Schooling for Australian children in Abu Dhabi

Hi bella

There's a thread about the Australian school here. From what I've heard about it it's largely a school to be avoided.

Your kids are quite young, so although it'll be an adjustment it's actually quite healthy to put them in a different school system for a few years. (It would be a problem if you were heading back to Australia right before they took their final senior exams, for example.) There are some very good International-, British- and American-curriculum schools that you could have a look at - see the International schools in Abu Dhabi page and the Education in Abu Dhabi page for more info.

It's always best to actually visit the school(s) before you make a decision - a teacher or headmaster will usually be more than happy to answer your questions about class sizes, after-school classes, etc and address any concerns you have about the change in curriculum.

I should warn you that some of the really top schools in Abu Dhabi are over-subscribed and have long waiting lists (3 or 4 years in some cases), especially in the younger grades. The sooner you apply to schools the better - you should treat this as a top priority.

My husband works in Aramco here in Saudi for more than 30 years. Suddenly a job offer came to him from one of the establish companies there in Abu Dhabi - ADNOC group of companies. I have no idea of what life is in Abu Dhabi, but some friends said that it is really expensive living there, housing, car, etc..compared to Saudi. Any advises that Asian expats in Abu Dhabi could share to us...