48 Hours in Dubai: A Schools Market Coming of Age

After 48 hours in Dubai meeting school leaders, operators and education groups, one thing felt increasingly clear: the opportunity for British education in the UAE remains significant, but the market is becoming much more sophisticated.

My latest visit was packed with conversations with school leaders, operators, investors and education groups, alongside an AQ networking evening that brought together leaders relatively new to the UAE with those who have been part of the education community here for many years. I left with one overriding impression: Dubai’s schools market is coming of age.

That is not to say that growth is slowing, far from it, there are still a significant number of established British education brands looking seriously at Dubai and the wider Middle East, while groups already operating in the region continue to expand. But the market they are entering is very different from the one of ten or even five years ago.

A British badge is no longer enough

For many British schools, the Middle East remains an obvious international opportunity. Dubai offers a growing and highly international population, strong demand for British education and an established education market. There is also a proven appetite among parents for schools connected to some of the UK’s best-known educational institutions.

But increasingly, a famous name above the door is not enough. Parents are sophisticated consumers of education. They can compare schools, outcomes, facilities, leadership teams, inspection results, fees and educational propositions in a way that would have been much harder a generation ago. And, crucially, they have choice.

That changes the conversation for British schools considering entering the market – the question is no longer simply, “Will our brand work in Dubai?”, it needs to be: “Why does Dubai need our school?” What will genuinely distinguish it from the excellent British schools already operating here? How will its ethos translate into a very different cultural and commercial environment? Who is the school designed for? And what elements of the UK school should be protected, adapted or perhaps completely rethought?

A sophisticated market

What was particularly noticeable during my 48 hours in the region was the maturity of the conversations; there is still enormous ambition, but perhaps slightly less excitement about growth for growth’s sake. Operators are thinking carefully about positioning. Investors increasingly understand that education is a long-term proposition. Schools are thinking more strategically about leadership, culture, inclusion and differentiation.

The leadership community itself has matured enormously too – that was probably best demonstrated at our AQ networking evening. We intentionally brought together a mixture of Heads, Principals and senior leaders, some who had only recently arrived in the UAE, and others who have spent a significant part of their careers in the region; there was no lengthy agenda or presentations – the purpose was simply to connect people, share experiences and encourage conversations.

For me, those conversations demonstrated just how much knowledge and experience now exists within the UAE schools community. Leaders arriving in Dubai today are not entering an emerging education market. they are joining an established professional community with significant institutional knowledge about what works and what doesn’t.

SEND and inclusion need to be part of the conversation

One area that also featured in a number of conversations was SEND and inclusion. As the market matures, I think this will become an increasingly important part of how parents judge the quality of a school. Families are rightly asking more sophisticated questions about what inclusion actually looks like. Does a school have the specialist expertise to identify and support different needs? Is SEND genuinely embedded within teaching and learning rather than sitting separately within one department? Are classroom teachers properly equipped and supported? And, importantly, is inclusion understood and championed by the senior leadership team?

For schools entering the region, this is another area where simply importing a UK model may not be enough. International schools serve incredibly diverse communities, and on top of that, children may arrive having experienced several different education systems, sometimes with very different approaches to identifying and supporting additional needs. Excellent provision therefore requires more than employing a SENDCO, it requires the right specialists, teacher development, assessment, resources and a leadership culture that sees inclusion as fundamental to educational quality.

As competition increases, the quality of SEND and inclusion provision could become an increasingly important differentiator between schools.

International experience increasingly matters

Historically, international school recruitment often centred on finding a successful British Head and persuading them to move overseas. There will always be value in bringing exceptional new leaders into the region, and the continued arrival of British schools means that UK leadership experience will remain highly relevant, but the talent market is much broader now.

There are leaders in the UAE who have opened schools, grown pupil numbers, managed complex parent communities, worked with regulators, developed SEND provision, led multicultural teams and operated successfully within large international education groups – that experience shouldn’t be underestimated.

Equally, being successful in the UAE is not simply about having previously worked in the Middle East. Schools still need new thinking, different experiences and leaders willing to challenge established approaches. The strongest leadership teams will increasingly combine international experience, local understanding and fresh thinking.

It is one of the reasons I think connecting new leaders with those already established in the region is so important. Our networking evening was a small example of that, people who had arrived only weeks or months earlier were sharing experiences with leaders who had seen Dubai’s education market evolve over many years – that exchange of knowledge matters.

Recruitment must evolve with the market

If the schools market is becoming more sophisticated, leadership recruitment needs to keep pace. A CV and two interviews tell us surprisingly little about whether someone will successfully lead a complex international school.

The leadership profile required to open a new British school in Dubai is very different from the profile required to take an established 2,000-pupil school through its next phase. A founding Head may need to be an educationalist, culture-builder, recruiter, ambassador and entrepreneur almost simultaneously. A leader joining an established international group may need to operate successfully within a sophisticated regional and global structure. Another school might require transformation, commercial growth, stronger SEND and inclusion provision or a significant shift in academic performance. Understanding those differences and assessing for them properly is increasingly important.

It is why AQ are putting much greater emphasis on combining traditional executive search with data, assessment and our educational leadership competency framework. The question should not simply be “Is this an impressive school leader?”, it should be “Is this the right leader for this particular school, community, market and stage of development?” That distinction will become increasingly important as the market matures.

What comes next for Dubai?

I suspect the next phase of Dubai’s education story could be even more interesting than the last. We will continue to see British schools enter the market, existing operators will grow, new investment will arrive and the wider Middle East will create further opportunities for education groups prepared to think internationally, but with all that, competition will increase too.

Parents will become more discerning and established schools will continue to develop their propositions. New entrants will therefore need to be very clear about what they are bringing to the market. The schools that succeed will not necessarily be those with the most recognisable names, they will be the ones that understand their market, create a distinctive and inclusive educational proposition, invest in their people and appoint leaders capable of translating a brand’s heritage into something genuinely relevant to the communities they serve.

After 48 hours in Dubai, numerous meetings, plenty of coffee and an evening spent with a fantastic group of education leaders, I came away optimistic about what comes next; Dubai is no longer simply an international schools growth story, it has developed a sophisticated education ecosystem of experienced operators, investors, advisers and school leaders. Yet, at the same time, there remains considerable appetite for growth and for new British schools to enter the market.

That combination continued growth alongside increasing maturity is what makes Dubai particularly interesting. For British schools looking towards the region, the question is no longer simply whether there is an opportunity to enter the market, it is whether they have something distinctive enough to add to it.

Hayley Mintern, Partner & Schools Lead