The New Filipino Private School, Sharjah

The New Filipino Private School delivers the Philippine national curriculum, accredited by the Republic of the Philippines Department of Education, spanning KG1 through Grade 10. Instruction is conducted in English across all core subjects, with Filipino taught as a language subject and Arabic introduced from Grade 1 — making NFPS one of only 2 Philippine-curriculum schools in Sharjah and a rare trilingual option within the city's private school landscape. The curriculum is structured across four phases: KG1–KG2, Grades 1–5, Grades 6–9, and Grade 10, with subject offerings including English, Mathematics, Science, Filipino, Arabic, Islamic Education, UAE Social Studies, Moral Education, Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE), Character Education, and ICT.

Academic performance, as assessed in the 2024–2025 SPEA School Performance Review, is rated Acceptable overall — a judgement held consistently across three consecutive review cycles. The picture is uneven across subjects. UAE Social Studies is rated Good across all phases, and Science attainment reaches Good in Phases 3 and 4. However, PASS national testing indicates weak attainment in reading and writing in English, and ASSET results show weak attainment in Mathematics in Phases 2 and 3. Mathematics attainment in Phase 1 is rated Weak. These external benchmarks represent a significant concern, particularly as they diverge from internal school assessments, which reviewers found to be inflated relative to observed classroom performance. No standardised exit qualifications such as GCSE, A-Level, or IB Diploma are offered, as the curriculum terminates at Grade 10; university destination data is not available.

The school's most distinctive academic feature is its trilingual instructional model — simultaneous delivery of English, Filipino, and Arabic — which directly serves the Filipino expatriate community while meeting UAE regulatory requirements for Arabic and Islamic studies. The TLE program provides a practical vocational strand from the secondary phase, and Character Education is embedded across all year groups. Reviewers noted that students' personal and social development is rated Good, and achievement in Social Studies — which includes UAE cultural content — is a genuine area of strength. The school supports 9 students with special educational needs, though reviewers flagged that SEN curriculum modification requires further development.

The 2024 review identified several pressing areas for improvement. Inspectors cited weak provision for young children in Phase 1, insufficient differentiation in teaching strategies, and an over-reliance on teacher-directed activity that limits independent learning and critical thinking across all phases. The school absorbed 56% new teachers following rapid expansion to 1,368 students — nearly double its previous enrolment — and a 19% teacher turnover rate compounds continuity challenges. Professional development, while present, was found to be insufficiently targeted to individual teacher needs. The student-to-teacher ratio stands at 1:27, markedly higher than the Sharjah private school average of 13.6 students per teacher, which raises questions about the depth of individual academic support available, particularly for lower-attaining students.

Compared to peer Philippine-curriculum schools in Sharjah, both rated Acceptable, NFPS is neither an outlier nor a leader. Among all Sharjah private schools, 52 of 233 schools hold an Acceptable rating — meaning NFPS sits in the lower-performing tier of the city's private sector. Parents seeking a curriculum that maintains continuity with the Philippine educational system, at fees well below the city median, will find NFPS a purposeful choice; those prioritising measurable academic outcomes in core literacy and numeracy should weigh the inspection evidence carefully.