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The Aquila School is a British curriculum primary school in Dubai for children aged 5 to 11, covering Years 1 to 6. Our campus is in Wadi Al Safa 5, in the heart of Dubailand, close to The Villa and Villanova. The school opened in 2018 as part of the International Schools Partnership (ISP), a global family of 118 schools in 25 countries, and Aquila families come from more than 90 nationalities. Dubai’s KHDA rates the school Good, and the 2025 British Schools Overseas inspection rated it Outstanding in every area.
Primary is where independence takes root. Pupils study the English National Curriculum’s core subjects of English, maths and science alongside Arabic, Islamic Studies and moral, social and cultural studies, with Spanish from Year 3 and swimming every week. Teaching is hands-on and enquiry-led from the very start, in the safe, happy environment the whole school is built around.
The essentials in one place, for families comparing British schools in Dubai and shortlisting the best primary school in Dubai for their child.
Ages
5 to 11 years
Year groups
Year 1 to Year 6
Location
Wadi Al Safa 5, Dubailand, Dubai, close to The Villa and Villanova communities
Opened
2018. Part of the International Schools Partnership from the start
Inspection ratings
Good from Dubai’s KHDA, with the Foundation Stage rated Outstanding and inclusion and wellbeing rated Very Good (2024). Outstanding in all areas from BSO (2025)
Community
More than 90 nationalities. A Guinness World Record for uniting 73 nationalities in one history lesson (2021)
Core subjects
English language, maths, science
Wider subjects
Computing, art and design, design and technology, history, geography, PSHE, Spanish, physical education, swimming, music
UAE Ministry of Education subjects
Arabic language for all pupils; Islamic Studies for Muslim pupils; moral, social and cultural studies from Year 2
Languages
Taught in English, with ELL support for pupils building fluency; Arabic throughout; Spanish from Year 3; home language groups for French, German, Spanish and Russian speakers
Inclusion
Fully inclusive, supported by the Hemam Learning Support Centre. SENDIA award holder
School day
7:40 AM to 2:45 PM Monday to Thursday, 7:40 AM to 11:40 AM on Fridays. Clubs run to 3:25 PM, with a breakfast club and after-school care around them. Timings during Ramadan vary and are subject to KHDA approval
Assessment
GL assessments in English, maths and science; NGRT reading test three times a year from Year 2; PIRLS and TIMSS benchmarks
Admissions
Open all year round, subject to availability
Tuition fees
KHDA-approved fees for every year group are published in full on our tuition fees page
Accreditations and memberships
BSME, AoBSO, Cambridge, AQA, Oxford AQA, Pearson, LAMDA, ISEB, ASDAN, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, and IB World School status for the Sixth Form
About the school
Curriculum
A private British international school in Dubai, located in Dubailand and following the British curriculum with an IB-inspired approach from Year 1 to Year 11. The IBDP, IBCP and BTEC are offered in Sixth Form (Years 12 and 13), three of the school's four Post-16 routes.
English National Curriculum, enriched with UAE cultural context and taught through ISP’s Learning.First approach
There are more answers to common questions about admissions, transport and school life on our FAQ page.
Excellent English curriculum
Pupils master reading, writing and spoken English through the English National Curriculum, enriched with UAE cultural context and meaningful cross-curricular links. Daily phonics in Years 1 and 2 makes the foundations stick.
Multilingualism
English comes on fast when it is the language of the whole day, Spanish begins in Year 3, and home language support keeps French, German, Spanish and Russian speakers growing in their mother tongue.
Inclusive environment
Every child succeeds here. Personalised learning, adapted resources and the specialists of our Hemam Learning Support Centre help pupils with special educational needs reach their full potential, and the school holds the SENDIA award for its provision for students of determination.
Life skills
At our international primary school in Dubai, children build perseverance at the mini makers market, develop empathy through reading buddies and learn to speak confidently in front of an audience.
Arabic and Islamic studies
All pupils study Arabic language and UAE culture in line with MOE requirements. Muslim pupils take Islamic Studies in Arabic or English, exploring the history and values of Islam.
