UK Private Schools Report Increased Interest From Gulf Families

UK private schools are seeing increased interest from families based in the Gulf who are seeking education options outside the region after the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Iran’s barrage of missiles and drones, launched in response to US-Israeli attacks, affected the sense of security in expatriate communities in the United Arab Emirates.

One family that had been on holiday in Scotland in February chose not to return and enrolled three children at St Leonards School in St Andrews for the summer term. The headteacher of the school said people were discussing regional instability, school closures and the move to online learning.

Enquiries from the Middle East to the roughly 500-pupil boarding school have risen from the usual two or three a year to 12. The school charges up to £22,770 a year for day pupils and £54,420 for boarders. The school has also received a record number of speculative applications from teachers based in the Middle East.

Iranian strikes have reduced the appeal of the low-tax UAE for some foreign workers. About 30,000 British expats, or one in eight of the resident British population, either left the UAE at the start of the war or delayed their return from holidays. Many have since returned to the Gulf and schools have reopened.

However, Iranian strikes on the UAE on May 4 revived concerns and led to a temporary return to online learning. One parent said no one wanted children in school if there was a risk of missiles.

A significant contraction in the UK private school sector has created additional places for pupils from the Gulf. The UK government imposed VAT on school fees last year, after which some parents moved their children to state schools. Some private schools have closed or merged, leaving capacity at about 65 per cent in mid-market institutions.

Top-end UK schools remain in high demand. A group of parents from the Gulf has returned to schools in the UK and Europe for the summer term before a planned return to the Middle East in September for the new school year. Some families in Dubai have placed children at schools such as Sevenoaks and Repton, where termly fees are £13,555.

Other families have looked to Australia or boarding schools in Kenya. One parent said people were seeking options because the situation remained uncertain. In the UAE, the future of international education providers, including UK schools with expansion plans, will depend on the nature of any long-term settlement between Gulf states and Iran.

If a long-running period of tension occurs without direct attacks on the UAE, the September school intake may be soft but should normalise over the medium term. Additional strikes or direct attacks could have a more severe effect. One mother who had worked in professional services in Dubai for more than a decade said the conflict accelerated her plans to return to the UK permanently.

The family changed its spring holiday plans from France to a trip to England, where the children have been placed in private and state schools in Hampshire. She said Dubai offered many advantages for raising children but that the UK also had benefits including nature, family and friends.

She added that she was not scared by the loud bangs of interceptors but could not explain that to a small child.