Queen Elizabeth’s School in Barnet has received approval from Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) to open a campus in Dubai Sports City in August 2026.
The school will be the first UK state grammar school to expand internationally. Applications for places open on November 4, 2025.
QE Barnet is partnering with GEDU Global Education to open fee-paying schools in the UAE and India. The international schools will operate under the QE banner as independent campuses, each with its own principal, leadership team, and teaching staff.
UK state grammar school receives KHDA approval for Dubai campus
The Dubai campus will deliver the QE Essentials โ a set of programmes, initiatives and concepts that form the foundation of a QE education. Teaching will follow England’s National Curriculum.
“We are delighted to have received this encouragement from the KHDA to offer a rounded and enriching QE education to children in the UAE, spreading opportunity and supporting students to become the leaders of their generation. We are also excited by the potential for international collaboration, which, in time, will build a global network of Elizabethans for the benefit of our new students as well as those within the state sector in Barnet.ย Our intention is also to use revenue from QE Global Schools toย support long-term educational excellence at Queenโs Road,” Headmaster Neil Enright said in a statement.
“I am delighted that Queen Elizabethโs School will open in Dubai Sports City next year. This milestone represents the first time a British state-funded grammar school has expanded globally, testament to the enduring strength of UK-UAE educational partnerships. By bringing QEโs proven educational methodology and 450-year heritage of academic excellence to Dubai, it increases the opportunity for young people in the UAE to access world-class British education. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this world-class institution will have on students and the broader educational landscape in the UAE,” Edward Hobart, His Majestyโs Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates added.
QE Essentials Programme coming to Dubai international campus
The school will be co-educational, opening from Nursery to Year 8, with growth through to sixth form over time. Dubai Sports City is a complex built around five sports venues that provides residential, retail, leisure and recreational facilities.
“This landmark approval allows us to accelerate our vision to deliver world-leading K-12 education to students from across the UAE.ย While the model of establishing international branches is familiar among leading UK independent schools, this marks the first time in history that a distinguished UK state grammar school has embarked upon such a partnership. It represents an unprecedented and truly exciting milestone for global education. Queen Elizabethโs School, Dubai Sports City, will be a co-educational school, opening initially from Nursery to Year 8, with a phased growth through toย the sixth form. Its location in Dubai Sports City affords our students privileged access to unrivalled sporting facilities, embedding sport and physical excellence as a defining pillar of their education. This will be brought to life through our QE Flourish Programme, which nurtures character and personal development across the strands ofย Care,ย Challenge,ย Createย andย Compete, realising the boundless potential of our students,” Caroline Pendleton-Nash, CEO of Queen Elizabethโs Global Schools explained.
K-12 refers to kindergarten through to 12th grade, reflecting the US school system from the age of around 5 to 17 or 18.
Revenue from international schools to support QE Barnet campus
QE Flourish is one of the QE Essentials. Other elements include an emphasis on free-thinking scholarship, pastoral care with a focus on character education supported by the House system at QE Barnet, QE Futures, which helps pupils find pathways after school, and membership of QE Connect, the alumni network.
“The Dubai branch campus will remain faithful to the mission, ethos, tradition, and exacting academic standards of Queen Elizabethโs School, Barnet, while embracing Dubaiโs spirit of innovation and ambition. Our mission is to nurture confident, able, and responsible young people who are prepared to lead happy and fulfilled adult lives and to make a positive contribution to others. In uniting the heritage of one of the UKโs most distinguished schools with the vision of Dubai, we aspire to set a new global benchmark for educational excellence,” she added.
