Dubai's new premium British school aims to pursue 'culture of entrepreneurship'

Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City, the first Gulf outpost of the north London state school, will open next month and aims to position itself as a premium British education provider with annual fees ranging from Dh93,000 to Dh136,604 for its initial nursery to Year 8 age groups. Developed in partnership with global education provider Gedu, the coeducational school will initially enrol about 350 to 400 pupils and is designed to expand to a maximum capacity of roughly 2,000 students through to age 18. Founding families will receive a 25 per cent discount on tuition costs.

"Queen Elizabeth’s certainly has that. It’s been three or four times Sunday Times school of the year and regularly is at the top or very close to the top of any league table academically," said Dan Clark, the school’s founding principal, explaining why the institution had the national significance required to launch internationally.

Facilities and curricular focus

The Dubai campus features more than 80 classrooms, science, robotics and innovation labs, a creative arts wing with studios and a theatre, wellness zones and E-sports labs. Pupils will also have access to facilities within Dubai Sports City, including five outdoor football pitches, a full-sized indoor football pitch, a 400-metre athletics stadium, all-weather tennis courts and a table tennis centre of excellence.

• Initial year groups: nursery up to Year 8 (age 12), expanding by one year group annually.
• Maximum class sizes: 12 for the youngest children, up to 20 for senior pupils.
• Academic programmes: will teach GCSE and A-level courses.

Mr Clark said many of the families enrolled so far — around three-quarters UK nationals — seek "a British prep school feeling" characterised by community, structure, uniform, homework and discipline. "Families want that structure and rigour and that’s what we’re very keen to bring," he said, adding the school will be "unapologetically and relentlessly focused on academic ambition for young people." He emphasised that the school is as intent on strong teaching and learning as on world-class facilities.

Entrepreneurship and future pathways

While academic attainment is a clear priority, the school is also building programmes to foster entrepreneurship and innovation. "AI is driving the economy in a way that I think is unprecedented," Mr Clark said. "My strongly held view is that many more young people will enter the world of work not as graduates necessarily, but as entrepreneurs, setting up their own businesses. We’re working really hard to build a programme to incubate that culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in the school."

Mr Clark noted his familiarity with US university entry processes and signalled that the school expects diverse post‑school pathways for pupils, including direct entry into the workforce and entrepreneurial routes as well as traditional university progression.

Context: expansion of UK-linked schools in the UAE

Queen Elizabeth’s joins a growing number of UK-affiliated schools opening in the UAE. An outpost of Rugby School launches next month in Nad Al Sheba in partnership with Aldar Education, taking over the former Kent College Dubai campus. Harrow Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island will debut as a day and boarding school in the coming academic year, alongside Harrow Dubai. Epsom College is planning an Abu Dhabi school in 2028 and a Dubai branch in 2030. Established British-linked schools in the UAE include Repton Dubai (since 2007) and Brighton College branches in Abu Dhabi (2011), Al Ain (2013) and Dubai (2018).

Enrolment at Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City recovered after a dip in March linked to regional conflict, Mr Clark said, with the school set to open progressively to full secondary provision and A‑levels as year groups are added.