New Child Admission to Dubai schools
Hi Advisors – (Long Message warning.. 
)
We are going to move to Dubai for the first time in April mid and my office will be based out of Dubai Internet City. Obviously schools are topmost on our mind before we choose where to live. Request your help in answering the below doubts to alleviate our concerns. Appreciate your responses.
1) My son was born on 30 Aug 2013 and has completed Junior KG in India (1 level above nursery in India). I believe that’s same as FS-2 in Dubai. Please clarify
2) Basis the age limit rule, what level FS/Year/KG will he be eligible for? Would he need to repeat the year he has just successfully completed?
3) Since it will take sometime for the residence visas to be processed (expecting by 1st of June 2018), will Indian schools which start in April itself be able to accept him mid year? OR will we need to try other curriculum schools which begin in September? Is that too close to comfort?
4) What schools are recommended in the areas such as Al barsha, Emirates Hills, Meadows, Jebel Ali, Jumeriah 1, Jumeriah 3 which are not too far from Dubai Internet City.
5) Will schools consider evaluation of the student and admission processing prior to residence visa being issued (while on tourist visas)?
Thank you in advance!!
Thanks for your message. Schools start dates are based on a child’s age in the UAE during the Early Years. Since your son is already 4 , he will be able to join an Indian curriculum school in KG1 in April 2018 or FS2 in a UK curriculum school in September.
Indian Schools will consider your application in June provided the visa has been issued – assuming that there is availability. You should contact the schools on arrival and prior to the issue of the visas to ensure that you can find a place for your son. It would be wise to consider UK curriculum schools also. Schools vary in terms of whether they will accept applications and carry out assessment prior to the issue of the visas. Generally UK curriculum schools seem more flexible in this context.
We would not recommend specific schools to you as we believe parents are best able to judge which school is most suited to their child. However, you can search by both location and curriculum in the areas of interest to you and then check the reviews on the site for our opinion. The search function can be found in the top left corner of the site. We would recommend that you create a short-list and aim to visit the schools in order to see which may be the best option for you.
Good Luck with your relocation.
