The top five schools in the Middle East, compiled by Spear’s magazine in association with Carfax Education
Brummana High School
Co-ed, Day & board ($4,000-$11,300), 1,250 pupils/3-18
Focus: Intellectual curiosity & critical thinking
Curriculums: Lebanese Bac, IGCSE, IBDP
Accessibility: Beirut; 40 mins
Founded in 1873, Brummana has educated many of the political elite in Lebanon, as well as pupils who have since achieved success all over the world. Traditional buildings nestle among the pine trees alongside innovations such as a robotics lab. Head David Gray is proud of the way students from 50 nationalities are rooted in the Quaker values of ‘respect for others, tolerance and peaceful resolution’.
Cranleigh Abu Dhabi
Co-ed, Day ($18,000–$26,000), 1,200 pupils, 3-18
Focus: Learning with confidence
Curriculums: British curriculum
Accessibility: Abu Dhabi International; 30 mins
Cranleigh AD has successfully planted the DNA of its UK sister school and adapted it to fi t the local culture. Located on Saadiyat Island, it celebrates pupil wellbeing, a commitment to sustainability and a focus on community and outreach. ‘Cranleigh is about looking at the individual, seeing what the child is good at and making things work around them,’ says Head Mike Wilson.
Doha College
Co-ed, Day, ($10,500-$19,000), 2,050 pupils, 3-18
Focus: Personal growth, passion for learning
Curriculums: British curriculum
Accessibility: Qatar Hamad International; 20 mins
Celebrating the school’s 40th anniversary by moving into a new campus in Al Wajba, Principal Steffen Sommer is proud to instil pupils with ‘the essential ingredients for success in the 21st century… thinking skills and a growth mindset’. With 25 A-level courses and more than 170 extracurricular activities available, Doha College leads the way for top-quality education in Qatar.
Related
Dubai College
Co-ed, Day ($22,500-$25,500), 950 pupils, 11-18
Focus: A community of excellence
Curriculum: British curriculum
Dubai International; 20 mins
Dubai College is one of the oldest not-for-profi t schools in the region but remains innovative. Exam results place it as the top British school overseas, and securing a place is highly prized. It is founded on four pillars – sporting, creative, philanthropic and academic – and Head Mike Lambert is passionate about a holistic education ‘preparing [students] for their future far better than any exam ever will’.
King’s Academy
Co-ed/Day & boarding ($53,250-$42,000), 625 pupils, 11-18
Focus: Developing young leaders
Curriculums: US curriculum, AP
Accessibility: Queen Alia; 30 mins
King’s Academy in Jordan blends a US-style of education with the traditions and cultural values of the Middle East. Pupils are drawn from more than 40 nationalities, and while the curriculum is taught in English, all pupils also learn Arabic. Its broad educational approach fulfi ls founder King Abdullah’s vision of producing ‘a new generation of enlightened and creative minds’.
Carfax Education is the leading private education consultancy whose motto, ‘academic excellence without borders’ is underlined by a network of offices that stretches across London, Oxford, Monaco, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Moscow, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Content from our partners
