← Back to homeThe British International School Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE · est. 2009 · Private
Illustration · Abu Dhabi
A British school behind the campus of Abu Dhabi University, open since 2009 and grown to around 2,500 pupils aged 3 to 18. It is not the Nord Anglia school that works on Al Reem Island: that one opened separately in 2023. The programme is British, every lesson is in English, Arabic is compulsory, from Year 3 French, Spanish and German are added as options, and Muslim pupils take Islamic studies. The secondary school leads out to the Cambridge IGCSE examinations: five compulsory subjects - English language and literature, mathematics, science and physical education - plus three chosen from a wide range that runs from media and economics to photography and history. The sixth form has three exits: the International Baccalaureate diploma, the BTEC International Level 3 vocational qualification and the school's own diploma. The campus was purpose-built and covers more than 25,000 square metres: heated indoor pools, an air-conditioned sports hall, grass pitches, an arts centre with a 524-seat auditorium, three music rooms, dance and drama studios, laboratories with robotics and three-dimensional printing, and libraries holding more than 15,000 books. After-school clubs the school counts at around two hundred, but a list of them by name it does not post: only a few are named, along with four large partnerships - Juilliard for music, drama and dance, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for STEAM, IMG Academy for sport and UNICEF for the sustainable development goals. The number of nationalities disagrees with itself: the about section says "over 95 nationalities", while the admissions page and the prospectus say "more than 90". Numbers of teachers and ratios to pupils the school gives nowhere at all, though it does publish class sizes by stage. A summer camp of its own it does not announce: in place of one there are trips and residential visits, from Al Ain and Khor Fakkan to Spain, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and a citizenship expedition to Arusha in Tanzania. The school day runs from 7:40 to 15:00 Monday to Thursday and to 11:30 on Friday.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $14 759–20 954 a year
54 204–76 952 AED
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · IGCSE
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Arabic, French, Spanish, German
Class size
early years up to 20, primary an average of 24, secondary and sixth form from 15 to 20 pupils
Registration fee
≈ $817
3 000 AED
About the fees The 2026/27 scale is annual and goes by stage: the nursery group 54,204 dirhams, the FS2 reception year 56,090, Years 1 to 5 pay 68,259, Years 6 to 11 pay 69,881, and Years 12 and 13 pay 76,952. The fee is spread over ten months through the Zenda payment platform: four payments in the autumn term, three in the spring and three in the summer. The sibling discount starts only with a fourth child in the family: 7.5 per cent for a fourth and 10 per cent for a fifth. Uniform, additional learning support and examination fees are not included: those are set by the external examination boards, and the school adds its own administrative charge of 400 dirhams for GCSE and the International Baccalaureate.
Admissions Admission is open and there are no restrictions by nationality: the school says so plainly, "no nationality restrictions", and takes children from 3 to 18 at any level of preparation, "students of all abilities". Children from more than 90 countries are at the school now. Every applicant sits an assessment chosen for the age: fluency in English, writing and cognitive skills are checked, because all lessons are in English. Weak English is not a refusal - for such children there is a separate EAL service, and for children with special needs a SEN service. A child can join at any point in the school year if there is a place; the school reckons two to three weeks from a first enquiry to an offer. Priority goes only to the younger brothers and sisters of children already at the school. A list of documents and application deadlines the school does not give on its admissions page and sends families to the admissions office for them.
Stages and year groups Grades Nursery - Year 13. The path is split into four stages: early years from 3 to 5, primary from 5 to 11, secondary from 11 to 16 and sixth form from 16 to 18. The secondary stage divides into Key Stage 3 (11 to 14) and IGCSE (14 to 16), after which the sixth form offers three exits: the International Baccalaureate diploma, the BTEC International Level 3 vocational qualification and the school's own BISAD Diploma. Class sizes the school publishes by stage: in early years classes no more than 20 children to a teacher and two assistants, in primary an average of 24 to a teacher and an assistant, and in secondary and the sixth form from 15 to 20. A total number of classes the school does not give.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · IGCSE · authorised programmeNord Anglia Education · school is part of the networkschool is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
CambridgeCambridge International Education
Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: IGCSE (ages 14-16). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →IBDP
The International Baccalaureate: programmes of a Swiss organisation, among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Each stage is authorised separately, so a school may hold one of them, two, or all four. DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
What this means for this school. Authorisation for each stage is granted by the organisation itself after an on-site visit, and a school has to go through it again every few years. Every authorised school in the world stands in the open register at ibo.org, where the status can be checked independently. The IB diploma is awarded by the organisation rather than by the school, and the papers are marked by external examiners, so a leaver's grade does not depend on how strict their own school is with them.