Performing arts
Pupils thrive in musical theatre, band, junior choir and composition, through school productions, community events including BSME’s Desert Dance, and personalised sessions led by DASH Music Academy. Performing arts at Aquila run right through the school.
Dedicated learning areas
Learning happens in purpose-built spaces on our campus: a cooking room, technology lab, art studio, libraries, a sports hall and two swimming pools, with indoor and outdoor areas designed for hands-on work.
Before and after-school care
A breakfast club and after-school care wrap around the school day, so busy families get nurturing care at both ends of it.
Leadership opportunities
Eco warriors, play leaders, library leaders, digital leaders and aerobics leaders are real jobs held by primary pupils, driving sustainability, inclusion, reading, safe technology use and wellbeing.
Extra-curricular activities
Pupils try drama, sports and gardening clubs alongside ISP’s global student events and yearly trips. New passions tend to surface here.
Friendly admission process
The admissions process is straightforward and personal, with multilingual support for families arriving from overseas. Most families begin with a school tour.
Most children move up to Year 1 from our Early Years Foundation Stage, and others join from nursery or school abroad. From there, the primary stage of the English National Curriculum runs in two phases, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Primary education at a British curriculum school in Dubai follows the same structure used in England, so families arriving from the UK, or from another international system, can see exactly where their child fits.
Reading comes first. Daily structured phonics builds decoding and spelling, early number work builds fluency, and there is a lot of talking, playing and making. By the end of Year 2, most children read independently and write with real confidence.
Subject knowledge deepens and independence grows. Spanish begins in Year 3, residential trips start the same year, writing stretches into longer pieces, and maths moves into reasoning and multi-step problems. Year 6 is largely about getting ready for Year 7.
As a British school in Dubai, we teach the three core subjects of the English National Curriculum every day, and everything else is built around them.
Building strong reading and writing foundations
Lessons are active and talkative, building writing, listening, reading and speaking together. Daily structured phonics in Years 1 and 2 lays the foundations of spelling and decoding, while writing work focuses on grammar and a growing vocabulary, adapting style to audience and purpose. Reading buddies sessions pair older and younger pupils, and a love of books tends to follow.
Solving real-life problems with the four operations
Pupils build fluency with number and the four operations by breaking real-world problems into manageable steps. Shape, measurement and pattern follow, and along the way children learn to ask questions, voice doubts, explain their thinking and use mathematical language with growing accuracy.
Exploring the world through hands-on learning
At our British primary school in Dubai, science is experiments first. Pupils ask questions, make observations and test predictions against what actually happens. Our farm brings the subject to life: comparing animals and their features, watching plants grow, and learning what careful observation really means.
Discovering technology and building new skills
Pupils start with simple digital actions, creating and saving work on tablets and computers, and learn safe, responsible habits from the beginning: protecting personal information and recognising risk online. Coding, robotics and engineering follow through hands-on projects.
Painting ideas and expressing creativity
Pupils explore colour, shape, materials and technique, from drawing and painting onwards. They study great artists and designers, compare styles and tools, and learn to evaluate creative work, their own included.
Turning ideas into reality
Pupils design, test and build products, drawing on science, maths, art and computing. In food technology, they prepare simple, nutritious dishes in the cooking room. Projects reward initiative: think it, plan it, make it, improve it.
Connecting local and global histories
Chronology first: placing people and events on a timeline and using historical vocabulary to compare life across periods and cultures. Topics span British, local and world history, adapted to life in the UAE, so the past explains the world pupils actually live in.
Cultivating global curiosity
Pupils explore places, environments and resources, learn how landscapes form and change, and build practical skills with maps, diagrams and digital tools. Local geography sits beside global, and the connection between people and place runs through it all.
Nurturing wellbeing and resilience
PSHE covers health, relationships, economic awareness and sustainability, and the habits that keep children safe and confident. Through the Zones of Regulation framework, pupils learn to name and manage their emotions, a skill they will use long after primary.
Building a strong Spanish foundation
From Year 3, Spanish is taught through songs, games and play-based activities that build core grammar and vocabulary. As pupils progress they explore Hispanic culture and work towards real conversational confidence, with official language certifications a later option.
