Best schools in Bahrain
Education in Bahrain
The range and quality of pre-schools, primary schools and senior schools in Bahrain is excellent - from small, family run establishments to for-profit schools overseen by international educational companies. Facilities are often impressive and well maintained due to low land and labour costs. A small minority of families choose to send their children to boarding schools in their native countries, with this option exercised mostly by those with teenage children.
Schools in Bahrain comply with Ministry of Education regulations, both with regard to health issues (vaccination records from birth are required for school registration) and curriculum requirements. All schools that accept Arab children are required to provide Arabic from a certain age, split into Arabic for Arabs and Arabic for non-Arabs. Additionally, schools must provide Islamic studies for Muslim students. Other religious studies are permitted subject to approval from the Ministry.
Bahrain carries out Ofsted type inspections by BQA (Bahrain Education & Training Quality Authority), rating schools from ‘Insufficient Progress’ to ‘Outstanding’. Some British and American senior schools are also externally accredited.
The school year starts in late August/early September and ends in late June/early July, with two to three week breaks in December and March. Schools also close for the national holidays, including three days for each of the Eid holidays. The school week runs from Sunday to Thursday and schools generally start early (between 7.30-8am) and finish early (between 12-3pm), depending on age, with after-school clubs a common feature.
Private bus companies offer transport to the larger schools, collecting your child from your door (although this often means being collected at crack of dawn).
Choosing a school in Bahrain
Bahraini private schools tend to offer a bilingual Arabic/English education. Although mainly aimed at Bahrainis, a small number of other families, drawn to the extended Islamic studies and Arabic language curriculum, choose this option. This is usually layered on top of an American or British curriculum.
At international private schools, the curriculum on offer is usually the main factor for relocating parents. The majority provide either an American or English curriculum option. However, an increasing number of schools offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma as an alternative final qualification. When it comes to British schools, demand for places often outstrips supply, especially in the younger year groups, so it is advisable to get applications in as early as possible. American schools are also thin on the ground, although there are schools offering a combination of English and American curricula. There are also French and Canadian options, as well as schools catering to the large Indian, Pakistani and Filipino communities, in addition to a small Japanese school.
Facilities vary from school to school. Some are housed in converted villas, others have sparkly purpose-built premises. Those that cannot offer adequate on-site sports facilities often use offsite pools and playing fields. The larger private schools have teams in swimming, football and a range of other sports, and there are opportunities for the sportiest children to play other local school teams, as well as to travel to compete with schools in the wider Gulf region. Further sporting opportunities can be discovered through enrolling in clubs outside school.
Special education needs in Bahrain
Unusually for the Gulf, Bahrain is fortunate to have an excellent and extremely well-funded private special needs school - The Children’s Academy which teaches in English, now goes up to 18, with the BTEC syllabus enabling pupils to leave with a UK recognised qualification. The school caters for a range of needs including Down’s Syndrome, autism, ADHD and developmental coordination disorder. They also run an outreach programme in the afternoons for children aged 9-18, who have a variety of learning and developmental needs.
Pre-schools, kindergarten and nurseries in Bahrain
There are numerous pre-schools and nurseries in Bahrain. Your choice will depend on where you decide to live, waiting lists (which can be long) and whether you wish your child to go to a small pre-school or the nursery section of one of the large international schools. The majority of pre-schools are situated in the popular expat residential areas of Budaiya, Saar and Hamala in the west of Bahrain, or in Adliya, close to central Manama.
