International Community School, Khalidiya

International Community School – Khalidiya is the third branch of ICS to open in Abu Dhabi. The other two branches operate in Al Mushrif and City Centre. ICS Al Falah City opened in 2020, while the fifth and newest branch, ICS Khalifa City, opened in September 2021.

International Community Khalidiya School opened in September 2019. The school follows the National Curriculum of England from the Foundation Stage until Key Stage 3 or Year 9. The school plans to add an upper secondary school with the permission of the Abu Dhabi Department of Knowledge and Education (ADEK).

Children from diverse backgrounds prefer the school as it offers an international curriculum with state-of-the-art facilities. The expert teachers are fluent English speakers and hail from different parts of the world, bringing a unique mixture of skills and knowledge. Since the school is relatively new, an ADEK inspection is yet to be conducted.

This International Community School Khalidiya review has been put together to assist parents looking for a British curriculum school in Abu Dhabi for their little ones. From curriculum and admission policies to fee schedules and campus facilities, you will find all details in this school guide that will assist you in making an informed decision.

• Location: Al Khalidiyah
• School fees: AED 21,857- AED 26,378
• Curriculum: British
• Years offered: FS 1 - Year 9

International Community School Khalidiya location falls in the heart of Abu Dhabi. It is in proximity to several residential communities, including:

• Al Tibbiya
• Al Manhal
• Al Nahyan
• Al Hosn
• Al Bateen

Al Manhal is the nearest family-friendly neighbourhood. The community is home to both commercial and residential properties.

Families looking for residential properties near the school can consider:

• Apartments for rent near International Community School – Khalidiya
• Villas for rent near International Community School – Khalidiya
• Townhouses for rent near International Community School - Khalidiya
• Villas for sale near International Community School - Khalidiyah

The massive International Community School Khalidiya campus has all the modern facilities to maintain a productive and efficient learning environment. Apart from modern facilities, the school is mindful of diversity; hence, the premises offer convenience for students and staff with physical disabilities.

ICS has incorporated the latest technological advancements necessary for a productive learning session. Thus, you will find classrooms customised according to the seating arrangement and resources required by each year group.

Inside the building, science labs are divided into junior and senior categories. A well-stocked library allows students to access non-fiction, fiction, course books, magazines, newspapers, digital publications and research papers. Students interested in creativity will be glad to know that the school has some amazing instruments and resources in the Art and Music studios.

Sports or physical education is a significant part of the British curriculum. Hence one can find a multi-purpose sports hall, a football field, a basketball court, a full-sized swimming pool, outdoor covered areas and a playground for KG students. Other campus facilities include a cafeteria, a clinic, an exam hall and a uniform shop. International Community School Khalidiya uniforms can be purchased from the uniform shop, which remains open from 07:00 am to 03:00 pm. Since uniforms enable students to experience a sense of identity and belonging, they must adhere to the uniform code described by the school as mentioned here.

International Community School Branch 4 is in Al Khalidiya. The school is situated on Mubarak Bin Mohammed Street and Al Ghays Street. Amenities like mosques, restaurants, commercial properties, residential buildings and supermarkets surround the campus.

International Community Schools Abu Dhabi has established a solid reputation for providing excellent education aligned with world-class facilities. Starting as Ibrahimya School in 1990 with just 200 students, ICS Abu Dubai has come a long way because of the trust of over 3,500 students.

The Khalidiya campus offers a British curriculum complemented by an array of extracurricular, co-curricular and after-school activities and clubs that encourage children to explore new ideas or further their interest in a particular field.

The board of trustees has been responsible for looking after the school for many years. Accumulated funds are used for the school’s betterment. All services provided by the school are of good quality and are accessible to students of determination. Also, the board works with the management team of ICS to ensure that the school’s vision and mission are implemented.

Parents or guardians searching for well-established schools in Abu Dhabi can check out our reviews of the best schools in Abu Dhabi and the top British schools in Abu Dhabi.

International Community School Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi, offers years from Foundation Stage until Key Stage 3.

International Community School Al Khalidiya follows the British curriculum throughout the school. Likewise, the Foundation Stage’s lessons are based on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) programme.

However, to help students familiarise themselves with the local culture, ICS School Khalidiya has also inculcated the Ministry of Education (MOE) curriculum.

Foundation Stage

EYFS uses seven key areas of learning, allowing teachers to mentally, emotionally and physically challenge little ones and gauge their responses.

The key areas of learning and development include:

Key Stage 1 and 2

The International Community School Khalidiya curriculum for Students aged 5 to 11 is a bit more advanced. Students are introduced to the Bug Club, which has unlimited access to books, ebooks and online learning resources. This step ensures the development of reading skills in young students.

Aside from the Bug Club, NGRT tests are also included in the curriculum. Since children are now studying a wide range of subjects, assessing their performance, setting benchmarks and evaluating their weak areas is imperative for their development.

New subjects are also introduced to help students with the major selection process in secondary school. Children will study English, Maths, Science, ICT, History, Geography, Art and Design, and Arabic studies in Key Stages 1 and 2.

Key Stage 3

Year 7 and Year 9 are more about teacher-specific subjects. These years not only focus on developing new skills in students but also on providing opportunities to implement what they have learnt. It is mandatory for students to take part in research projects, independent work, community service and similar activities.

The above strategies are designed to increase students’ attainment across all subjects and develop them as all-rounders who can contribute positively to the global community.

Homework is a significant part of secondary students. As per ICS Khalidiya School guidelines, homework is divided into three categories – daily homework, weekly homework and Google classroom homework. This step has been taken to ensure students continue their education at home and during winter and spring breaks.

The list of subjects taught in these years is as follows:

The Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge is responsible to evaluate the performance of public and private schools in Abu Dhabi. The agency contributes to the development of the educational sector in the UAE capital.

Through the Irtiqaa Program, ADEK carries out periodic evaluations of schools to ensure consistency in the quality across six aspects:

• Students’ achievement
• Students’ personal and social development, and their innovation skills
• Teaching and assessment
• Curriculum
• The protection, care, guidance and support of students
• Leadership and management

Since International Community School Khalidiya opened in September 2019, the ADEK inspection is yet to be carried out. We will update this section as soon as the detailed inspection report is released.

Nevertheless, keeping in mind the ‘Good’ and ‘Very Good’ ratings received by its sister schools, one can expect Khalidiya International Community School to receive a similar rating.

Like other British curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi, International Community School Khalidiya’s academic calendar is divided into three terms and runs for ten months. The calendar highlights all the school events, competitions, and national and Islamic holidays.

• The first term starts in the last week of August and ends in the second week of December. This is followed by the winter break that ends in the last week of December.
• The second term starts in the first week of January and ends in the fourth week of March. Students then go on a spring break that ends in the first week of April.
• The third term starts in the second week of April and ends in the last week of June.

For more information, contact the school.

Choosing a school for your child can be daunting, but the International Community School Khalidiya’s admission process makes the procedure simple. ICS Khalidiya Abu Dhabi is an inclusive school where admissions are merit-based.

To start the registration process, the school advises parents to visit the campus to experience its offering first-hand. After this, you can submit an online application form along with the mandatory documents listed below:

• Copy of student Emirates ID (Original ID at a later stage)
• Copy of parents’ Emirates ID (Original ID at a later stage)
• Copy of student passport and visa
• Copy of parents' passports and visas
• Electricity Bill with premise ID
• Copy of birth certificate (attested by UAE Embassy if born outside UAE)
• Copy of vaccination card
• Copy of filled medical consent form
• Copy of filled consent to administer non-prescribed medication
• Copy of student photo consent
• Copy of student's medical history
• Three recent photos of the student

Once these documents have been submitted, the school will call your child for an age-appropriate assessment followed by an interview. An offer letter will be emailed if the applicant clears the entrance exam.

Parents must ensure that their child meets the following age criteria set by the ADEK.

This is based on the age of the students on 31st August (for the school beginning in September). Source: ADEK

* This is to cater to students transferring from systems that admit students of a younger age)

The International Community School fees structure is affordable and ADEK-approved.

You can pay International Community School Khalidiya fees via cash, cheque or bank transfer.

According to the International Community School Khalidiya in Abu Dhabi, healthy eating habits are imperative for kids' physical, mental and emotional development. Hence, the school promotes healthy eating through its curriculum and cafeteria policies.

The on-site canteen provides snacks and meals for students during break time. Lunches are prepared using fresh and nutritious ingredients. The school ensures that packed lunches:

• Are low in fat, sugar and salt
• Are high in fibre
• Include freshly prepared salads and vegetables
• Include tinned fruit in natural juices or fresh fruit
• Include healthier options such as yoghurt

ICS school strictly prohibits parents from sending junk and healthy food for lunch with their children. Bringing cakes, sweets, chocolates or anything with high sugar content is not allowed, even for birthdays and other celebrations.

International Community Khalidiya School provides transportation facilities. The bus services provided meet all the ADEK and DMAT safety requirements. Drivers and bus escorts are trained, experienced and licensed by DMAT.

The school expects children to follow the bus rules at all times. Maintaining proper decorum while riding the bus is necessary, and if breached, it can result in students dealing with disciplinary action based on the school code of conduct.

To avail of this facility, you must fill in the Transportation Request Form and the Transportation Behaviour Contract and submit them to the transport department.

Annual charges for two-way bus service per child is AED 4,630.

