Asian International Private School - Madinat Zayed, Abu Dhabi

Asian International Private School - Madinat Zayed delivers the Indian CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) curriculum from KG1 through Grade 12, making it one of only two dedicated CBSE-classified schools in Abu Dhabi according to the ADEK school registry. Instruction is conducted in English, with Arabic as a first language and Arabic as a second language taught as distinct streams alongside Ministry of Education Arabic-medium subjects. The school's pathway options narrow considerably at the senior level: only a Commerce stream is available for Grades 11 and 12, a structural limitation that ADEK inspectors explicitly flagged and that represents a meaningful constraint for students with interests in science or humanities at the post-16 stage.

The school's most recent ADEK Irtiqa'a inspection, conducted in November 2024, awarded an overall rating of Good — an improvement from the Acceptable ratings recorded in both 2016–17 and 2018–19. This upward trajectory reflects genuine progress: teaching across all phases moved from Acceptable to Good, and student achievement in English, science, and Arabic-medium subjects improved across multiple cycles. Standout results include outstanding CBSE Grade 12 attainment in English and Biology, and outstanding MOE Grade 12 results in both Arabic and Islamic Education. At Grade 4, EI Asset assessments show a large majority of students performing above international standards in English and science — a creditable result for a school at this fee level.

However, the data picture is uneven. Mathematics attainment is rated weak at both CBSE Grade 10 and Grade 12, and international benchmarking confirms this gap: TIMSS 2019 placed Grade 4 students below the low international benchmark in science (394.8) and at the low benchmark in mathematics (417.82). Grade 8 results were similarly positioned at the low benchmark for both subjects. In PISA 2022, the school failed to meet its mathematical literacy target of 414.6, achieving 408.6, though it exceeded its reading literacy target (403.6 against a target of 378.9) and its scientific literacy target (424.4 against 414.8). All three PISA scores remain below international averages, contextualizing the school's improvement journey as ongoing rather than complete.

Specialist provision includes a Gifted and Talented program and a Students of Determination (SEN) framework, though inspectors noted that zero students of determination had been formally identified at the time of inspection — a significant concern given a roll of 1,345 students. Care and support regressed from Good to Acceptable in the 2024–25 cycle, partly due to insufficient identification of additional learning needs and limited physical accessibility on the new campus. The Jolly Phonics program supports early literacy in Phase 1, but its absence in Grades 1 and 2 creates a continuity gap that inspectors specifically recommended addressing. A well-stocked library of approximately 6,000 books in English and Arabic, weekly reading sessions, and participation in national reading competitions reflect a genuine commitment to literacy culture, even if cross-curricular application of comprehension strategies remains inconsistent.

Technology integration is an acknowledged weakness across all phases — inspectors rated management, staffing, facilities and resources as Acceptable, and the use of digital tools was highlighted as requiring enhancement throughout the curriculum. Compared to peer Indian-curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi, where 14 out of 34 schools hold a Good rating and 10 hold Very Good, AIS Madinat Zayed sits solidly in the Good band but has not yet reached the Very Good tier achieved by the stronger performers in its curriculum cohort. For families in the Al Dhafra region seeking an affordable, established CBSE school with a demonstrable improvement trajectory, the school offers real value — but parents of students with STEM ambitions or additional learning needs should weigh the current limitations carefully.