The British School Al Khubairat
About The British School Al Khubairat
The British School Al Khubairat (BSAK) is a not-for-profit, co-educational British day school for ages 3 to 18 in Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, just off Airport Road. Founded in 1968 on land donated by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and established by Amiri Decree No. 5 of 1971, it is the British Embassy School in the UAE, under the patronage of the British Ambassador, and describes itself as academically non-selective. It follows the Early Years Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum for England, with UAE Ministry of Education subjects taught in Arabic, from FS1 to Year 13: GCSEs and International GCSEs in Years 10 and 11, then 24 A Levels and six BTEC and vocational qualifications (Business, Engineering, Esports, Hospitality, performing arts and Sport) in a Sixth Form of nearly 300 students. ADEK rated it Outstanding at its November 2025 inspection, when it had 2,028 students, 156 teachers and 103 teaching assistants. Its most recent British Schools Overseas inspection, by Penta International in October 2023, found that it meets the BSO standards and judged the quality of education outstanding. In 2026, 69% of its A Level grades were A*-A, with a 100% pass rate, and 66% of its GCSE grades were 9-7; the school names Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, LSE, Imperial College, Harvard, MIT, Cornell, Stanford and Brown among its alumni's universities. As a not-for-profit school, it reinvests every dirham in the school.
Fees read from the school's published 2026-27 fee schedule; ADEK rating from its 2025-26 inspection report. Last checked 28 September 2026. How Talem verifies →
Annual tuition fees
Fees for 2026/2027, per year group. Excludes registration, uniform, and transport.
Tuition is the school's own Tuition Fees table, identical in every year group to ADEK's approved fees for 2026-2027 (licence 9119), which are unchanged from the 2025-2026 approval the school posts; ADEK's figures are the most the school may charge. The school's fee page carries no academic year. Nursery (FS1) is priced two ways: a Core Day at AED 45,560 and an Extended Day at AED 51,410, the rate ADEK approves for FS1 and the rate charged in Reception (FS2). There are no additional charges for textbooks and materials, and the school gives no fee discounts to parents or staff, whatever the number of children in the family (Fees Policy, approved November 2024). The Music Scholar Programme (Years 10 to 13) is not a financial scholarship.
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ADEK Rating
ADEK 2025–2026 inspection
Stages & pathways
Early Years (EYFS)
FS1-FS2Nursery (FS1) and Reception (FS2) follow the Early Years Foundation Stage: children learn through play and exploration, with focused times for phonics, writing and maths. Specialist teachers take Arabic, PE and Music from Nursery, and swimming lessons begin in Reception.
Primary
Years 1-6Years 1 to 6 follow the National Curriculum for England (2014), adapted to the UAE, with Arabic taught in native and non-native streams from Year 1. Specialist teachers take Music, PE and swimming, Spanish from Year 2 (with a term of French in Year 6) and Arabic; Years 3 to 6 have weekly Computer Science in a dedicated lab and over 60 co-curricular activities to choose from.
Secondary
Years 7-9Years 7 to 9 follow a common curriculum based on the National Curriculum for England and UAE Ministry of Education subjects, including French and Spanish, drama, design and technology, computer science, digital fluency and MELS (moral education and life skills). Students choose their GCSE options in Year 9, supported by the Head of Year 9 and the careers team.
GCSE and IGCSE
Years 10-11Every student can sit nine GCSEs or IGCSEs. English Language and Literature, mathematics and science (Double Award or separate sciences) are compulsory, and UAE and Arab League passport holders also take Ministry Arabic. In 2026, 66% of GCSE grades were 9-7, 90% were 9-5 and 98% were 9-4.
Sixth Form (A Level & BTEC)
Years 12-13Nearly 300 students choose from 24 A Levels, the Extended Project Qualification and six BTEC and vocational qualifications: Business, Engineering, Esports, Hospitality, performing arts (RSL) and Sport. In 2026, 69% of A Level grades were A*-A and 89% A*-B, with a 100% pass rate.
How to apply
Facilities
Science & Innovation Centre
A science and innovation block that opened at the start of the 2023-24 year (BSO report, October 2023); ADEK's November 2025 report notes its recent completion and fully equipped science and technology laboratories. The former science labs were upgraded into a Sixth Form area.
Theatre, Auditorium & Conference Hall
Concerts and productions are held in the school's Theatre and Auditorium (music calendar 2026/27), including two large-scale drama productions a year; ADEK's May 2023 report records a theatre, performance spaces and a conference hall.
25m Pool & Beginner Pool
A 25m pool and a beginner pool: swimming lessons run from Reception to Year 6 (Primary Handbook 2026/27), and the Primary and Secondary Swim Squads train four times a week.
Sports Halls, Dance Studio & Gym
A Primary Sports Hall, a Secondary Sports Hall and a Dance Studio (the school's after-school providers list, 2025), and a refurbished gym open to Sixth Form students before, during and after school (Sixth Form Booklet 2025/26).
Primary, Secondary & Outdoor Libraries
A Primary Library of over 30,000 titles over two floors (Primary Handbook 2026/27), a Secondary Library and an e-library (ADEK, November 2025), and an Outdoor Library in the Primary playground since the start of 2024.
Music Department & Recording Studio
On the second floor of the Phase 4 Building (Instrumental Handbook 2026/27), with a soundproof rehearsal space connected to a 21-track recording studio with a drum kit, upright piano, Yamaha speakers and a mixing desk. A team of 16 full-time professional musicians delivers one-to-one instrumental tuition and performance opportunities for over 550 students.
Four Art Studios
The award-winning Secondary Art Department is home to four well-equipped studios, with pathways in Fine Art, Photography and Graphic Design at GCSE and A Level.
Esports Lab
An Esports Lab built to industry standards, used by the BTEC Esports course and the school's esports clubs (BTEC Brochure 2025/26).
Extra-curricular activities
School leadership
Mark Leppard MBE
Headmaster
Headmaster of BSAK, named as Headmaster in every Board of Governors' annual report from 2015-16 to 2024-25. HMC's schools directory lists him as Head, and ADEK's November 2025 inspection report names him as Principal.
Elaine Rawlings
Head of Primary
Nigel Davis
Head of Secondary
Ellie Edgar
Deputy Head of Primary
Pete Collings
Deputy Head of Primary
John Foster
Deputy Head of Secondary
Gareth Jones
Deputy Head of Secondary
Jeff Payne
Assistant Head of Primary
Charlotte McDowell
Assistant Head of Primary
Sam Walter
Assistant Head of Primary
Nichola Cooper
Assistant Head of Secondary
Michael Byrne
Assistant Head of Secondary
Steve Oakes
Assistant Head of Secondary
Duncan Ogilvie
Assistant Head of Secondary
Karen Collings
Head of Admissions
Faisal Raja
Chair, Board of Governors
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Questions & answers
Where we are
Building 25, Um Salamah Street, Al Mushrif (off Airport Road), Abu Dhabi, UAE