Nord Anglia Educationschool network
A group of international schools of the full cycle, day and boarding. The numbers on its site diverge: the "About Nord Anglia" page speaks of 89 schools in 37 countries, the "Our schools" and "Our global network" pages - of 90, the "All schools" page - of "90+"; pupils are more than 100,000 everywhere. Whether the group owns the schools, manages them under contract or gives its methodology under licence is not said on its pages. The year of foundation and the country of registration are not named there.
What this means for this school. The network owns or operates the school. Its accreditation and programme authorisation the school obtains separately, in its own name.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
34.69 (world average 30.88)
Exam results The 2026 cohort was the largest in the school's history: 95 sat the International Baccalaureate diploma, with an average score of 34.69 and a pass rate of 98.9 per cent. Two scored 44 points out of the 45 possible, three scored 43, forty points and above were reached by 20 per cent of the leavers and thirty-five and above by 48 per cent, and three took a bilingual diploma. The BTEC International Level 3 qualification was passed in full: 100 per cent passing, 56 per cent at the top grade Distinction*, 33 per cent at Distinction and 11 per cent at Merit, with five taking the maximum D*D*D*. For the Cambridge examinations the school gives figures for 2025: 52 per cent of all grades at A and above, and 91 per cent in the range from A* to C. Its average diploma score the school compares with the world one: 34 against 30.5.
Where leavers go: University of Cambridge · University of Oxford · Imperial College London · UCL · University of Edinburgh · Durham University · University of Warwick · University of Bristol · University of Bath · New York University · NYU Abu Dhabi · UCLA and others, 31 universities in the school's list in all
Facilities from the school's official website
✓Swimming poolheated indoor pools
✓Sports hallan air-conditioned multi-purpose sports hall and a large fitness suite
✓Laboratoriesscience laboratories with robotics, virtual reality and three-dimensional printing, a computing room, a design and technology workshop
✓Theatre or assembly hallan arts centre with a 524-seat auditorium
✓Libraryprimary and secondary school libraries, more than 15,000 books
✓Cateringa canteen, meals cooked by ADNH Compass, a nut-free campus
✓School transportschool buses across the city run by the operator Shanawaz Transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground · Makerspace
Campus: purpose-built, more than 25,000 square metres, a separate early years zone and an Eco-Edventure area
Clubs and activities (200): Duke of Edinburgh's International Award (from Year 9) · Drama Production CCA · Rock Band CCA · chamber orchestra · dance groups · STEAM programme with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology · physical education programme with IMG Academy · sustainable development goals programme with UNICEF
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: the school recruits only native English speakers with British qualified teacher status or its equivalent: "We only recruit native English speakers who have UK qualified teacher status (or equivalent)"
By name the school gives only its leadership: the principal Alan Cocker, more than thirty years in education and more than twenty of them in leadership posts; the head of primary John Dibdin, more than twenty years in primary education; the head of secondary and sixth form Dave MacCormick, fifteen years in education and seven as a head. A total number of teachers and a ratio to pupils the school publishes on no page at all, so the load can be judged only by the class sizes it gives by stage. Staff training is arranged through the group: the Nord Anglia University platform with a route to a master's degree, partnerships with Evidence Based Education and the British National College for Teaching, joint research projects every year, and a separate fund for personal development that pays for such things as International Baccalaureate diploma coaching and a mental health first aid course. Hiring is done with background checks and a certificate of good conduct.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school posts around forty policies as separate files, and three of them cover this ground: a Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy in its 2026 version, a Student Mental Health Policy and a School Clinic Policy - which means there is a clinic on the campus. Beside them lie a wellbeing policy, an inclusion policy, In-School Specialist Services and a Shelter in Place Policy for taking cover inside the building. Staff are hired with background checks and a certificate of good conduct, and a mental health first aid course is among the things the school pays for out of its development fund.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)84 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data95 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country