A leading Dubai education provider will open a new school for 1,650 pupils next year as part of an expansion drive to meet the needs of the emirate's growing population.
Taaleem announced on Tuesday that the Dubai British School - Jumeira will open in August, in time for the 2024-25 academic year.
The school, which will be based in Al Wasl on a 22,227 square metre plot, has been established amid strong demand for places at the operator's Dubai British School branches in Emirates Hills and Jumeirah Park.
It will follow the UK curriculum and will initially cater to children aged between three and 11 in Early Years Foundation Stage 1 to Year 6, before eventually accommodating older age groups.
“I am delighted to mark the beginning of another chapter in The Dubai British School family's success,” said Sam Truman, Taaleem's chief operating officer.
“The investment in this school is testament to our commitment to bring affordable, world class education to the growing communities of Dubai.”
School fees will range from Dh42,000 to Dh76,000 a year.
“I feel extremely privileged and excited about the community we are building,” said Lee Hole, founding principal at Dubai British School - Jumeira.
He said the school aimed to empower students to “reach for their potential”.
“Every child has the ability to achieve great things when they find the right school environment and are nurtured to achieve their best,” he said.
The opening is one of four premium British schools planned by Taaleem over the next two years.
Alan Williamson, Taaleem's chief executive, told The National in October that another school was due to open in Mira in 2024.
Two more schools — one in Abu Dhabi and another in Dubai — are due to open in 2025.
Mr Williamson said each school would have the capacity for 1,600 to 2,000 pupils, with fees ranging from Dh45,000 to Dh75,000.
Meeting population demands
Dubai's top education groups are embarking on teacher recruitment drives and school building programmes to keep pace with the emirate's population boom.
The city's population crossed the 3.5 million mark in April 2022 and is expected to surge to 5.8 million by 2040 due to a spike in post-pandemic immigration.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Dubai's private education regulator, announced in March that Dubai's private school population had exceeded 300,000 for the first time.
It said enrolment at private schools had increased by 4.5 per cent since the previous academic year.
Twenty-two new schools have opened in the past three years, bringing the number of private schools in Dubai to 216, the KHDA said.
Mr Williamson told The National in November that the school group had doubled its pupil population in the past two years and aimed to to double it again by 2027.
“We went from 13,000 pupils in 2020 to having more than 27,400 in 2022,” he said.
“We expect to continue the growth trajectory of Taaleem in line with the growth of the UAE's population.”
Taaleem has a staff of 1,700 teachers, but to keep up with the demand, may need to employ between 1,000 and 1,500 more.
Mr Williamson said independent market research showed there would be 60,000 new pupils in the UAE over the next five years.
“With over 60,000 additional young people coming into the UAE and Dubai, these young people will need schools, and Taaleem will be at the heart of that,” he said.