Growing strong and healthy
At our private school in Dubai, PE covers athletics, gymnastics, dance, football and badminton. Playing and friendly competition teach tactics, fairness and respect, and regular activity sets habits that outlast primary.
Strengthening swimming techniques
Not every private primary school in Dubai teaches swimming every week; ours does, in our own pools. Personalised lessons take children from floating and breath control through to refined strokes, building confident swimmers in a supportive environment.
Expressing through sounds
At The Aquila School in Dubailand, music covers rhythm, melody, singing, instrument playing and composition. Pupils explore styles and cultures, perform regularly in class showcases, and grow the confidence that comes from being listened to.
Every school in the UAE teaches these subjects, and we treat them as more than a requirement: they root an education delivered in English in the country our pupils are growing up in.
Embracing Arabic language and heritage
Native and non-native speakers build listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in line with the MOE curriculum, taught by experienced Arabic specialists. Authentic materials, from books and stories to newspapers and calligraphy, connect the language to the UAE’s culture and heritage.
Values, traditions and teachings of Islam
Muslim pupils study Quranic and Hadith texts, Islamic history and its relevance today, in Arabic for native speakers and in English for others. Lessons mix discussion, collaborative projects and curated digital resources, nurturing knowledge and personal growth together.
Exploring values, culture and communities
From Year 2, pupils explore rights, responsibilities and their role in shaping society, rooted in the UAE’s heritage. They learn to think critically about how history and culture shape today’s challenges, and to meet difference with tolerance, respect and empathy.
Every day at our British school in Dubailand is built around safe, happy learning. Classes end at 2.45pm from Monday to Thursday and at 11.40am on Fridays, with clubs and extended care beyond that.
Morning drop-off
7.30am to 7.38am
children are greeted by their teachers on the school field and line up for the National Anthem at 7.38am. Year 1 goes straight to class from 7.30am.
Lessons begin
7.40am to 8.10am
morning activities and assemblies set the tone for the day.
Morning lessons
8.10am to 9.30am
hands-on lessons spark curiosity while minds are freshest.
Morning break
9.30am to 10am
a snack in class, then play on the astro, field or courtyard, or indoors in the sports hall, library or wellbeing room.
Learning in action
10am to 12pm
sessions continue across our learning areas.
Lunch
12pm to 12.40pm
Year 1 eats in class, Years 2 and 3 in the auditorium, and Years 4 to 6 in the canteen, followed by free play indoors or out.
Afternoon learning
12.40pm to 2.40pm
lessons and activities continue across the school’s learning spaces.
School day ends
2.45pm
Years 1 and 2 are handed to parents at the classroom door, while Years 3 to 6 head to pick-up points or the school buses.
Enrichment
2.45pm to 3.25pm
clubs and activities carry learning past the classroom.
Every ISP school builds on the same five pillars. They describe what we want a child to leave with, which is broader than what a child knows.
Academic achievement
Personalised learning, monitored honestly and shared with families through reports, meetings and celebrations of work from inside and outside the classroom.
Life competencies
Perseverance, resilience, creativity and empathy are built through real experience
Pupils learn in an English-immersive environment with specialised English Language Learning support
International opportunities
Every year the group takes at least three day trips inside the UAE, with the Sharjah Desert Park, the Dubai Safari Park and the Burj Khalifa among the destinations
Personalised learning, monitored honestly and shared with families through reports, meetings and celebrations of work from inside and outside the classroom. Pupils sit GL assessments in English, maths and science, the NGRT reading test three times a year from Year 2, and the PIRLS and TIMSS benchmarks. Across the ISP network, 93% of school leavers reach their first-choice destination.
Perseverance, resilience, creativity and empathy are built through real experience: young entrepreneurs pitch and sell at the mini makers market, the World Scholar’s Skittles event turns public speaking into a competition, and Friday leadership time lets every child teach something they love.
