School system in Doha

Hi ramroumma,

I invite you to read this article please - Study in Qatar as it might help

Thank you

Maximilien
Expat-blog Team

There are two types of school - Qatari State and International Private and in the pre-K years there are also private nurseries that teach up to Year 1 (age 6).

Qatari State - only teach in Arabic - separate sex schools - don't know much more than that sorry.

International Private -
1. Are privately owned, teach in a variety of languages - English, spanish, french, arabic......depending on the school. If an English language school, arabic will be offered as an elective type subject as will another language (quite often French)

2. All schools are required to teach to SEC (Supreme Education Council) requirements - you might want to check out their website - schools teaching English or US curriculum/ IGCSE /IB etc required to meet requirements of the associated board that register them to allow them to teach those courses.

3. Kids are kids - there will be problems in all schools and sometimes its the luck of the draw - same in any other country including US, UK, Europe etc. It is better to look for a school that suits your child and their personality as well as your requirements, if that school doesn't work out, then move at the earliest opportunity. I would in general say most Primary schools operate OK here - but the same can not be said about the Secondary schools.

4. The 'best schools' in Doha are generally considered to be Doha College, American School, Park House, Sherborne, DESS - but I do have a friend who was happy with her son at the private place she had him up until the age of 5 (Reception year) and I've been very happy with my son's progress, class, teacher etc at Newton International (Lagoon) - he just finished Foundation 2 (Reception).

5. Pre-K is often learn through play - songs, games, puzzles, activities, stories, art n craft, playtime, park visits, excursions etc etc with increasing amounts of "traditional" type activities (working at a desk, readers, worksheets etc). This will mostly be geared towards bringing all students, from their various backgrounds, experiences etc to a point where they have common experiences so that they can confidently move into the primary years - so things like colours, shapes, numbers, alphabet and the letter sounds, simple addition/subtraction, social development (sitting still, waiting turn, playing with others), physical development (run, jump, throw a ball, hold a pencil). If you want more details I suggest you check out the British Early Years Checklist (easy to find on google) as that is pretty close to what most school systems would be doing with kids of this age

A̶̲̅rε̲̣̣̣̥ ther school ℓ̊n doha that study with English, ℓ̊ mean for person who understand only English

All the English first language international schools (the ones mentioned above) have instruction only in English - unless you are in an Arabic or French class at least - then you would obviously be learning those languages and speaking them!

Dragonladyoz,

thank you so much for your answer, I really appreciate your help. It is good to know you happy with Newton international school-Lagoon, since NIS has bad reviews on qatarliving's forum. Do you know if NIS-West Bay is a good school?

There are several Newton Schools and most of the reviews on Qatar Living are about D-Ring campus, which doesn't technically exist as of this year, as they have moved to new school at Barwa, taking students from some of the other NIS campuses as well. Lagoon has only been open for 2 years, so is a new school still growing and establishing.

Don't get me wrong - there is plenty wrong with NIS - but my experience with the Primary school has been positive, with both my boys (the other in Year 4), showing real learning gains in the time they have been there, and that's what you want!

Newton - West Bay have (I understand) a few more problems and issues than Lagoon - the biggest one being that their location does not have playground areas - so no where really for the kids to play - but the classes do regularly visit a local park with play equipment/gardens etc.

Like I said, best to visit the schools and get a feel for them, so you choose one where you feel most comfortable. It might also depend on where you can get a place.

check this website , it has alot of information about schools in Qatar

schoolsinqatar.net/

"I have a daughter who is 4 and I am trying to find a school for her. At home we speak French, Arabic and English."

What type of education do you want her to receive? Doha has private schools offering American, British, and IB systems and curriculum. There are also schools catering to French, Indian, Canadian, Lebanese, Pakistani, and Filipino. You really should decide first on what type of curriculum you want for your child, research the relevant schools, and then apply to get in. For example, if you aren't looking for the American curriculum, don't waste time looking at or researching those types of schools. Doha has many good schools within each national curriculum, and it would make your life easier if you selected what you wanted for your child and focus on that.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck