UAE Schools Prepare for Normal Opening Despite Recent Missile Alerts

Schools across the UAE are fully prepared to welcome over a million pupils for the 2026-27 academic year, with educational leaders confirming that opening arrangements remain unchanged despite renewed missile alerts this week. As campuses get ready to open their gates on August 31, administrators emphasized that no new official guidance has been issued.

Michael Strachan, head of the secondary school at Arcadia British School, highlighted the robust safety procedures already in place, assuring that they will not detract from the students' return-to-school experience. Emphasizing a business-as-usual approach, he noted that the institution features extensive underground infrastructure, including a multi-purpose hall, a large underground car park, and dedicated rooms across the secondary and primary sections to serve as ready-made evacuation shelters.

Staff and pupils will review safety protocols initially established during months of conflict following February 28. These measures comply fully with KHDA-mandated requirements, and schools will conduct regular training sessions and drills for both staff and returning children.

Echoing these sentiments, Stephen Davis, vice principal of Repton School Abu Dhabi, confirmed that operations remain consistent with the previous year. Campus leaders are focusing on refining existing procedures and integrating new students who may have recently arrived in the UAE.

These announcements follow emergency alerts sent to mobile phones in parts of the UAE on the evening of August 18, which warned residents of an aerial threat from Iran and advised taking shelter. Despite these events, school heads confirmed their readiness to resume full in-person learning, while maintaining fully functional online provisions should remote learning become necessary.

John Bagust, director of education and executive principal for the Pace Group of Schools in Dubai and Sharjah, added that institutions continue to rely on safety measures implemented earlier in the year in the absence of additional directives from the KHDA or SPEA.

Nationwide safety guidelines introduced when in-person learning resumed on April 20 include mandatory shelter-in-place procedures, blue-taped safe zones, strict campus access controls, staff training, and the suspension of large gatherings. These protocols require moving pupils and staff to designated safe areas away from windows, taking attendance, maintaining communication with parents, and keeping individuals on site until authorities declare it safe.