Ages 
A modern and diverse school; fantastic for families looking for a global outlook to teaching and learning. BISR DQ is as international as it is British and succeeds in thoroughly celebrating the richness of its student community within the growing and increasingly global city of Riyadh.
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Overview
- Student numbers
- 900
- Curricula
- British
- SEN provision
- Mainstream with SEN support
- Pre school provision (up to 4)
- Yes
- Religion
- Non-denominational
- Fees
- SAR 49,000 - SAR 108,000
Head of school
Director of schools
Jeremy Newton
Since 2025, Jeremy Newton. Born and educated in London, he has an extensive background in British and international education. Formerly senior principal for Misk Schools, spearheading the school’s transition to a new campus in Misk City, Riyadh, and
Entrance
Appreciation for the smooth entrance process, ‘Admissions are phenomenal, especially as we were initially communicating from abroad’, and, ‘A really pleasant experience from the moment we sent the application in,’ were some of the good comments we
Exit
DQ's first cohort of sixth formers will graduate this year. Across the BISR schools, the majority of leavers attend universities in the UK, with Russell Group and London universities well represented. A few each year to universities in Europe, Canada
Latest results
In 2025, the average IB score was 33, with 56 per cent of students achieving 35 or more. The top score achieved was 38.
In 2024 (school's first year of formal exams), 24 students sat maths, English and science IGCSEs and 13 students sat the IB
Teaching & learning
Parents are vocal with satisfaction over the teaching quality at the school. ‘Many of the students haven’t attended British schools before, but teachers work hard to integrate everyone socially and academically.’ There’s a nurturing approach, ‘My
- Curricula & qualifications
- British - National Curriculum for England
- British - International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE)
- British - A levels
Learning support & SEN
Where SEN provision is concerned, school admits that they don’t have the breadth of services that would be available in the UK. ‘We have an educational psychologist now but aren’t yet able to offer some specialist services such as speech therapy.’
Language support
EAL students are generally supported within the classroom by class teachers, however specialist support is also available.
Arts & extracurricular
Lots of positive comments about the arts, ‘The art teacher is amazing and has art gallery experience and, ‘Art and DT are outstanding.’, especially the maker station, where students are invited to bring in recycling materials to design and build
Sport
A range of sports activities are offered, including football, volleyball and swimming (‘they take swimming very seriously’), tennis, and athletics. The French Football Federation run sessions, and basketball and yoga are other popular ECAs. Sport
Ethos & heritage
While BISR boasts over 25 years of history, its DQ campus is a recent addition, inaugurated in 2020. Modest in size, with just three-form entry - ‘We are not a massive school.’ The school holds a prestigious position within the secure confines of the
Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline
With a focus on social and emotional learning and the integration of REACH goals (respect, excellence, achievement, challenge and happiness) into school life, the interest in student wellbeing is genuine. ‘My kids are so happy at school. They love
Mobile phone policy
A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.
Mobile phone policy
Provided by the school and not part of our review No mobile phones
Classroom & community
With 40-50 per cent of students coming from embassy families, there’s an undeniably international flair to the school, ‘I love the other parents, it’s really multicultural’. Parents were delighted to also give us the nod about some famous offspring
- School year
- August – June, with three terms
- School hours
- 7:15am – 2:45pm depending on days of the week
- Student nationalities - total
- 59
- Uniform requirements
- Yes
Money matters
As a not-for-profit, all the revenue from the fees is ploughed back into the school. BISR as a whole school has the highest fees of any British school in Saudi Arabia. Parents note that the school’s current and future construction plans be may one of
- Annual fee range
- SAR 49,000 - SAR 108,000
- Fee information
- Application fee: SAR 575
Assessment Fee: SAR 1,150;
Registration Fee (non-refundable): SAR 11,500;
Capital Development Fee: SAR 11,500;
Deposit (refundable): SAR 5,000 (per family)
Resource Deposit (refundable): SAR 5,000 (per family)
The last word
A modern and diverse school; fantastic for families looking for a global outlook to teaching and learning. BISR DQ is as international as it is British and succeeds in thoroughly celebrating the richness of its student community within the growing
Accreditations, inspections & memberships
- Accreditations/Inspections
- Council of International Schools (CIS)
Council of British International Schools (COBIS)
Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
BSO (British Schools Overseas inspection programme)- Memberships
- BSME, COBIS, BSO, HMC
