currently sits at 2,352 students from over 90 nationalities, with a teacher:student ratio of 1:11 and maximum class sizes of 20 students across the school. The school anticipates growth to 2,500 students for the 2023-24 academic year with the capacity to grow to 2,800 with the launch of the 5-storey Secondary extension. 

The 217 teachers at NAS Dubai have been recruited predominantly from the UK, but with a small additional number from other native English-speaking countries, such as Australia, Canada and South Africa. All are said have a minimum of three years teaching experience. In addition, there are a further 109 teaching assistants and a School Counsellor.

What does Nord Anglia International School feel like? Click here for the Nord Anglia International School Experience

Clearly teachers are largely happy with their employment, creating a stable environment. A staff turnover of 4% is a quarter of the normal range of 20-22% found on average at international schools in the UAE.

In our previous review, we stated that NAS was an ‘academically selective’ school. The school is keen to point out that this is no longer the case, with Principal Matthew Farthing describing the school as ‘wholly inclusive’. As with most UAE schools, children are assessed prior to joining. Currently there are some 300 children at NAS Dubai who are designated students of Determination and who are provided with specialist support. There is also a focus on extension work for students who are gifted and talented. More information on the level of learning support can be found in the Q and A. 

What about the curriculum?

NAS Dubai students follow the National Curriculum for England (NCfE) to Year 11, when students sit their first external examinations - iGCSEs. English, Mathematics, all three Sciences, a language (Arabic, French, German, Mandarin or Spanish) and a choice of either Geography or History are considered "core" subjects, in preparation for the IB Diploma and A Levels, and are taken by all students. The school also encourages early entry for English, Maths and languages (in common with more selective academic schools) in Year 10.  

As mentioned earlier, in January 2021, NAS Dubai announced that it would offer A Level examinations in addition to the IB Diploma programme from September 2021.  According to Principal, Matthew Farthing, this decision was made as a result of requests from current students at the school who wished to pursue A Levels rather than the IB and wanted the opportunity to do so at NAS Dubai.

The options available for the first cohort of students, who sat their examinations in June 2023, included Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Computer Science, Design Technology, Drama, Economics,  English Language/Literature, Geography, Maths, Further Maths, PE, Physics and Psychology. Students will take three or four subjects and are also offered the Extended Project Qualification (regarded as equivalent to one further A Level and comparable to the IB Extended Essay).

IB options are based around the 6 Options Groups of Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Societies, Sciences, Mathematics and the Arts, together with the additional core requirements of Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity and Service. 

Underscoring its credentials as a school group that cares more than just about academics are Nord Anglia's partnerships with US-based Juilliard School of Performing Art, UNICEF, and MIT (the world renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Juilliard's Performing Arts programme is a significant coup for the school and its students. Hailing from New York, the Juilliard undergraduate music and performing arts school is widely regarded as one of the world's best. Positive feedback from NAS Dubai students, parents and staff is telling here; this collaboration has clearly become a fundamental aspect of day to day life in the school. The partnership established with Nord Anglia provides a unique curriculum and exchange of specialists from Juilliard. 

A second, equally significant collaboration with UNICEF is also making an impact at Nord Anglia. Throughout the school, children have the opportunity to work on projects aligned with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals. Again, not just a ‘headline’ – the children we met spoke proudly of these projects and wore badge indicating their involvement in specific areas.

Lastly, innovation and STEAM at the school has been strengthened by a partnership with MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Students from across the Nord Anglia Education group have the opportunity to travel to Massachusetts and Warsaw to take part in MIT conferences and teachers have regular MIT led training and workshops. In the classrooms, students tackle STEAM topics and problems across the curriculum.

With the rise in interest in, and use of, Artificial Intelligence, AI is used in classes to enrich the student learning journey. From fostering critical thinking by presenting alternative perspectives to providing personalised learning experiences tailored to individual needs, AI is utilised across various subjects, including art, design, technology, and computer science.

What about Student Achievement?

Academically, the Nord Anglia group globally has been extremely successful, with students regularly achieving excellent results at iGCSE and the IB diploma. The academic focus of the school is reflected in its small class sizes of a maximum of 20 students.

The May 2023 IB results reflected a return to pre-pandemic grade boundaries and pass rates for IB Diploma students globally. Many students internationally were impacted by these changes, with both lower IB Diploma point averages and pass rates. Once again, NAS Dubai students significantly exceeded the overall global score of 30.24 points, and the UAE average score of 31.97 points. The pass rate was also significantly above the global average pass rate of 79.3% and the UAE overall pass rate of 89.7%. 

With an overall points score of 34.1 and a pass rate of 93%, NAS Dubai's 61 students were not unaffected, but fared significantly better than the global and UAE averages. 75% of entrants received 30 points or more, whilst 51% were awarded 35 points or more, and a significant 25% achieved 40 points or above. 

