Al Tharawat National Private School, Abu Dhabi

Al Tharawat National Private School follows the Ministry of Education (MoE) UAE curriculum across all grade levels from KG1 through Grade 12, operating across three cycles and a kindergarten stage in line with the national framework. The curriculum covers the full suite of MoE subjects: Islamic Education, Arabic as a first language, UAE Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science, alongside physical education and arts. The school's stated vision - to build balanced personalities capable of facing future challenges - aligns with the MoE's broader national education goals, though inspectors found that curriculum implementation currently places greater emphasis on knowledge acquisition than on skill development, a gap that is particularly evident in the lower cycles. Academic results paint a mixed picture. In Islamic Education, attainment and progress are rated Good across all four stages (KG, Cycle 1, Cycle 2, Cycle 3), with internal data indicating that most students in KG attain in line with curriculum standards and most students in Cycles 1, 2, and 3 attain above standards. UAE Social Studies similarly holds Good ratings across all cycles, with the majority of students in KG and most students in Cycles 1, 2, and 3 demonstrating knowledge above curriculum standards. Arabic as a first language is rated Good in KG, Cycle 2, and Cycle 3, though it dips to Acceptable in Cycle 1 - a concern given that Arabic literacy is a core strength the school markets. The more challenging picture emerges in English, Mathematics, and Science. In all three subjects, attainment and progress are rated Acceptable in KG, Cycle 1, and Cycle 2, recovering only to Good in Cycle 3. PISA 2022 results for 15-year-old students were below international averages across all three domains: a reading literacy score of 355 against an international average of 476, mathematics literacy at 391 against 472, and science literacy at 401 against 485. TIMSS 2023 results for Grade 4 and Grade 8 students similarly fell below intermediate international benchmarks in both mathematics and science. In the ACER IBT standardized assessments, less than three-quarters of students in Cycles 1 and 2 attained in line with curriculum standards in Arabic and mathematics, and only a few students in Cycle 3 met the mathematics standard - a particularly concerning data point. Teaching methodology across the school is predominantly teacher-directed and knowledge-focused, with inspectors noting limited use of inquiry-based learning, play-based approaches in KG, or differentiated instruction to meet the diverse needs of the student body. There are 6 students of determination enrolled, and the ADEK report is explicit that identification of and support for students with additional learning needs - including both students of determination and gifted and talented students - is insufficient. The school has launched an electronic library aligned with the curriculum, enabling students across all grades to access books online, and participates in reading initiatives including a Reading Club, Short Story Day, and the 'I Gifted You a Book' programme. However, there is no systematic reading progression plan across subjects, and assessment systems do not specifically track students' reading progress. University placement data is not publicly available, which is consistent with the school's community-focused rather than university-pathway positioning.