We spoke to two experts in relocation and school admissions for their insights around families actually face when choosing a Dubai or Abu Dhabi school — and why those families are increasingly turning to private tutoring.
When wealthy UK families consider moving to the UAE, they usually start by talking to tax advisers and lawyers. But the decider usually lies around their children's education.
Your child needs to keep learning at the right level. They need to feel secure while everything around them changes. And you need to know their academic future isn't being compromised by relocation.
Why families are looking at Dubai
More UK families are seriously considering Dubai. The UK's tax changes have changed things significantly: from April 2025, the old "non-dom" rules ended. Now if you're resident in the UK, your worldwide income and assets become taxable. For families with substantial overseas wealth, this changes whether staying in the UK makes financial sense.
But there's more to it than tax. Harry Sherratt, who advises families on university admissions at InGenius Prep, explains what he’s seeing:
"Post-Covid, more families are moving to Dubai for lifestyle reasons, not just career or tax. It's becoming an attractive place to live, not just a profitable place to live."
Families are moving with young children and planning to stay for years, not just a short posting. The weather, the international connections, and the straightforward business environment all make Dubai easier and to operate from.
What parents soon learn about Dubai schools
Dubai has more than 140 international schools. Many follow the British curriculum with GCSEs and A-Levels. Others offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) or American programmes. They're inspected by local authorities and the facilities are often excellent.
Schools like Dubai College, Repton Dubai, GEMS Wellington, and North London Collegiate School Dubai have strong reputations. Your child can get a solid, internationally recognised education in Dubai.
But there are two things that usually catch parents by surprise.
Firstly, teachers move around frequently. Harry Sherratt sees this regularly:
"While the international schools follow strong curricula such as IB or A level, and have good, modern resources, the population of teachers remains small and transient. Most teachers are themselves expats, and for many it's a temporary stepping stone not a long-term home. This leads to a lot of churn of international teachers in some schools, disrupting student-teacher relations and the consistency of lessons."
When your child's maths teacher changes mid-GCSE, they lose the relationship that helps them learn. When a trusted form tutor leaves after one term, your child loses someone who understood their strengths and struggles. This matters especially when there are SEND concerns and during exam years, when consistency in teaching can be the difference between achieving target grades and falling short.
Secondly, the social environment means there’s often less access to exciting extracurricular opportunities that are important for developing their skills, interests and other non-academic achievements. As Harry explains:
"The relatively small scale and isolation of UAE, and the often island-like nature of local communities and neighbourhoods within its cities, can lead to students living in a fairly limited 'bubble’.”
This matters for university applications, where increasingly it’s the breadth of extracurricular interests and activites that counts.
Why famous school names work differently abroad
Adam Caller, CEO and Founder of Tutors International warns:
“A familiar school name doesn’t always guarantee the same experience overseas. What matters is how well a child is supported day to day, not what’s written on the gate.”
Some well-known British schools now have branches across the Middle East. Many parents assume this means their child will get exactly the same education and outcomes as the UK campus, but that assumption creates problems.
Kate Bock, Director of Archer Franklin admissions consultancy, explains:
"While curriculum can be replicated, institutional culture and reputation cannot be established overnight. These international branches are still in an early phase of evaluation. Much like online degrees a decade ago, they may gain broader acceptance over time, but for now, early cohorts are effectively setting the school's long-term standing."
It’s easy to copy a curriculum, but you can't instantly copy decades of relationships with universities, experienced staff who've been there for years, or the pastoral care systems that make good schools work. For families aiming at Oxford, Cambridge, or top American universities, this is important because admissions tutors rely on knowledge of a school's standards. They know what an A grade from Eton means because they've seen decades of students. They're still learning what an A grade from a three-year-old Dubai branch means.
Kate continues:
"The risk lies in assuming automatic recognition where admissions offices are still forming their view. Careful positioning remains essential — ensuring that academic profile, recommendations, and broader narrative demonstrate readiness and fit beyond school branding alone."
Your child becomes part of proving the school's quality rather than benefiting from established reputation, and that's a risk most parents don’t anticipate.
Why many families start with a tutor rather than a school
Over the past couple of years here at Tutors International we’ve noticed a distinct trend in enquiries from the UAE — and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in particular. Many more families seek to hire a private tutor before enrolling their child in a Dubai school.
This happens for reasons that make sense once you understand what a move actually involves:
- Your child's learning stays on track during transition. When you move mid-year or during GCSEs, a tutor who knows your child can maintain UK curriculum standards without the disruption of starting over in a new school system. Your child doesn't lose months of progress while settling in.
- Someone provides consistent support when school staff rotate. If teachers change frequently, having one stable educational relationship protects your child's academic confidence. This particularly matters during exam years when your child needs someone who understands their specific learning style and gaps.
- You get time to assess schools properly. Many families don't know if Dubai will work long-term. A tutor means your child's education continues at the right level while you figure out whether to commit to a school. You're not making rushed decisions about your child's education while also handling visas, housing, and work transitions.
- Someone actively organises enrichment. A good full-time tutor plans enrichment activities, arranges summer programmes, and helps families access opportunities that don't exist naturally in Dubai's smaller expat community.
As Harry notes:
“Competitive universities want to see genuine interests developed over time, not just good exam results.”