In May 2022, NAS Dubai students sat physical IB examinations for the first time since the Covid 19 pandemic. Their results placed them in the top 3 schools in the UAE.

A cohort of 43 students was registered for the IBDP and with a 100% success rate, achieved an average points score of 37.5. A whopping 40% of students received a score of 40+ points, with 75% being awarded over 35 points and 93% of entrants obtaining 30 points and above.

Full details of all results provided to WhichSchoolAdvisor.com can be found here.

In 2021, an incredible 25% of Nord Anglia IB Diploma students from among its 31 schools achieve 40 points or above, compared with a global average of 5-6%. One of the areas of particular focus in Dubai is the teaching of foreign languages for native speakers, with languages as diverse as Chinese, German, French and Spanish being offered. The school has recently become the only international school in the UAE to act as an official HSK testing centre for Chinese speakers.

The results announced in July 2021 were again based on Centre Assessed Grades as a result of the cancellation of examination due to the Covid 19 pandemic, based on predicted grades from the school, together with assessments submitted by students which were marked by IB Examiners.

The school left no-one in doubt that its students had continued to flourish, despite the effects of the on-going pandemic. A total of 56 students achieved a 100% pass rate and an average score of 39.4 - the second highest score in the UAE based on data provided to WhichSchoolAdvisor.com.  100% of the cohort achieved at least 30 points, with 89% achieving 35+ points (the level required for entry to most Red Brick universities in the UK) and a resounding 54% of awards were at 40+ points, the level required by the world's elite universities.

Only one school - North London Collegiate School - scored a higher average, but with a cohort of half the size and with no historical record of results at the school, only future results under exam conditions will show whether these grades accurately reflected the ability of the cohort.

 I/GCSE results were also shared and revealed that  110 students sat at total of 1,085 examinations. 52% of awards were at A* (9-8), with 71% at A*-A (9-7), 87% at A*-B and 98% at the pass range of A*C (9-4). Every candidate passed 5 subjects at A*-C including Maths and English, and 98% of all students passed the examinations for which they were entered.  32% of all awards were at GCSE Grade 9.

Full details of I/GCSE results for schools in the UAE can be found here.

NAS Dubai announced (at least in part) its I/GCSE results for 2021. The school did not include the number of students or the examinations entry number.  However, it did reveal that 48% of all entries achieved an A* grade (Grades 9-8), that 97% of entries were awarded Grades 9-5 (A*-C+) and that 100% of entries achieved Grades 9-4 (A*-C).

In July 2020, NAS Dubai announced its second set of IB Diploma results.  Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, these were based on calculated grades following submissions of work over the course of the two year programme, together with teacher assessments. 

29 students took the IB Diploma, up from 20 a year ago. Not only did all students pass the Diploma, but they achieved an impressive average point score of 37.1 (up from 36.5 last year). In total, 37% of students achieved 40+ points, 70% achieved 35+ points and 97% achieved over 30 points. The highest achievement for an individual student was 44 points, one off the perfect score of 45.

The school also announced its I/GCSE results in August 2020, noting that with a cohort of 89 students and a total of 786 exam entries, 46% of exam entries were graded 9-8 (A*), 71% of exam entries were awarded grades 9-7 (A*-A), 89% of exam entries were graded 9-6 (A*-B), and 100% of exam entries were graded 9-4 (A*-C). 100% of students achieved 5 A*-C/ 9-4 including English and Maths.

The first small cohort of 20 IB students in 2019 performed exceptionally well with an average IB point score of 36.6 (compared with the global score of 30 points), and a 100% pass rate.

In 2019, 92 students sat a total of 857 examinations. Performances at the top end were particularly impressive with 41% of results graded 9-8/A* including 24% at Grade 9, 66% were graded 9-7/A*-A, 85% at 9-6/A*-B and 98% 9-4/A*-C. 98% of students achieved a minimum of 5 GCSE passes including English and Maths.  Incredibly, 75% of students out-performed their predicted grades.

Also in 2019, NAS Dubai’s first cohort of IB Diploma students received an incredibly impressive average of 36.6 points. The school achieved a 100% pass rate, with 25% of students achieving 40 points or more, 65% achieving 35 points or more, and 95% achieving 30 points or more. The school had a relatively small first cohort of 20 students, but our team felt this was a strong signal of intent that the school intends to position itself at, or certainly, near the top of the IB league table in the UAE.

2018 I/GCSE results for the school's second full cohort achieved equally impressive grades, with 36% of results at A* (9-8 under the new GCSE system),65% A*- A (9-7), 90% A*- B (9-6) and 99% A*- C (9-4).

