Increasingly in Abu Dhabi parents are securing their children educational placements based on British International Schooling standard. Expatriates in the region seem to be gravitating toward those establishments offering a sophisticated British International curriculum that include international GCSE and IB certification and away from traditional educational systems based on their country of origin. Many parents view the British International Curriculum as providing the best foundation for their children to go on to secure sought after college and university placements in the UK and USA after growing up in Abu Dhabi.



Taking this one step further many of the British International School's are starting to highlight the fact that a child's social, intellectual, moral and physical development is just as important as academic achievement. The text ?Each child is an individual whose personal interests, emotions, motivations, needs and aspirations are understood by caring, highly qualified professionals? is taken directly from the British International School In Abu Dhabi (BISabudhabi.com) website and goes to show exactly how attitudes to learning in the GCC are fast becoming aliened with those of private British Education Establishments.

Of course there is still a strong sense of focus placed on a child's reading ability, about third grade, children reach a level of reading competency which allows them to read independently for the purpose of gathering information and learning new skills. At this point, a whole world opens up to them. Once children have a good level of reading proficiency they are equipped with at least one of the tools that allows them pursue interests of their own, and teachers and parents will take advantage of this phenomenon by offering a wide range of outside school extracurricular activities.

Contrary to popular opinion British international schools based outside the UK have an incredibly high success rate when compared to their UK based counterparts, for example Nord Anglia's schools were above global averages at all age levels, with a pass rate of 90% on average in IB and the focus on personal development is reinforced by the fact that teachers at BISAD for example are required to provide at least one after schools activity per week throughout the year. After school activities are a vital part of the life of the school not only at BISAD but at educational facilities in Abu Dhabi as a whole.

Of course your child's education is your first priority and if you are looking to move to Abu Dhabi as an Expatriate worker considering your child's education options is critical. Most companies will provide expatriate workers with an allowance for Schooling if requested and with K12 and BISAD recognising the profound influence that teachers have on young minds choosing a School based on a British International Curriculum should certainly be considered when choosing your school. As an educator myself (in the distant past) I choose the British International School in Abu Dhabi as the bedrock for my child's education simply because of the emphasis placed on my child's development although a Google Search for ?British International Schools in Abu Dhabi? will present the diligent researcher with a number of options.