“We have a waiting list for that year group.” For a parent, it can be hard to know what to make of that. Is it good news or bad?

Usually it is neither. It’s information, and it is much more useful once you know what it does and doesn’t mean.

Is it a queue?

Not in the way most people imagine. When a place comes up, many schools don’t simply offer it to the next family in line. They may look at which applicant best fits the year group, whether there are siblings already at the school, how a child did in assessment, and when each family is actually arriving. Every school does this a little differently. So a position on a list, even if the school tells you what it is, is rarely a reliable guide to whether you’ll get a place.

Why do places come up?

Dubai has a very mobile population. Families leave as well as arrive, and places can open up unexpectedly, sometimes just before term and sometimes during the year. A school with a long list for one year group may have space in another. It is worth keeping in touch with a school rather than assuming a list means no.

What should I ask the school?

  • In your view, is the list for this year group long or short?
  • How do you offer places when they come up? Do siblings have priority?
  • Has my child been assessed, or would that happen only once a place is available?
  • How much notice would we have to accept an offer?
  • Is there a fee to join the list or be assessed, and is any of it refundable?

What should we do while we wait?

Don’t pin everything on one school. Secure a good place elsewhere so that your child has somewhere to start, and understand the terms of any offer you accept, especially deposits and notice periods. Stay in touch with the school you’d prefer, so that you can move quickly if a place comes up. And decide in advance whether a mid-year move would be right for your child, so that a late offer can be weighed calmly rather than in a rush.

Sometimes the school you were waiting for is worth the wait. Quite often, though, families find that the school they secured suits their child better than they expected.