Al Ain English Speaking School (A.A.E.S.S.)

Al Ain English Speaking School (AAESS) is the only coeducational independent all-through school in Al Ain, catering for all ages three to 18; Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form. The school was founded in 1979 by the construction company Balfour group who were commissioned to build part of the infrastructure of Al Ain’s drainage system. It has been expanded and enhanced considerably since then due to its popularity. The school was significantly refurbished both inside and out during the summer of 2014 and then again in 2016 with a new primary building being completed for the start of the academic term of 2019, with independent Primary Science Labs being completed.

In 2017, the school celebrated a student gaining the highest award in the World for GCSE French, and in 2019, its first student gaining the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. In 2019, AAESS also celebrated a student gaining the highest in the world for his A/S Maths exam with the Cambridge awarding body. In January 2020, the school was awarded an ‘A’ rated inspection ‘Good’ report. In this year, Zaheer Abass, Head of Secondary and Physics teacher, was also awarded the inaugural ADEK Teacher of the Year Award.

The curriculum and approach to teaching and learning are based on the English educational model, with the inclusion of Arabic Language, Arabic Social Studies, and Islamic Education (for Muslim children).

The school is owned by Mohammed Al Ghussien who is the CEO of the Bin Harmal consortium,Stella Investments and part owner of the Abu Dhabi University and Middlesex University, Dubai.

The Principal, Andrew Thomas, was Assistant Principal at Paignton Community & Sports Academy for nearly 17 years, and has been published in many journals for his work in education, having collaborated with Dr Gareth Stratton, who sits on the NICE committee, in the UK. Thomas has also given conferences at Premiership football clubs in the UK including Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Arsenal as well as the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and at the British Educational Training and Technology Show Middle East (BETT). He was also nominated for the Teacher of the Year Award in the UK.