Queen Elizabeth's School Makes History in Dubai as First UK State School in the UAE

Queen Elizabeth's School, Dubai Sports City has officially opened its doors, welcoming its first 350 pupils for the new academic year and marking a milestone as the first branch of a UK state school to open in the Emirates.

Known as QE, the brand descends from a grammar school founded by royal charter in 1573, with its founding institution in Barnet, north London, standing as one of the top-performing state schools in England. The Dubai version opened on Monday in a substantially refurbished building in the heart of Sports City, with annual fees ranging from Dh93,000 to Dh136,604 for its initial age groups spanning from nursery to Year 8.

Founding principal Dan Clark expressed excitement after arriving in the UAE in February to build a teaching team, fit out classrooms, and prepare for the launch. "We've been working on this project for years," he told The National. "We just want to get moving."

Mr Clark outlined three main priorities for QE Dubai: a culture of scholarship, a deep sense of belonging, and small class sizes. Foundation Stage classes are capped at 16 pupils, the maximum class size anywhere in the school is 20, and every class up to Year 6 features a dedicated teaching assistant.

The school's academic philosophy focuses on keeping students "comfortably stuck," meaning work should be challenging without causing anxiety. Vanya Grover, an Australian mother of two daughters joining the school, noted that her family was drawn to the institution because it is "unapologetically academic."

While the initial 350 students represent a fraction of the building's eventual 2,500 capacity, the school expects to grow organically over six or seven years. The campus has established major partnerships, including a 30-year alliance with ISD Dubai Sports City for sports facilities, an esports lab, a music agreement with the Royal Northern College of Music, and a health partnership with King's College Hospital Dubai.

The launch coincides with rising demand for British curriculum schools across the UAE, with other institutions like Harrow also expanding in the region as families increasingly seek structured, globally recognized education.