Year 7 entry

Applications for entry in August 2023 are closed.

Applications to join Year 7 in August 2024 are now open, please visit the how to apply page.  Please take time to read the information below as well as the Year 7 Key Dates and Year 7 Frequently Asked Questions before you apply. 

Dubai College begins at Year 7 with 176 places available.  Dubai College is a selective entry school. Note that all eligible Year 7 applicants who apply before the deadline of the 31st October 2023 will be invited to sit our entrance assessment which takes place each November.

While our students do have a long track record of excelling academically, we also admit students who show interest and ability in sports and the creative arts as well as academic endeavour. As a school we aim to educate students who are socially articulate and well-rounded as well as academic and we welcome applications from students who will thrive in a demanding secondary school environment.

The majority of our new Year 7 students come to us from primary schools in Dubai but we also have joiners every year from other Emirates and overseas.  Typically students from around 35 to 40 different primary schools join us in Year 7.  Most of our Year 7 students have previously attended UK curriculum primary schools but we welcome applications from students at any primary school.  If you require advice on the equivalent school grades in a different curriculum, please contact the Registrar via the enquiry form.

Year 7 is the main entry point to Dubai College and we strongly recommend that families already in Dubai apply for Year 7 rather than postponing applying until a later year group (for example to coincide with a younger sibling's application to Year 7).

Age of entry

All applicants should be in the school year group which corresponds to their age unless there are exceptional circumstances.

For entry into Year 7 in the academic year commencing August 2024, the applicant should have reached eleven years of age by 31^st August 2024 and must complete Year 6 (or the equivalent grade in another curriculum*) in the academic year 2023-24.

Applicants slightly younger than this are also eligible to apply for entry to Year 7 in August 2024, provided that:

1. They will be eleven years old by 31^st December 2024, and
2. They are already at school in the UAE in Year 6 (or the equivalent grade in another curriculum) in the academic year 2023-24**.

*If you require any advice on grade equivalence, please contact the Registrar.  Families whose children are attending schools in the Southern hemisphere with a January to December academic year should also contact the Registrar for advice.

** Any prospective candidates who are in Year 6 in the academic year 2023-24 but whose eleventh birthday will fall after 31^st December 2024 must contact the Registrar for advice.