Since it is a newly established school, it is yet to organise holiday camps and trips to international locations. The school, however, has the facilities to offer sports camps during summer and spring breaks soon and will announce these additions on the website.

Sports enthusiasts can fully engage their passion at International Community School Khalidiya. Primary and middle school children can make the most of a multi-purpose sports hall, a football field, a basketball court, a full-sized swimming pool, outdoor covered areas and a KG playground.

Your child can participate in various sporting activities, including swimming, basketball, football, netball, Zumba, yoga and gymnastics.

To encourage students to engage their mental, emotional and physical capacity, the International Community School in Khalidiya offers various extracurricular activities after school hours.

Students can become part of the clubs and activities according to their choices each term. The school can amend or cancel the club's offerings at brief notice. Clubs headed by teachers are often conducted after school hours.

A typical selection of extracurricular and co-curricular ventures might include football, drama, dancing, basketball, ICT, art, Lego, book club and choir.

Below is the list of clubs offered within a specific field.

Since the school is new, students haven’t visited many places. Trips to entertainment spots and culturally rich sites around the capital city were scheduled. As the school gains experience, it is expected that students will be part of international school trips.

As mentioned before, several extracurricular activities are provided after school hours, especially those that are teacher-led. The time for after-school activities is 02:45 pm to 03:45 pm.

The physical wellbeing of students is essential to the school, and to achieve this task, ICS Khalidiya has an on-site medical facility. Run by a registered nurse and frequented by a school doctor, the clinic is well-resourced to provide first-aid treatment and treat minor injuries.

On a similar note, parents are requested to provide their child's updated immunisation or vaccination report to the school. Doing so will help the medical staff remain posted about the student's medical condition, if there is any. Aligned with this suggestion, ICS Abu Dhabi insists that parents keep their children at home if they fall sick until they recover completely from the illness. The school will also monitor if the disease is contagious.

Apart from these recommendations, the school clinic designs health sessions and care plans communicated to students and parents. These care plans include steps for managing:

• Diabetes
• Allergy / Anaphylaxis
• Asthma
• Seizure
• Miscellaneous diseases

You can find links to various forms and vaccination schedules in the Health and Wellbeing section.

The school clinic remains open from 07:30 am to 03:30 pm. Parents can contact nurses via br4nurse@icschool-uae.com or +971-2-444-1400.

International Community School Abu Dhabi Khalidiya realises that parents are the first educators. Hence, a strong partnership with them is necessary to improve a child's progress.

Keeping this in mind, the school has formed ICS PTA Khalidiya. This parent-teacher association aims to:

• Form a relationship between the parents and the school’s administration
• Voice parents’ opinions and recommendations for the school
• Promote a positive image of the school to the community
• Allow parents to participate in school events and functions
• Allow parents to assist in executing new improvements within the ICS Khalidiya campus
• Provide voluntary work opportunities for the school and local community
• Educate parents on parenting issues

Apart from the parent-teacher association, several other modes of communication are at play here. The school holds parent-teacher meetings each term to discuss the student's progress during the academic journey.

Similarly, parents have access to a parent portal to view the school calendar, student reports, attendance records, accounts and other information.

You can visit the school campus for further queries. We have provided International Community School Khalidiya's contact details below, along with social media links.

• Telephone Number: +971-2-444-1400
• Emails
  • General Enquiries: br4info@icschool-uae.com
  • Reception: br4reception@icschool-uae.com
• ICS Khalidiya Website
• ICS Khalidiya Facebook
• ICS Khalidiya Instagram
• ICS Khalidiya YouTube

Note that the cover image belongs to International Community School, Khalidiya

What are the timings of your school?

The school starts at 07:30 am for all students. However, the Foundation Stage section ends at 12:30 pm while the remaining grades end their classes at 02:30 pm.

Do you conduct after-school activities?

Several extracurricular activities are held after school from 02:45 pm to 03:45 pm.

How many grades/years are there in your school?

International Community School Khalidiya offers education to students from FS 1 until Year 9.

How many students are currently studying at your school?

The school currently has more than 3,500 students.

Can you please describe the academic calendar of your school?

The school calendar starts in the last week of August and ends in the last week of June.

Can you please mention the range of the tuition fee charged by your school?

The school’s annual fees range from AED 26,487 to AED 31,008.

How do you communicate with parents?

International Community School in Khalidiya organises periodic meetings with parents to discuss academic performance and general behaviour matters. Teachers also communicate via a parent portal.

Do you have a cafeteria or a canteen on campus?

The on-site canteen provides snacks and meals for students during break time. Meals are prepared using fresh and nutritious ingredients.

How often does your school arrange field trips?

The school takes its students on field trips to historical, cultural and recreational sites within the capital.