Choosing schools for brothers and sisters with different needs
One school for everyone is simpler. It is not always right. Here is how to think it through.
Insights
Practical guidance on some of the questions families ask most often about schools in the UAE.
This is general guidance. Every family’s situation is different, and the details at individual schools change from year to year.
One school for everyone is simpler. It is not always right. Here is how to think it through.
Most families expect an entrance exam. In practice it depends on your child’s age, the school and the curriculum, and it is rarely the whole picture.
Places do come up during the year. The trick is finding out where, quickly, before spending time on visits.
A school visit is a short, carefully organised window. These are the things worth noticing while you are there.
As soon as the move looks likely. But plenty of families start late and still do well, and it helps to know what to do first.
Which is better, British or IB? It’s one of the first questions families ask, and the honest answer is that it depends on the child.
Being told a school has a waiting list isn’t a yes or a no. How to read it, and how to plan while you wait.
In Dubai, the school run shapes daily life. Why it helps to decide on home and school together, and roughly in which order.
Moving in the exam years can work well, but there is less room for mistakes. The questions to ask, and when to ask them.
Much will feel familiar, but some things won’t. What carries over from a UK independent school, what tends to differ, and what to ask when you visit.
One school for everyone, or the right school for each child? How to plan a search for brothers and sisters of different ages.
If you are thinking any of this through for your own family, a first conversation takes around thirty minutes and there is no charge.
Request a free introductory callor message on WhatsApp
Elizabeth replies personally, usually within the same working day.