Although there is a perception that the US curriculum is less pressurised than Indian and British curricula, in reality, as students progress through Senior school, expectations are equally high. My advice would be to consider the longer term, in respect of where you see your older child moving onto post Secondary school.  If the intention is that he will return to college or university in India, it probably  makes sense to continue in the CBSE curriculum.

Schools in the UAE are very used to educating students of all abilities, and are monitored and inspected on a regular basis (annually in Dubai) by the local regulator, the KHDA.  You will find that the inspection reports, which are published for each school on WhichSchoolAdvisor.com under the Inspection tab, provide detailed information about the school’s processes in terms of teaching appropriately to the abilities of each child. In addition, there is a very strong focus on student wellbeing and this is also assessed and reported on. Our advice would be to check the inspection reports and reviews for any school that you are considering.  Don’t simply focus on the overall inspection rating, but read the full report to get an understanding of how the school is performing across all key performance standards in each section of the school.  The latest reports for the 2022-23 academic have only very recently been issued, so the information is up to date.

If you are considering an international university education for your children, then it may be worth considering other curricula although the CBSE is recognised in most countries (including the US and UK).  The US and UK curricula are much more aimed at encouraging students to learn independently, through their own research and creative thinking, guided by teachers, rather than the more teacher-led approach within CBSE schools (although again the best CBSE and CICSE schools are also much more focused towards this form of pedagogy). US and UK curriculum schools also tend to have a much broader curriculum in terms of Arts in particular, as opposed to the focus on Commerce and Science for the most part in many UAE Indian curriculum schools.

It may be worth considering a change, but we would definitely not advise the British curriculum for your older child, as he would be joining Year 10 which is the first of the two year I/GCSE programme, and it is likely to be far too big a change.  Grade 9 in the US curriculum is also likely to be challenging, but there are no public examinations at that stage within US curriculum schools, although his performance will count towards his overall GPA at graduation. We would suggest that if you wish to pursue the other curriculum options, you reach out to schools that you may wish to consider and ask for their feedback in terms of whether they feel it wise to move your child at this point.  In terms of your younger son, it would be much easier for him to switch curriculum, but presumably you would wish to keep both children together at the same school.

Hi Suman,

The short answer is yes, your children could still expect to be able to study at university internationally if they complete their education in the CBSE curriculum, but they are likely to need to take additional tests – notably for English language such as IELTS or TOEFL – and not all universities to which you may wish to apply will be as familiar with the CBSE curriculum as they are with the UK curriculum.  Your current school should be able to advise you on the process for international university applications and the support that is offered.  They should also be able to tell you to which universities internationally former students have applied.  You may feel more reassured if you have this information.

Further to your message, the choice of curriculum is in part based on the background of the family and their experience, but also on availability of school places for children entering at KG and also on the future plans and ambitions they may have for their family.

The CBSE or ICSE curricula are highly regarded and the majority of families from the sub-continent will automatically consider one or other of these two Indian curricula as the natural choice for their children.  In reality, the number of Indian curriculum schools is much lower than the number of British curriculum schools in the UAE and historically, families have ended up in a British curriculum school for reasons of availability of places, but also because Indians are familiar with the British curriculum to some degree, given the historical associations.

Indian families also seem to feel that the CBSE curriculum (the vast majority of Indian curriculum schools offer this) is more rigorous, and for families who intend their children to carry on to university in India, this is again the logical choice. The British curriculum is often regarded as not as rigorous as there has not generally been the exam culture in true British curriculum schools that there is in the Indian.

However, the CBSE and ICSE curricula are evolving; moving away from testing and examinations until much later stages in the education process – it is notable that increasingly, Indian curriculum schools are adopting a similar approach to the British curriculum Early Years Foundation Stage, for KG children, which is play-based learning, and the practice of rote learning (memorisation and repetition) of which the Indian curricula have long been known, is being replaced by a more enquiry-based approach, where students learn to research and investigate to work out the answers themselves.

There are many British curriculum schools that are in essence still Indian schools, in so far as the leaders and teachers are predominantly from the sub-continent, and in choosing a school, it is important to understand whether the teaching methodology is a more updated one, using current techniques, or whether it is still the more traditional.  The KHDA inspection reports and also the reviews on WhichSchoolAdvisor.com can shed light on this.