Pupils learn in an English-immersive environment with specialised English Language Learning support, study Arabic throughout, and add Spanish from Year 3, while home language groups keep native speakers fluent in their mother tongue. Across ISP, 83% of pupils master a second language.
Every year the group takes at least three day trips inside the UAE, with the Sharjah Desert Park, the Dubai Safari Park and the Burj Khalifa among the destinations, and residential trips run from Year 3 to Hatta, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Jebel Jais. Through ISP’s International Learning Opportunities for Students (ILOS), pupils join Virtual Exchange, ISP Scientists and ISP Artists, working with peers on other continents.
Two working farms sit on our campus in Dubailand, and pupils use both.
Urban farm
Pupils grow fruits, vegetables and herbs in small garden plots: planting, watering, tending, harvesting. Tracing food from seed to plate connects science, nutrition and sustainability more memorably than any worksheet could.
Hydroponics farm
In the hydroponics farm, pupils grow peppers, lettuce and tomatoes in nutrient-rich water instead of soil, and see for themselves how much water and space the technique saves. They also care for the farm’s animals, including fish, rabbits, birds and parrots, learning responsibility and respect for living creatures as part of an ordinary week.
The Aquila School is a truly special place where children thrive through curiosity, creativity and confidence. Lessons are engaging, meaningful and linked to real life, inspiring pupils to ask questions, take risks and celebrate their individuality.
Amal Botan, Primary class teacher
Primary leads straight into our secondary school, where pupils continue with the British curriculum and work towards GCSEs, BTEC Level 2 and LAMDA qualifications between the ages of 11 and 16. How we support every child on the road to their first-choice university, a journey that starts in primary school, is set out on our future pathways page.
The IB begins only in the Sixth Form. After Year 11, pupils choose from four routes to graduation: the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP), the IB Career-related Programme, BTEC Level 3 and ASDAN. Aquila holds IB World School status for this Post-16 stage, and for families comparing IB Diploma options in Dubai the numbers are public: a 100% IBDP pass rate, an average of 34.4 points and a top score of 39 in the most recent results.
Admissions are open all year round, subject to availability in the year group. The process is simple: apply online, then visit. Choosing a school is easier in person, so most families start with a tour of the campus, and every primary application includes a personal meeting with the Head of Primary.
The Aquila School's Primary School in Dubai serves students from Year 1 (age 5) to Year 6 (age 11). In these years, pupils study a rich British curriculum, which is supplemented by Arabic, Islamic Studies and Moral, Social and Cultural Studies, to ensure that all pupils are well prepared for their successful transition to Secondary School.
Primary teachers at The Aquila School make learning meaningful and engaging using an enquiry-based approach inspired by the IB. Teachers are able to identify strengths and areas for development very quickly due to regular assessment and pastoral care. The school's inclusion team offers targeted support where necessary and gifted pupils are challenged and extended through enrichment. Children's individual progress is recognised, and confidence builds as well as knowledge during the primary years.
Students in The Aquila School's Primary Department learn to be strong English literates using a rigorous and evidence-based programme and learn Arabic as part of the UAE curriculum. The school's multilingualism is an active celebration of the wide range of home languages spoken by the school's 90+ nationalities. Children who are new to English receive additional English language support so that they transition well and feel confident to join in with lessons from as early as possible.
The Aquila School makes learning come alive with its unique urban farm, STEAM lab and hands-on, project-based units of work. Primary pupils not only learn about science, but they also plant seeds, carry out investigations and work on authentic problems. This is further extended through school trips, community events and ISP global learning programmes, which enable children to understand the link between the learning they do in school and the wider world around them.
Through our Safe, Happy Learning philosophy, children develop confidence, resilience and a genuine love of learning. All children are known by their teacher due to small class sizes, regular form tutors and good pastoral routines. The school's four core values of integrity, kindness, perseverance and resilience are embedded in the life of the school and have a positive impact on the culture of the school, which is one in which children feel safe to take risks, make mistakes and become motivated and self-confident learners.
Start your child’s journey at The Aquila School, where the English National Curriculum lays the groundwork for academic excellence and skills for life. Our admissions team would be glad to hear from you.
