Victory Heights Primary School opened in 2013. In May 2022, the school was awarded an Outstanding rating by British Schools Overseas - a confirmation of the highest quality. VHPS was finally awarded the KHDA's Outstanding rating in April 2023 and received the same rating in the 2023-24 inspection round.

The story so far...

Victory Heights Primary School, located in Dubai Sports City, is a boutique National Curriculum for England school that caters to the population around Victory Heights, Dubai Sports City and Jumeirah Golf Estates, although there are students from further afield. 

From the early days, VHPS has been in strong demand from parents living around this expanding area - so much so, that in August 2021, a separate Foundation Stage unit opened on the outskirts of Dubai Sports City, in order to enable more children to start their education at VHPS.  This also enabled the school to expand to a limited extent, through taking over the space previously occupied by the youngest children.

As Principal Sasha Crabb explains, "Our vision to ‘Nurture, Challenge and Excel’ has led to outstanding academic progress, a varied and creative curriculum, and children who develop into confident and well-rounded individuals. Our children clearly love learning and come bounding through the gates every morning ready for new and exciting challenges, alongside our highly-qualified and dedicated teaching staff."

Despite the development of the separate Foundation Stage section, the hard reality is that there is simply not sufficient space on the existing site to significantly increase the size of the school despite the obvious demand.

Finally, in June 2024, the welcome news was published that a second Victory Heights Primary School, this located at City of Arabia, will open in September 2025.  A review of the new school can be found here.

Perhaps most importantly, the winning team that leads the current VHPS in Sport City will also be responsible for the development and operation of the new school.  Principal of VHPS, Sacha Crabb, will assume the role of Director (Academics) with oversight of both schools, whilst Ben Rothwell, currently Headteacher at the Sports City school, will move to City of Arabia to lead the new school on a day to day basis.

In early January 2025, the school announced the appointment of the promotion of current Assistant Headteacher, Rob McCall, to the role of Vice Principal, replacing Ben Rothwell during the latter's transition to the new school. Mr. McCall is another long-term VHPS employee, having joined the school in August 2019. With degrees in Sport Science and Physical Education, Mr. McCall gained a Master of Education from Middlesex University Dubai with Distinction in July 2021.

In June 2025, VHPS announced the successor to Mr. Rothwell as Headteacher.  This is Mr. Matthew Hawley, a familiar figure at VHPS since he originally joined the school in 2016 as Deputy Headteacher, playing a key role in improved teaching and learning, prior to leaving the school in 2019. Mr. Hawley returns to VHPS from subsequent role as Headteacher at Great Oak Multi Academy Trust in Saffron Walden, UK.

Mr. Hawley holds a Master's of Education in Education Management from the prestigious Kings College, London.  His first degree was a Bachelor's of English. 

Victory Heights Primary School is accredited by British Schools of the Middle East (BSME), COBIS - the Council of British International Schools, and by British Schools Overseas, which carries out an inspection based on UK Department of Education School standards every three years. 

VHPS was rated Good (the second of four ratings issued by BSO) when it was inspected in early 2017, but following its BSO inspection in May 2022, the school achieved the highest inspection rating of Outstanding across all standards.  You may read a copy of the highly impressive inspection report here.

A  year later, VHPS was finally awarded the local regulator, the KHDA's, Outstanding rating, which many felt was long overdue.
This means the school has finally been recognised at the same level as the four other Primary only schools in the city - Dubai English Speaking School, GEMS Jumeirah Primary School, Horizon English Speaking School, and Jumeirah English Speaking School (Al Safa).  

Feedback from parents to WhichSchoolAdvisor.com to our survey has been overwhelmingly positive.

Recent feedback includes the following comments:

"I feel like the teachers and the staff know each child and their specific needs."
"Strengths: Warmth, respect and values"
"Absolutely love the school! My son loves it. The school gives a different name to inclusive."

Check out further feedback from parents under The Buzz.

The current population of the school is just over 1,000 students, and the majority are British passport holders. Eight percent of students are registered as students with SEND requirements. Over 50% of students, on joining the school, are not native English speakers.  VHPS has long been known as a highly inclusive school, often accepting students who have been rejected elsewhere.

The 2023-24 DSIB inspection rated VHPS Outstanding for the Protection, Care, Guidance and Support of students, and the Provision and Outcomes for Students of Determination.

The inspectors noted that "The school has established very secure systems to identify students of determination. Individual plans are created to establish support and modify the curriculum to suit each student’s learning needs and to maximum their academic and personal progress. Individual learning targets are systematically checked at regular intervals. Thorough assessment processes enable staff to identify and enhance provision for students with gifts and talents."

Read our recent School Experience Visit Review HERE! 

The majority of teachers are British passport holders and if they are not recruited from the UK, they are highly qualified, with the experience necessary to deliver the British National Curriculum. There are 66 teachers and 39 teaching assistants; the teacher to student ratio averages 1:14. The teacher turnover rate in the 2022-23 academic year was a remarkable 5%  (and 0% a year earlier) compared with an average of 20-22% in Dubai. This is important for continuity in curriculum and school development and evidence of the genuine commitment of staff to the school. Unfortunately, the local regulator has discontinued publication of this data.

