We are a British family currently living in the UK, we have 2 children 3 & 4 and my primary concern before we choose where to live in Dubai is their education. I have being researching the schools and am aware some are not even worth applying to due to waiting lists. We want UK curriculum and are getting very mixed feedback, we have had some school tours and they are all impressive in different ways. We then are being told conflicting information on whether to stick to private or non profit schools. Any advice at all is truly appreciated.

This is one of the most difficult tasks when moving to Dubai.  The ‘not for profit’ schools such as Dubai English Speaking School, Jumeirah English Speaking School and Jebel Ali are also some of the most established schools in Dubai therefore have a lot of experience and history and are always difficult to get into however, it is certainly worth giving them a try and they are all excellent.  Dubai English Speaking School (DESS) is the oldest English Curriculum School in Dubai and as Dubai has grown is not in any of the residential areas but if there were spaces areas such as Jumeirah 1 & 2, The Villa, Mirdiff and Garhoud are all accessible to the school.

More and more schools have opened up in recent years and it is true they are for profit however, they are inspected annually by a government body called KHDA who rate the schools from outstanding through to unsatisfactory so it is worth looking at the KHDA website.  Many of these schools have excellent facilities and are recruiting great teachers from the UK.  Availability for spaces for this age group is always in high demand however I would recommend you investigate schools such as Kings School (all branches), Victory Heights Primary, Nord Anglia, Foremarke and Safa Community School.  Please see our school directory for contact details.