For families used to British independent schools with deep support systems and informal networks, you need to intentionally replace that structure. A private tutor, particularly when you hire them in the UK first, in advance of the move to the UAE, provides educational continuity and emotional support when everything else in their life has changed.
What universities think about full-time tutoring
Parents worry that having a homeschool tutor instead of attending traditional school will look odd to universities. This concern is very much out of date and misunderstands how university admissions work now.
Universities care about exam results, quality of references, and whether your child can explain their path clearly. How they were educated matters much less than it used to, particularly for internationally mobile families. In fact, some universities still actively seek to offer places to students who are “alternatively educated,” to redress past private school privilege.
Kate Bock addresses this directly:
"Concerns around social development are often overstated. Expat communities are typically well networked, and when tutoring is structured to include social and extracurricular integration, students are often highly engaged. As outcomes become clearer, longstanding stigma around homeschooling continues to recede."
When tutoring keeps structure and progress steady, moving countries can actually strengthen your child's university application. As Kate explains:
"From an admissions perspective, parents increasingly recognise that frequent moves can dilute application narrative and academic momentum unless transitions are carefully managed."
Students develop independence and genuine international experience, which universities value. Your child can talk about adapting to new cultures, taking ownership of their learning, and managing transitions — all qualities top universities want.
Dubai has strong expat networks. When tutoring includes proper social and extracurricular planning, children integrate well and develop the rounded profile universities look for.
Two case studies
Families often come to us when something in a child’s education is no longer working as it should. These two examples show how private tutoring can provide structure, reassurance, and progress at key moments.
Preparing for a UK independent school while living in Dubai
This 12-year-old boy was living in Dubai planned to sit the UK Common Entrance exams, so he could apply to a leading independent school in London. However, his school was not preparing him to the level that was required to pass these exams.
A full-time private tutor worked with him around his school day with a focus on raising academic standards, strengthening core subjects, and building confidence with exam-style work.
By the time of the exams, he was working comfortably at the expected level and well prepared for the transition to a UK school.
Short-term tutoring in Dubai to prepare for a new school
This short-term tutoring assignment supported two siblings (aged 7 and 10) during a difficult time. The younger child had lost confidence after being bullied and was no longer happy to attend school. His sister needed broader academic support and improved structure in preparation for a new school application.
Rather than returning straight to school, the family opted for a short period of homeschooling, which allowed both children to work at a much calmer pace, while rebuilding routine.
The boy returned to school feeling far more confident and ready to engage again. The girl made steady academic progress and was well prepared for her next school placement.
Questions to ask before you move
For UK families seriously thinking about Dubai or Abu Dhabi, asking these questions early prevents problems that are much harder to fix later.
Should we enrol in a school immediately, or use a private tutor first while we settle?
Rushed school decisions often lead to switching schools later, which is disruptive your child's academic record and relationships with teachers.
Which curriculum works for our long-term plans — British, IB, or American?
Your choice now affects which universities your child might easily apply to later. Switching curricula mid-way through secondary school often means repeating years or taking extra exams.
How do we handle exam prep if we're moving during GCSEs or A-Levels?
Moving during exam years is where academic progress most commonly falls apart. Having a solid educational plan in place is vital. A travelling tutor can provide continuity before, during, and after the move, setting expectations early, helping the child settle into a new routine, and working alongside the school for as long as support is needed.
Who will manage day-to-day education while we're dealing with visas, houses, and work?
Parents underestimate how much bandwidth international relocation takes. Your child's education needs active oversight during this period, not to be treated as sorted once school enrollment is done. An experienced private tutor will work alongside your family, other staff, your relocation consultants and your children’s schools to help take the pressure off.
How will we help our child adjust emotionally and socially?
Academic results suffer when children feel isolated or unsettled. When you planning for social integration you’re protecting academic outcomes.
When you leave the UK, you leave behind school counsellors, university connections, and informal advice networks. Families who think through these questions early avoid messy academic records, weak university applications, and children who can't explain their own story because no one helped them see it clearly.
Think beyond this move
Many families now prefer qualifications that work anywhere. This matters because your child's university options depend on which qualifications they hold, and switching systems later is expensive and disruptive.
British GCSEs and A-Levels work well for UK universities but less well for American ones. American programmes work differently and can feel unfamiliar to UK families. The IB travels well and is becoming more popular with families who might move again.
The key is making choices today that still make sense in five years. Where will your child apply to university? Will you move again? Does today's decision work if things change? These questions matter because limiting your child's university options by choosing the wrong curriculum now is difficult to fix later.
What tutoring delivers for mobile families
For families moving from the UK to the UAE, private tutoring keeps your child's education working properly while homes, schools, and routines change.
Your child's learning stays steady and progresses at the right pace. Their academic confidence stays intact when everything feels unfamiliar. And you have genuine flexibility to decide how long you stay and which schools work best, without sacrificing your child's results.
When teachers change every year, when school support systems are still developing, when you don't have the network you had in the UK — a good private tutor fills those gaps and ensures your child's education doesn't become the casualty of adult decisions about where to live.
This works because education becomes the stable part of your child's life when everything else is moving. For families with the resources to choose how education happens, that stability is what makes international moves work without creating years of disruption. Your child can thrive in the UAE while still achieving the academic outcomes they need for their future.
