DUBAI, UAE, Oct. 30, 2025 -- Building on more than 450 years of academic excellence in the UK, Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, in partnership with GEDU Global Education, has secured initial approval from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) to open its first international branch campus in Dubai in August 2026. To be known as Queen Elizabeth's School, Dubai Sports City, the new branch campus will provide young people in the UAE with access to the National Curriculum for England, delivered to the exacting academic standards that have seen Queen Elizabeth's School in Barnet consistently recognised as Outstanding by Ofsted and ranked at the very top of the UK league tables.

"This landmark approval allows us to accelerate our vision to deliver world-leading K-12 education to students from across the UAE," said Caroline Pendleton-Nash, CEO of Queen Elizabeth's Global Schools.

"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 Elizabeth's School, Dubai Sports City, will be a co-educational school, opening initially from Nursery to Year 8, with a phased growth through to 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 of Care, Challenge, Create and Compete, realising the boundless potential of our students.

The Dubai branch campus will remain faithful to the mission, ethos, tradition, and exacting academic standards of Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, while embracing Dubai's 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 UK's most distinguished schools with the vision of Dubai, we aspire to set a new global benchmark for educational excellence."

Neil Enright, Headmaster of Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet said: "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."

Edward Hobart, His Majesty's Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates said, "I am delighted that Queen Elizabeth's 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 QE's 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."

Founded in 1573 by a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth's is a grammar school with over 450 years of rich heritage and a pioneering tradition. The school is a UK leader, providing a rounded education to students from diverse and modest backgrounds, based on merit. A Queen Elizabeth's School education routinely surpasses the provision of most of the UK's most expensive and selective independent schools and QE's results consistently place the School at the very top of UK league tables for both the independent and state sector. Queen Elizabeth's School was named 2025 Sunday Times State Secondary School of the Year for A-levels. In 2024, 55% of leavers held offers from an institution in the top five of the QS World University Rankings. For more information, visit: www.qedubaisportscity.com.