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Brighton College Dubai (BCD) is located in the Al Barsha South region of the city on a purpose-built campus close to several other international schools (the area is fast becoming informally known locally as ‘school’s road’). And despite the school’s central Dubai location, this is a school that feels truly, authentically British: of the 1000 pupils on the current school roll, more than 50 per cent hail from the UK, and it was rated outstanding in every category in its recent British Schools Overseas inspection. Proud of its links to Brighton College UK, there are photos of the historic British campus displayed all around this bright and modern Dubai version. 

BCD’s main entrance opens into an awe-inspiring, airy atrium which, as well as being architecturally stunning, is also the heart of the school. Stairs lead up to three floors of teaching space; the well-equipped and popular library is adjacent – the librarian works hard to ensure every child finds a book they will enjoy reading – and a collaborative Jackson Pollock-style artwork to which every child contributed decorates the space. This hub is not only for children, however: a parents’ coffee shop makes this a place for everyone to gather at drop-off and pick-up – parents often leave long after the school day has finished as they and their children catch up with friends. A big Brighton crest reinforces this as a valued member of the wider, international Brighton College family.  And with a commitment to continuous upgrading and development, next on the list is a huge theatre project.

Travel to and from the school is usually by car – although there is a bus service, it’s not used by many.  The large car park and staggered pick-up/drop-off times make the school run headache-free. Those parents unable to do the run themselves use a taxi app which offers tracking and payment package options. 

Headmaster Simon Crane joined BCD four years ago, having previously been vice-principal at Brighton College Abu Dhabi for six years. Highly knowledgeable about the UAE educational system and the Emirati culture, he also has a thorough understanding of the Brighton College ethos. From the outset, he and his staff have been committed to instilling the core Brighton values of kindness, curiosity and confidence into every child and, as a result, he says ‘a golden thread of kindness’ runs through the school and its community. He’s friendly and approachable – as he walks around campus, he makes younger children laugh with his impromptu high-fives, and parents are delighted by his care and interest: he knows every pupil by name. Mr Crane has three young children who attend the school, and his wife also teaches here. 

The senior leadership team includes staff members with extensive experience working in the UAE and at international schools. The board of governors includes the headmaster of Brighton College UK and the CEO of Brighton College International. This breadth and wealth of experience stands the school in good stead as it looks toward its future.

BCD is a non-selective, co-educational all-through school. The school roll is currently 1,000 with 52 per cent of the pupils British; some year groups are full and the school will be at capacity when pupil numbers reach 1,200. 

Open days are held twice yearly in April and November, but if these dates don’t suit then parents can pop in for one of the school’s regular open-morning sessions, held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays – the perfect chance to meet the head and have a tour of the school, followed by coffee and a chat with members of the senior leadership team. 

Sixth-form entry is via an assessment, which includes a writing task and a CAT4 reasoning test, plus an in-person interview conducted by one of the senior management team. 

The school week runs from Monday to Friday, with the day ending at noon on Friday to align with the working week in the UAE, leaving the weekends free for family time, except for occasional sporting events and fixtures.  There are around 24 pupils per class, though this number reduces as the pupils progress up the school and specialist teaching increases. 

BCD follows the British curriculum, with students at this stage working towards GCSE exams in the summer term of Year 11. The most recent GCSE results placed BCD second in Dubai, which is impressive for a school that has only been open for five years. Some 21 per cent of all grades were 9s, the highest possible mark. 

Arabic is compulsory, with two pathways for native and non-native speakers and both sets are able to sit the subject for GCSE and A-level. When it comes to other language choices, pupils can continue their French studies and/or take up German (from Year 9), while Mandarin and Italian can be studied as co-curricular activities. GCSE options are plentiful, with business and psychology very popular.

PSHE lessons deliver the Brighton College curriculum, an in-school developed programme itself based on the British national weekly PSHE lessons for pupils in Year 7 to 9. Pupils also take part in ‘Story of our lives’, another Brighton College-developed programme focusing on the geography and history of the school’s area and the nationalities of each individual pupil. 

BCD has a specialist, dedicated department for pupils requiring additional academic help (known as inclusion in the UAE) and one-to-one sessions take place around the campus as the need arises. While the majority of the pupil body is British, the school is seeing an increase in admissions from international students and, as such, has a highly involved and active EAL department to ensure any child who needs extra help with their English language will receive personalised support. For any child who is applying, EAL testing will be included in the admissions process if required; and when the place is offered, a bespoke programme of support will be created which can include additional English lessons to get them up to speed (at an additional charge). 

The large library adjacent to the atrium is used by pupils from the early years to Year 11 and includes additional learning space and quiet rooms, as well as a seating area for parental tours, visiting authors and small presentations. The sixth form has an additional library in their dedicated study area. 

BCD offers a vast choice of more than two hundred co-curricular activities (CCAs) which are timetabled into the school day. The clubs on offer and their timings vary according to the age and stage of the child, but can take place either before the school day, during lunchtimes, or after school. All pupils must attend one CCA a week and great emphasis is placed on the take-up and enjoyment of these activities, which benefits students when applying to university. Younger pupils can choose from clubs as varied as ‘taskmaster’, interactive geography and Arabic alphabet skills, while older pupils have options including DofE, pupil council and the school newspaper. 

Sport is a huge part of everyday life at BCD, with pupils of all ages expected to join in. The top-notch facilities include a large indoor sports hall, a fully equipped fitness suite, a 400-metre running track, full-size pitches, tennis and padel courts, and a stunning 25-metre indoor pool with additional learning pool. The main sports are football, cricket, rugby, netball, swimming, tennis and gymnastics, while off-site sports include rowing, sailing and golf. Pupils compete in inter-house and inter-school competitions as well as the much-anticipated BSME (British Schools in the Middle East) fixtures which can see them travelling all over the Gulf for tournaments. 

Walls dotted around the campus are flooded with impressive art and photography pieces, and the whole school contributed to the eye-catching mural which hangs in the central atrium (a new piece of collaborative art – where every pupil has input – is created each academic year). A new head of art means the department continues to grow, and with D&T an increasingly popular choice for A-level, it starts as a taught subject in Year 6. There are opportunities for musicians and those keen on the performing arts to hone their skills through the CCA programme.

In the pre-prep and prep school, pastoral care is provided by classroom teachers but as pupils enter senior school, this is done through the house system and the dedicated housemaster/mistress. There are four co-ed houses and four house rooms within the college that pupils can use as their common space. Daily face-to-face informal chats with teachers or the senior management team mean any parental queries are swiftly solved. 

As well as the parents café in the atrium, parents are welcomed by an active Friends of Brighton College committee who arrange class coffees, onboarding coffee mornings for new joiners. Class reps organise class-specific evenings and events, with WhatsApp groups for purely positive interactions and necessary reminders. The school is also keen to keep the families involved – a parent council group meets with the senior leadership team each term to discuss and resolve issues. Those parents who relocated here with pupils in other Brighton schools say the transition between schools was seamless and they ‘didn’t look anywhere else’. Arabic lessons are offered to both parents and staff to help those relocating settle into the city. The Winter Wonderland festival celebration is the highlight of the school’s year, and parents, pupils and staff all work together to plan this glamorous and ever-growing event.

Whether as a tiny new joiner, welcomed to the school before their year group starts, or as a leaver supported by the extensive Brighton College network of alumni, every child at BCD is a valued Brightonian. Brighton College Dubai is a corker of a school set firmly in forward motion – and we can see why it’s on the lips of every in-the-know family in the UAE.