Amity International SchoolPrincipal & Leadership Team

Amity International School Abu Dhabi is led by Executive Principal Dr. Sarah Wade, whose vision of student-centred, collaborative learning is clearly articulated and consistently reflected in the school's culture. Amity is operated by the Amity Education Group, a not-for-profit foundation serving 170,000 students across campuses worldwide. The school's leadership team is broad and well-structured, spanning Vice Principal Dr. Bushra Foroodian, phase heads covering Early Years through to Secondary, and specialist leads for inclusion, Arabic, co-curricular activities, and sports — a depth of middle leadership that signals organisational maturity for a school founded in 2015.

ADEK's 2024–2025 Irtiqa inspection rated the effectiveness of leadership as Very Good, with inspectors noting that leaders sustain a clear vision aligned with UAE priorities, maintain a collaborative and inclusive culture, and hold teams accountable through structured performance management. Governance was also rated Very Good, ensuring compliance, strategic direction, and accountability for standards and well-being. Most notably, management of staffing, facilities, and resources was rated Outstanding — the highest possible grade — reflecting efficient operations, well-deployed specialist staff, and resources that effectively support learning and welfare. This Outstanding management rating has been sustained across consecutive inspections, a meaningful signal of operational consistency.

The school employs 98 teachers alongside 33 teaching assistants for a roll of 1,595 students, producing a calculated student-to-teacher ratio of approximately 1:16. This sits above the Abu Dhabi city average of 1:13.6 across all private schools, meaning class sizes at Amity are somewhat larger than the city norm — a factor parents of younger children in particular may wish to explore at open day. [MISSING: individual staff qualification percentages or Masters-level data]

Staff retention data is not published directly, but the inspection's Outstanding rating for staffing management, combined with the school's sustained Very Good overall rating across 2022 and 2024–2025 (improved from Good prior to 2022), suggests a degree of continuity that underpins consistent performance. Inspectors did flag a need to strengthen lines of accountability at senior leadership level — particularly in Phase 4 (Cycle 3, Years 10–13) — and to improve the rigour of teaching observation so that findings are reliably used to drive instructional improvement. These are targeted concerns rather than systemic weaknesses, but parents of older students should note that Phase 4 outcomes declined in English, mathematics, and science in the most recent inspection cycle.

Parent and community engagement was rated Very Good by ADEK, with inspectors describing high engagement, effective communication, and meaningful involvement in school life and decision-making. The school offers reading workshops for parents, deploys parent volunteers in literacy activities, and runs regular open days and tours. The social media presence reflects a genuinely active community — from UAE National Day celebrations to BSME sports hosting — consistent with a school that invests in its identity beyond the classroom.