In its early days, the school's first cohort of exam takers in 2016 - those taking Chinese, French, German and Spanish IGCSEs - got either an A or A*in their exams. That was indicative of things to come. For the first full cohort of IGCSE students, the school achieved 71% A* to A and 98% A* to C. This places the school second in the country.

What about the facilities?

NAS Dubai occupies a large rectangular plot of land in Al Barsha South, close to the Hessa Street and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road junction and within reach of all the residential areas around Arabian Ranches, as well as Dubai Sports City, Dubai Investment Park, Emirates Hills and Umm Suqeim.

Access is via a private road and with another school (the Australian International School Dubai, which opened in September 2021) and several other residential buildings nearby, there is no doubt that access to the school is becoming something of a challenge - as commented on by parents in our ongoing school survey.

Despite the issues around traffic and access, the design of the school itself is impressive. The three storey school building itself is L-shape has a very modern appearance, set off by the shading outside the windows. The reception area features a quirky uneven floor (it’s a ‘bridge’, hiding the secret entrance to Early Years!) – something that most visitors to the school seem to remember and mention! Adjacent to the reception area is the parent run café, Chatterbox, surrounded by tables, chairs and sofas, making this a welcoming space and a seemingly natural hub for the school. 

In time for the 2023 academic year, NAS is adding a 5-storey extension which will include a separate Secondary building with a dedicated STEAM Centre and Makerspace, Sixth Form Centre and an additional Auditorium.

Internally, classrooms are set around two large quadrangles that are used for meeting areas and central common areas, including assemblies and other gatherings that do not require use of the impressive 520 seat theatre/auditorium, which is at one end of the building.

The Early Years section is separated from the remainder of the school. Classes sizes in Early Years are now level with the rest of the school at 20 (an increase from 18 reported in our previous review). All Early Years classrooms are ‘double size’ meaning that 40 children share one very large room, with two teachers and four teaching assistants.

Classes circle a well-resourced central play area and we felt that the large double classes and open plan play areas had been sensibly designed with free flow and child initiated learning in mind. The Early Years section also has a dedicated library and an indoor multi-purpose space used for PE.  

What does Nord Anglia International School feel like? Click here for the Nord Anglia International School Experience.

The main building houses the remaining classrooms and specialist teaching areas, including IT labs, a Maker Space and design, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship labs, close to 20 advanced science labs, Art, Food Technology and DT rooms, Music suites with a recording studio, fully sprung floored dance studios, libraries, as well as two canteens serving hot meals and a Hydroponic Farming Space.

NAS Dubai is well equipped for sports facilities, including a full size Rugby pitch, with a two large gymnasium housed on the ground floor and two 25m a purpose-built, shaded outdoor swimming pool areas on the second floor, which includes two pools with two additional learner pools (for non-swimmers and Early Years swimmers) and overlooks the expansive playing fields located at the back of the school site. The work, completed in 2020, has added to these already impressive facilities, creating more sports facilities, language labs and improving the space and facilities for Post 16 students. 

What the Inspectors Say

For this first KHDA inspection in 2016-17, Nord Anglia International School was rated as Good and has continued to improve its performance each year. The achievement of a Very Good rating one year later and only in the second inspection year, indicated that the recommendations from the first report had clearly been acted upon. At the third inspection which took place in February 2019, the school was again rated Very Good.

In line with the KHDA's announcement in September 2019, NAS was not inspected in the 2019-20 academic year, instead receiving a shortened one day visit for which no new inspection report was issued. The school therefore retained its Very Good rating, which stood until the most recent 2022-23 DSIB inspection round, when NAS achieved the top Outstanding rating. 
WhichSchoolAdvisor.com commented after the release of the 2019 report that "the fact that the rating remained Very Good may be regarded as somewhat surprising, given the school improved in 19 of the 81 key measures from Very Good to Outstanding." We are therefore delighted to see that the Outstanding rating has finally been awarded.

In April 2023, the KHDA issued a four page summary report with no strengths or recommendations.  

However, we can say that all measures for Student Achievement for English, Maths, Science and Learning Skills across the school are rated Outstanding.  There have also been improvements to Good in Islamic Education and Arabic as a Second language.  Arabic for native speakers is rated Acceptable across the board.  Every other key performance standard across the school is rated Outstanding.

The full report - released two weeks later - identified the strengths of the school as:

• Excellent leadership and governance, very strong procedures for self-evaluation and school improvement planning and highly engaged parents.
• Students' excellent personal and social development and the school’s dedication to ensuring the wellbeing of all.
• Exceptional standards of teaching, learning and assessment in all phases, leading to consistently outstanding achievements in English, mathematics and science.
• Steadily improving standards of teaching in Islamic Education and Arabic.
• Continued investment in providing excellent, well-resourced facilities as the school grows in popularity.