No one should underestimate the importance of the presence of the Principal, Sasha Crabb, who has been with the school since its opening and has ensured not only stability, but a strong focus on improvement.  Ms. Crabb is admired not only by parents and staff at 'her' school, but by the wider UAE Education community as a whole, who celebrated with her on winning WhichSchoolAdvisor.com's sister website's SchoolsCompared.com award for Principal of the Year in the 2019.

In the 2022-23 KHDA report, inspectors commented "The inspirational principal sets an excellent example for all other leaders; The principal and all leaders are determined to provide the best education for each student".  The 2023-24 report notes that "All leaders have a clear, consistent and ambitious view of the school’s direction and are committed to UAE priorities. They have a full and up-to-date understanding of best practices. Leaders work closely together to establish an inclusive, purposeful learning environment."

Ms. Crabb is not only committed to her school, her staff, students and parents, but is also the inspiration for them.  Staff regularly hear "I've had an idea", and know that they will be involved in its development.  Ms. Crabb's introduction to herself on the school website includes "She continues to think outside the box with school initiatives and her autobiography will be called Method to the Madness".  There is nothing boring about this school.

What about the curriculum?

VHPS offers the National Curriculum for England (including the Early Years' Foundation Stage for FS1 and FS2), and Key stages One and Two. With its focus on the core skills of English, Maths and Science, VHPS focuses not only on what is taught, but how it is taught and how children's development and academic progress is measured. 

Lessons are designed to make links across the subject-areas, ensuring that creative topics make learning exciting for the children, and using a variety of teaching tools and methods.  VHPS organises field trips linked to learning, and focuses on developing children’s skills as well as their knowledge and understanding. Teachers carry out both formative (on-going) and summative assessments, closely tracking children’s progress  and documenting children’s learning in order to celebrate their achievements.

A key focus of the school is the relationship it builds with parents, who receive regular feedback and are involved in learning, through workshops, information sessions and class activities. 

At the core of the curriculum, VHPS aims also to develop the key aspects of Positive Education aimed at enabling children to develop their power as learners, so that they can achieve their best throughout life. Key attributes, which are in line with KHDA's Lighthouse project, support 10 traits for PosEd including creativity, curiosity, courage, integrity, resilience, empathy, fairness and tolerance, awe, gratitude and purpose. 

The school aims to deliver a holistic education, addressing not just academics, but student-wellbeing in its widest sense.  In early 2023, students from VHPS won the Under 11 British Schools of the Middle East games, beating off  a large number of much bigger schools to take the top prize.

What about the facilities?

VHPS is located in the centre of Dubai Sports City. A consistent area of concern for the school and the Regulator has been the road infrastructure around the school, surrounded as it is by high-rise buildings, the lack of appropriate parking and safety concerns, given the number of vehicles around the school.  This has been a particular area of focus, with the latest inspection report noting that "Movement for staff and students, is carefully organised."

Having said  this, once inside the school grounds, the issues outside the school are left behind. Although not the largest external sports facilities, the school manages the use of the site for play time and for sports activities very well.  The interior of the school is designed to support the cluster design throughout the school, where classrooms open out to central indoor activity areas.

A second building was added in 2016, containing an indoor swimming pool on the ground floor and a range of additional classrooms and administrative areas above.  This considerably increased the capacity of the school.

In 2021, the separate Victory Heights Foundation Stage building was opened on the outskirts of Dubai Sports City, enabling the youngest students access to a purpose-built facility, and allowing expansion of the Primary students into the areas previously occupied by the Foundation Stage children.

What the inspectors say

In 2018-19, Victory Heights Primary School was again rated Very Good by the KHDA's DSIB inspectors for the second year in a row. 

With a halt to the inspection process due to the pandemic, no subsequent KHDA inspection took place until March 2023.  However, VHPS arranged an independent inspection by a team from British Schools Overseas in 2022, which follows the UK Department of Education's OFSTED inspection process, and received an Outstanding rating. 

The BSO report can be read here.

 It took until March 2023 for the DSIB inspectors to award a similar Outstanding rating to the school. And what an outcome.  With the exception of Arabic and Islamic Studies (the Achilles heel of almost all UAE schools), every single key performance indicator was awarded the highest rating. The 2023-24 inspection saw the Outstanding rating awarded again, with a further improvement to Good for Islamic Education attainment.

As far as the KHDA's DSIB inspection team are concerned, the strengths of the school are:

• Excellent leadership and targeted support of the governing body, which has led to improvements in the school’s outstanding performance

• High student outcomes in English, mathematics and science, underpinned by very high-quality teaching, assessment and curriculum adaptations

• The outstanding personal and social development of the students

• A very strong focus on wellbeing, providing excellent care, support and security for students

• The commitment, support and involvement of members of staff and parents in their children’s inclusive education.

