Al Najma Private School- Sharjah - Al Azra logo

Al Najma Private School- Sharjah - Al AzraPrincipal & Leadership Team

Curriculum
British
SPEA
Good
Location
Sharjah, Al Azra
Fees
AED 6K - 10K
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Leadership & Governance

Good
SPEA Overall Rating (2024)
Improved from Acceptable in 2023; 29 of 105 British curriculum schools in Sharjah hold a Good rating
Very Good
Governance Rating
Highest sub-rating awarded in the 2024 SPEA review; exceeds the Good overall school rating
1:18
Student-to-Teacher Ratio
Above the city-wide average of 1:13.6 across 204 Sharjah private schools
27%
Annual Teacher Turnover
Flagged by SPEA inspectors as a continuing challenge; no city benchmark published for direct comparison
Very Good
Parent Partnership Rating
Inspectors noted parents serve as active volunteers; structured principal access on all working days
Good SPEA RatingVery Good GovernanceFounded 2003Very Good Parent PartnershipHigh Staff Turnover

Al Najma Private School LLC, trading as Star Private School, is led by Principal Samira Nabil, who has helmed the school since its establishment in 2003. Her continued presence at the top of the organisation represents a significant source of institutional continuity — a meaningful asset in a sector where leadership churn is common. Governance sits with a Board of Governors chaired by Jesus Lall, which SPEA inspectors rated Very Good in the 2024 review — the highest governance rating at the school to date. Inspectors noted that governors demonstrate a thorough understanding of the school's work and students' learning, and that their commitment is a clear strength of the institution.

The school's most significant recent milestone is its improvement from Acceptable (2022–23) to Good (2023–24) in its SPEA School Performance Review — a meaningful step forward that inspectors attributed in part to the commitment and impact of the senior leadership team. That said, parents should note one area of concern: the school recorded a teacher turnover rate of 27% in the 2024 review cycle. This is a materially elevated figure and one that inspectors acknowledged as an ongoing challenge, even as they credited leadership with making good progress despite it. High turnover can disrupt continuity of teaching relationships and curriculum delivery, and it warrants monitoring by prospective families.

The school employs 66 teachers supported by 5 teaching assistants, serving 1,222 students. This produces a student-to-teacher ratio of 1:18 — notably higher than the Sharjah city average for British curriculum schools, where the broader Dubai-wide average across all curricula sits at 1:13.6. Among British curriculum schools in Sharjah, this ratio places Star Private School at the larger end of the class-size spectrum, which parents of children requiring more individual attention should factor into their decision. Staff qualifications data is not published [MISSING: staff qualification percentages], and the main nationality of teachers is recorded as Indian.

On parent engagement, the school performs strongly. Inspectors rated the school's partnership with parents as Very Good, noting that parents are actively embraced as partners — several serve as volunteers in the Phase 1 (KG) unit. Structured access is built into the school calendar: parents of KG students can meet class teachers on the last Thursday of each month, and Principal Samira Nabil is available to meet parents on all working days between 12:00pm and 1:00pm. This open-door culture is a genuine differentiator at this fee level. The school's vision — centred on holistic development encompassing spiritual, moral, cognitive, emotional and social dimensions — is consistently reflected in inspection findings around students' personal development and social responsibility, both rated Good.