Elite Private SchoolAmerican Curriculum, Subjects & QualificationsLast Updated: April 7, 2026

Elite Private School delivers the Common Core State Standards American curriculum from KG through Grade 12, fully aligned with ADEK requirements. The school operates on a co-educational basis in KG–Grade 5, transitioning to single-gender classes in Grades 6–12 — a structure that reflects the preferences of the predominantly Emirati and Arab community it serves. With 845 Emirati students among 1,717 on roll, EPS is one of 42 American curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi, making it part of the second-largest curriculum group in the city after British schools.

The academic programme extends well beyond core subjects. Senior students can choose from a broad elective menu that includes Bioengineering, Forensic Science, Introduction to Programming, Environmental Science, and Pre-AP Biology, among others. EPS holds College Board membership, operating as an accredited examination centre for both SAT and Advanced Placement (AP) courses — a meaningful differentiator among American curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi. The school also runs dedicated programmes for SEN/Inclusion, EAL, Gifted and Talented students, and is actively implementing a new AI Program across phases. Dual accreditation by Cognia (formerly AdvancED) and the AIAA (American International Accreditation Association) provides external quality assurance beyond the ADEK inspection framework.

The 2024–25 ADEK Irtiqaa inspection rated EPS Good overall — a rating sustained from the 2021–22 cycle and an improvement on the Acceptable rating recorded in 2018–19. Inspectors judged curriculum design and implementation as Very Good across all phases, the highest rating awarded in any performance standard. Mathematics attainment reached Very Good in Cycle 1, and science attainment was Good across all phases. English attainment, however, was rated Acceptable in phases 1 and 3, and progress in Phase 3 was also Acceptable — a pattern that warrants parental attention. Among American curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi, only 1 of 42 holds a Very Good rating and 1 holds Outstanding, meaning EPS sits within the majority Good band, which accounts for 22 of the 42 American curriculum schools rated to date.

International benchmark data presents a more challenging picture. In PISA 2022, EPS students scored 361 in reading, 404 in mathematics, and 398 in science — all below the respective international averages of 476, 472, and 485. TIMSS 2023 results placed students at the Intermediate International Benchmark in both Grade 4 and Grade 8 mathematics (474) and science (468 and 467 respectively), meeting school targets but remaining below international averages. PIRLS 2021 recorded a score of 402, within the Low International Benchmark range. On the MAP Spring 2024/25 assessment, Phase 4 Language Usage showed Very Good attainment and Outstanding progress, and Arabic as a First Language achieved Very Good attainment in phases 3 and 4 — genuine bright spots in an otherwise mixed standardised assessment picture.

Inspectors identified several areas requiring sustained attention. These include the need to raise achievement to consistently Very Good or better across all core subjects and phases, to strengthen extended writing and reading comprehension in both Arabic and English, and to expand higher-order thinking and inquiry-based learning — currently inconsistent across classrooms. The school's School Development Plan and self-evaluation framework were flagged as needing sharper, more analytical SMART targets. Compared to peer American curriculum schools, the absence of published university destination data and the below-international-average performance in PISA and PIRLS represent gaps that parents considering EPS for senior years should weigh carefully. The new leadership team, however, has made a credible start, and inspectors noted a strong capacity for further improvement. [MISSING: University placement statistics and AP exam results by subject]