Cambridge & BSO Accreditations Strengthen School’s Global Status

Aquila receives dual international accreditations.

The Aquila School has been awarded Cambridge Assessment and BSO accreditations, reaffirming its global reputation for excellence.

The Aquila School has recently received accreditations from two international education accrediting bodies. The school, located in Dubailand, has received accreditation from the British School Overseas (BSO) and from Cambridge Assessment International Education

Wayne Howsen, Principal of The Aquila School, welcomed the accreditations:

“We are delighted to have retained our BSO accreditation and are incredibly proud to have been rated with the highest possible grading across every category. We are a happy community school committed to ensuring every child experiences amazing learning and we are thrilled that the BSO and the Cambridge Assessment Intentional Education teams were able to see this.”

The pupils at the school were commended for their outstanding attitude and behaviour and it was noted that relationships between teachers and pupils is very positive. The BSO report commended the school for its excellent curriculum, highly effective teaching and the outstanding way that pupils are cared for. The school was also praised for the excellent provision of information for families. 

The BSO report states: 

“The school provides an impressive quality of education supported by an outstanding level of pupil care. The school provides a robust and highly effective British education that meets the needs of its pupils. The school’s curriculum is broad, balanced, and innovative: pupils are engaged in their learning. Teachers make good use of the wide range of resources and creative outdoor spaces, to plan interesting lessons across all subject areas. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary, and they enjoy school. As a result, pupils across all key stages become highly confident and successful learners.”

 The Aquila School, part of International Schools Partnership (ISP), has also recently been approved by Cambridge Assessment International Education to offer its world-leading Cambridge programme. The programme is for pupils aged 11 to 19 and is designed to give pupils a clear path for educational success, leading towards Cambridge IGCSE qualifications and Cambridge International AS and A-Level qualifications. The incoming Year 10 pupils at The Aquila School will be the school’s first cohort to sit the IGCSE and GCSE examinations in 2024. The school currently caters for children from FS1 to Year 10 and will eventually be an all through school. 

Mr Howsen shares his thoughts on both accreditations:

“There are so many wonderful aspects of the BSO report and the Cambridge Assessment Intentional Education feedback, to celebrate. Both these accreditations are a testament to our hardworking school team, our engaged and supportive families, and our happy and inquisitive pupils. We know from families that what matters to them is that their children are safe, happy and learning and that the school keeps families well informed about what is going on. We are never complacent and are always looking for ways to improve and look forward to building upon the great reputation our school already has.” 

The BSO is a voluntary inspection framework for British schools overseas that inspects schools against a common set of standards that British schools across the world can choose to adopt. By achieving BSO accreditation, The Aquila School has demonstrated that the standard of education it provides is comparable to independent schools in the UK. The inspection for The Aquila School was carried out by Penta International, who specialise in inspecting schools overseas. 

About The Aquila School:

The Aquila School is an exciting international British school in Dubai, located in Dubailand. Pupils engage in lessons that promote enquiry, innovative thinking, making decisions and problem solving so that they can be independent, creative, and resilient learners. The experienced and committed teachers at the school are empowered to teach pupils what they need to learn right now, enabling them to make as much progress as possible. The school, currently open to pupils from FS1 to Year 10, will eventually grow to become a through school. The Aquila School is rated ‘Outstanding’ by the British Schools Overseas (BSO) and received the highest rating of Developed in the recent Distance Learning Evaluation conducted by the KHDA. The school was recently presented with the SEND Inclusion Award by Optimus Education.  The Aquila School aims to be a community school, where collaboration with families and school connectedness ensures children love coming to school and have a love for learning. 

The Aquila School is part of International Schools Partnership, a global group of international schools. 

About International Schools Partnership:

The International Schools Partnership (ISP) is a growing group of international private schools around the world, all of which aim to be the school of choice in their local area. Learning is at the heart of everything we do for our students, colleagues and parents. We are committed to getting better, all the time. 

ISP was founded by an experienced team of committed educationalists and operators who have worked together over many years. ISP have now expanded to 57 schools delivering multiple curricula and building on local brands and reputations with around 50,000 students and 8,500 staff located across 17 countries.