Admissions and entrance exams

Updated 29 October 2026

UAE school age cut-off and year groups

Which year group your child joins at a British-curriculum school in the UAE, under the rules that started in 2026-27, and how that lines up with England.

What changed and when

In December 2025 the UAE's Education, Human Development and Community Development Council approved a Ministry of Education recommendation to move the age cut-off from 31 August to 31 December. It applies from the 2026-27 academic year to all schools and kindergartens whose year starts in August or September. Schools that start in April (many Indian and Pakistani curriculum schools) keep 31 March.

The ages a child must reach by 31 December of the admission year are:

• FS1 (Pre-KG): 3
• FS2 (KG1): 4
• Year 1 (KG2): 5
• Year 2 (Grade 1): 6

The ministry also said the rule applies only to new admissions: pupils already enrolled continue under the rules that applied when they first registered.

Every year group, FS1 to Year 13

This is Dubai's age-grade chart, published by KHDA (the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, which regulates Dubai's private schools), with the birth years it gives for the next two intakes. The last column shows who is in the same year group in England, where the school year runs from 1 September to 31 August.

Ages and year names from KHDA's Comparative Age and Curriculum Equivalence Table. Birth years are worked out from "age by 31 December". The chart is what schools use for first-time registrations; from Year 2 upwards a transfer certificate usually decides (see below).

The 2026-27 transition rules in Dubai

KHDA has published guidance for Dubai schools on how the change works. In summary, the new rule applies only to children registering in the KHDA system for the first time in 2026-27. It does not apply to:

• children already enrolled in a Dubai school or early childhood centre
• children transferring between Dubai schools
• children already registered with KHDA

There is a one-off option for children born between 1 September and 31 December 2022 who are not enrolled anywhere: in 2026-27 only, they can be placed in FS1 or FS2, based on the school's assessment of their readiness. In UK-curriculum schools, a readiness assessment can also apply for FS1 entry. KHDA is clear that this flexibility does not extend to other year groups or later years.

Joining from abroad: age or transfer certificate?

• FS1 to Year 1: age decides. KHDA's example: a four-year-old who was in KG2 (Year 1) abroad is placed in FS2 in Dubai.
• Year 2 and above: the transfer certificate (TC) from the previous school is the main reference. The school must tell KHDA if the TC puts a child more than one year above the age chart, and only then is special approval needed. If there is no TC, the age chart applies. See transfer certificates in the UAE.
• Late starters: a seven-year-old who has never been to school (for example from a country where school starts at seven) goes into Year 2, not Year 1, with extra support.
• Weak results or limited English are not, on their own, grounds for placing a child in a lower year. KHDA expects schools to support the child within the right year group.

From Year 11 (Grade 10) upwards, placement also has to fit the exam board's and Ministry of Education's rules, because these are qualification years.

Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the other emirates

The 31 December cut-off is a national decision covering all schools whose year starts in August or September. The detailed transition rules on this page are KHDA's, so they apply to Dubai. Abu Dhabi private schools are regulated by ADEK (the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge), and Sharjah's by SPEA (the Sharjah Private Education Authority). We have not found a published ADEK or SPEA document setting out their own transition rules for 2026-27, so ask the school how it applies the cut-off before you apply.

If you might move back to England

Compare the last two columns of the table. For children born between January and August, the Dubai chart and England put them in the same year group. A child born between September and December who registers for the first time under the new chart sits one year above where the same birthday would place them in England. For example, a child born in October 2021 starts Year 1 in Dubai in September 2026, while in England they would be in Reception.

In England, children are normally taught in their own age group, and parents can ask for a place outside it; the school's admission authority decides. If a move back is likely, raise it with both schools early. Our guide to getting a school place when you move back to the UK covers how that works.

School tests follow the year group too. CAT4, for example, compares children by exact age rather than year group (see CAT4 scores explained), but which version they sit depends on their year (see CAT4 levels by year group).