Finally, if you are considering sending your child to university outside India, s/he will find it easier potentially to find a place overseas with an international school qualification such as British or IB, as both are recognised worldwide.  Having said that, by the time your child reaches the age to consider university, the type and way of delivering their education, under whichever curriculum, is likely to be very different to today.

At this stage, the curriculum is probably less relevant than finding a school which you feel is right for your child, taking into account location (so your daughter is not going to spend hours on a bus each day) and fees.  We always recommend that parents visit the schools they are considering to get a real sense of the look and feel of it.  Rather like buying a house, there are many that may fit the criteria, but often only one that feels like home.

I understand the dilemma that you are faced with but there is a great deal of research that suggests it is better to be the oldest in the class rather than the youngest, both in terms of the child’s academic, emotional and social development.  FS1 and pre-KG are essentially the same grade and the activities that your son will participate in will be very similar – all schools at this stage focus essentially on learning through play.  Any good school will also recognise your son’s talents and ensure that they are developed.  My advice would be to place him in pre-KG where he will have an opportunity to develop and move on within the same school as your son.

Thanks for your question.  This is quite complicated but I believe that your daughter would need to have completed Grade 10 (the equivalent of Year 11 in the UK system) in order to join Year 12 in August 2022.  I do not believe that the Foundation courses would be relevant; however, to continue to Year 12, she would not be permitted to be out of school for Semester 1 of 2022, based on current KHDA regulations, and would need to therefore continue with Grade 11 for the first semester.

I would advise you to contact the schools to which you may be seeking admission for your daughter, as it is as much about whether they feel she would adapt to the UK curriculum based on her previous academic record and interests, as it is about the regulatory situation.

Hi Rajasuganya,

It is the parents’ responsibility to arrange transport to and from school. Where a school does not provide transport to your home, you would need to arrange this either by public transport or private (taxi, driver etc.).  One option may be to see whether there are other families at the school who also require or have arranged transport to your area – often parents share such arrangements.  The school or its Parents’ Association may be able to help put you in contact with such parents. Ultimately, if you cannot find a means to bring your child to school, you really have only two options – change the school or change your accommodation.

The minimum age requirement in KG2 in CBSE schools is 5 years by 31st March.  As your daughter will not reach this age until October 2022, she will only be eligible for KG1.  Age takes precedence over previous educational experience for all children until Grade 2, so there is no alternative, I’m afraid.

The revised cut-off dates (which are actually a return to those of several years ago) will be strictly applied by all schools in the UAE without exception.  Irrespective of assessment etc., there is no flexibility in this regard.  We can only suggest that you place your son in nursery if he does not already attend one, since this will enable him to develop his social and emotional skills to ready him for school.

Good schools will certainly assess your son once he begins school and will ensure that he receives the appropriate academic challenge.  There is plentiful evidence that starting school at a later age has a positive rather than negative impact.  Many countries to do not start formal education until children reach the age of six, including Australia, Germany and most Scandinavian countries.  He will not therefore be disadvantaged by waiting an additional year.

Hi Anjita,

You can use the school search function on WhichSchoolAdvisor.com to find schools by location, curriculum and fees among other options.  Simply use the following links: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/schools-by-city/abu-dhabi or https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-search.  Once you have used the search functions, you can then short list the schools that are of interest to you and check the reviews and ADEK inspection reports to narrow your choices further.

HI Anjali,

There is no requirement to send children to school for FS1/pre-KG.  In fact most UAE schools, aside from the British curriculum (which follows the practice in England), do not offer pre-KG.  Children are also not legally obliged to join school until the academic year in which they are turning 6 years.  However, as it is the norm for British curriculum schools to start education with FS1, many parents feel obliged to do so.  However, it is also quite common for children to stay in nursery for the equivalent of FS1, or to send their child directly to FS2.

The only challenge you may face is that not all schools increase the number of places available for FS2 (assuming that they will have children moving up from FS1 to take these).  You will, therefore, need to reach out to schools to apply for FS2 well in advance.  Most schools will start applications almost immediately they have completed the enrollment processes for the current school year (so probably by the end of September/early October).