Mamoura British AcademyPrincipal & Leadership Team

Mamoura British Academy is operated by Aldar Education, one of Abu Dhabi's largest school groups, and is governed by ADEK. The school is led by Principal Susan Adshead, who began her teaching career in the UK in 2009, spent three years as Head of Key Stage 2 at Muna British Academy, and progressed through the role of Assistant Principal at MBA before taking the top post. Her leadership philosophy centres on pastoral wellbeing and the belief that children achieve most when they feel happy, healthy, and safe. She is supported by a structured senior team including Emma MacDonald as Middle and Senior School Principal — a First-Class Masters holder in Education and Leadership with NPQSL qualification — alongside four Assistant Principals covering curriculum, assessment, pastoral care, and parental engagement.

The 2024–2025 ADEK inspection rated the school's overall performance Very Good, consistent with its Very Good rating in 2021–2022, indicating stable institutional performance over successive inspection cycles. Among the six leadership and management sub-domains, Management of Staffing, Facilities and Resources was upgraded to Outstanding — the only domain to improve since the previous inspection — reflecting senior leaders' commitment to resourcing the school effectively. All other leadership domains, including effectiveness of leadership, self-evaluation, governance, and partnerships with parents and the community, were rated Very Good. Separately, the school earned an Outstanding rating from British Schools Overseas (BSO) in May 2023, a significant external endorsement of its educational quality.

One staffing signal warrants careful attention from prospective parents: the inspection report notes that approximately 70% of current teachers were not on staff at the time of the 2022 inspection, meaning the teaching body has substantially turned over in three years. Inspectors acknowledge this was managed through careful recruitment and intensive professional development, and teaching quality across all phases is now rated Very Good — with Phase 1 having improved from Good to Very Good since the last cycle. However, the pace of embedding consistent practice across a largely new staff cohort remains an area to monitor, and inspectors specifically flag the need to increase the rigour with which teaching is monitored and followed up.

With 89 teachers serving 1,167 students, MBA's student-to-teacher ratio stands at 1:13, marginally better than the Abu Dhabi city average of 1:13.6 across all private schools. The school draws staff primarily from the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Jordan. Parent engagement is actively structured through an open-door policy, a dedicated Parent Relations Executive, parent information meetings, workshops, a parent portal, and school tours available five days a week. The inspection rated Partnerships with Parents and the Community as Very Good, reflecting a school culture that prioritises family involvement in student progress.