In terms of areas for improvement, the inspection team could only make one recommendation:

• Embed the improvements in Islamic Education and Arabic by:
  – making more time in lessons to consolidate students' attainment of key knowledge and understanding; and
  – focusing on the development of students' vocabulary in Arabic.

If you would like to read the 22 page KHDA Inspection Report - and we strongly advise that you do so in order to understand the detailed reasons behind the ratings - you may find it here.

The Buzz

The WhichSchoolAdvisor Parent Survey received close to 200 responses which give the school an overall rating of 3.6/5 - a positivity rating of 72%.  Parents indicated that children looked forward to and felt a strong sense of belonging to the school. 79% of parents felt that the academic performance of the school was entirely satisfactory (against a UAE average of 75%). Despite this, a third of respondents had considered moving their child to another school (compared to a UAE average of 25%) and 42% of respondents rely on additional external tuition (UAE 29%).

Whilst 76% of parents were satisfied with feedback from the school (slightly above the UAE average), 73% were satisfied with its disciplinary policy (76% UAE). 83% of parents would fully recommend NAS Dubai to other parents, whilst 10% were not sure.  There was a substantial number of 14% who felt that fees did not represent value for money (39% compared with 55% two years ago felt that they did), whilst 47% partially agreed that they did.

Having met a broad cross section of Nord Anglia parents, we noted how they demonstrate commitment to the community, the ethos of the school and to the functioning of the school itself. There is a Parents’ Association that organises social activities and school events.

Are you a parent, teacher or student at NAS Dubai? Please share your opinions and experience with other potential members of your community by taking our Survey here

In a new development as part of the KHDA's DSIB inspection process, an additional performance measure, which replaces the parent, teacher and students surveys of previous years, focusing on Wellbeing has been introduced.  Schools are now measured on the quality of wellbeing provision and outcome. Nord Anglia was found to offer a Very High level - the highest possible rating.

Inspectors commented that:

• The school prioritises the wellbeing of all. The school has invested heavily in well-being facilities which provide students and staff with spaces to support their emotional well-being. Leaders have adopted a highly successful community approach to the promotion of wellbeing that involves 15 staff members championing six distinct components. Their work underpins the school’s ambitious wellbeing development plan. Although the plan is informed by data, the surveys used do not fully explore all aspects of wellbeing.
• The school has established highly effective systems to care, guide and support all members of the school community. A highly qualified and experienced team ensures that the mental health and wellbeing needs of students, parents and members of staff are met. Student wellbeing champions support the identification of and reduction of barriers to wellbeing, receiving weekly training and deploy these approaches in the school.
• The school has implemented a dynamic curriculum that responds to students' needs, although it is not yet fully linked to moral education or mapped across the wider school curriculum. Surveys of students inform the wellbeing curriculum, which includes the explicit teaching of social and emotional skills. This in turn leads to a set of priorities and strategies to support each year group, including awareness events and guest speakers. Students are confident, demonstrating very positive attitudes to their learning in this caring and respectful environment.

Our View

WhichSchoolAdvisor.com has been a strong proponent of Nord Anglia International School Dubai since its earliest days.  We have seen it grow from its first year (when it had around 600 students), to the present day when that number has increased almost four-fold.

Throughout that time, we have been consistently impressed by the leadership of the school, its obvious ambition, but also care and support, for its students, innovative curriculum options and facilities and a focus on ensuring that each student is provided with the resources and skilled teaching to enable him or her to achieve his or her potential. Whether this is through academic support or via the Enrichment programme which includes Sports and Athletics, the Nord Anglia Music Academy, Performing Arts, the NAS Language Academy or DICE (Design, Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship), students have numerous ways in which to engage with their learning.

The achievement of the KHDA's Outstanding rating was overdue in our view, and we are therefore delighted to see that NAS Dubai has finally received the recognition it deserves.

What are the Fees?

Nord Anglia International School Dubai clearly considers itself one of the emirate's top-tier schools, and fees do reflect that. Fees range from AED 66,302 in Nursery (FS1) to AED 100,264 for Year 13. The school does also offer a discount on full payment of fees at the start of the academic year.  Sibling discounts are also available.

NOTE: Nord Anglia School Dubai declined to allow our team to take candid photos during our visit (their reason: child safeguarding).  The photographs above are professionally taken and were supplied by the school.  

This school is in a Best School by parents ranking

Nord Anglia International School Dubai is a Best of school, a ranking determined by parent surveys on the site. It can be found in the following Best of rankings:

• #147 in Best Schools in the UAE
• #30 in Best IB Schools in Dubai
• #34 in Best A Level Schools in Dubai
• #59 in Best British Schools in Dubai
• #96 in Best Schools in Dubai
• #30 in Best IB DP Schools in Dubai
• #12 in Best Ultra-premium Schools in the UAE
• #11 in Best Ultra-premium Schools in Dubai

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