In terms of areas of improvement recommended for the school, these were inevitably limited to one subject area:

• Improve students’ achievements in the Arabic language subjects.

• In Arabic and Islamic education by: - ensuring teaching practices that are fully focused on the development of linguistic skills and approaches.

• In Arabic, for first language learners by: - ensuring teachers explicitly link learning objectives to the Ministry of Education (MoE) curriculum standards, and  - effectively monitoring students’ achievements against the MoE curriculum standards.

• In Arabic for additional language learners by: - supporting teachers with the challenge of meeting the needs of a wide range of abilities.

If you would like to read the full inspection report - and we strongly advise that you do so in order to understand the reasons behind the ratings, the recommendations for improvement (and to determine how relevant these may be to your children)- you will find it here.

Following the introduction of a new area for evaluation in the 2022-23 inspection round, in 2023-24's inspection VHPS was again evaluated for 'the quality of wellbeing provision and outcomes' which was found to be at an outstanding level (an improvement from Very High in the original evaluation).

The inspectors commented that:

• A very strong culture of wellbeing exists in the school, through the commitment of the governing board, the principal and senior leaders. Leaders demonstrate dedication through a vision of ‘Nurture, Challenge and Excel’ which guides practice. Staff are encouraged to innovate to improve the learning and wellbeing opportunities that they offer. Robust and pioneering wellbeing assessment information informs decisions. Leaders review practice and identify ways to improve and further embed wellbeing for the whole school community. 
• The wellbeing team listens and is available to assist any member of the school community needing emotional and personal support. Student wellbeing ambassadors initiate activities, listen to the student body and are increasingly influential in enhancing wellbeing provision. New teachers are fully supported at the start of their careers. The school’s climate enables students to learn to be positive, respectful and kind. Members of staff describe their very strong sense of belonging to the school.
• The inspirational wellbeing curriculum permeates the school and is exceptionally well-planned. Active learning and wellbeing thrive in very positive and stimulating classroom climates. The wellbeing of all stakeholders is nurtured. Students, in turn, demonstrate high levels of commitment, engagement and resilience as they undertake increasingly challenging tasks. The very broad range of additional activities and with opportunities for individuals to excel in sport and the arts, helps to develop teamwork. Students feel safe and valued at school.

In terms of areas for development, the inspectors recommended that VHPS should:

• Build even more opportunities for student wellbeing committee members to play an even greater role in the development of student-led wellbeing initiatives.

The Buzz

The WhichSchoolAdvisor.com survey completed by parents at VHPS shares equally positive responses to our questions.  A total of 120 parents have responded to date and given the school a positivity rating of 4.5/5 - 90%.

73% of parents said that their children enjoyed going to school "a tremendous amount", and they have a similarly high sense of belonging. 

There was a 91% satisfaction rating for the level of academic performance, and although 14% believed their child needs external tuition, this is left than half the UAE average of 29%.  87% of parents were entirely satisfied with the level of feedback from the school and its disciplinary policy and implementation.  

A whopping 93% of parents (the UAE average is 82%) would recommend VHPS to others, although interestingly, at some stage 16% had considered moving their child to another school - though this is again well below the UAE average of 25%.  We believe this is largely parents seeking to secure Secondary places before the end of Year 6.

Even the inevitable niggle about the value for money that school fees represent seems to be less of a concern. 73% of parents felt that the school's fees represented good value for money (against a UAE average of 51%) , though 5% disagreed with this view (again less than half the UAE average of 11%)..

If you are a parent or teacher at Victory Heights Primary School, please do share your thoughts and experiences with other potential members of your community by completing our survey here.

 Our View

There are a small number of Primary schools in Dubai, but each of them has an outstanding reputation.  Many parents are concerned about sending their three year old children to an all-through school environment where they fear that the youngest and oldest will inevitably cross paths at some stage, or because they are concerned about the sheer size of these schools and the potentially intimidatory impact on young children. 

Although obviously much more modern than the traditional UK primary school, what VHPS does share with the original UK model is an environment with a strong sense of community and care for the youngest students.  We highly recommend VHPS as one of the best environments for young children to commence their formal education. 

Children moving on from VHPS have a range of options around the area.  South View School, which is located at Remraam, is part of the same group as VHPS, and VHPS Principal, Sacha Crabb, has been involved with its development from the outset.  She is a member of the Board of Directors there and no doubt continues to ensure the best for 'her' students who move on from VHPS.  The school stresses that it has strong relationships with a range of all-through and Secondary only schools and works actively with parents to support them in their applications to the most suitable school for each specific child.

What about the fees?

Fees for Victory Heights Primary School start at AED 39,216 for FS1, and AED 42,780 for FS2, and rise to AED 53,476 for Years 5 and 6.

These fees are exclusive of transport and school uniforms and any addition charges related to paid Extra-curricular activities, field trips or school visits.

There is an application fee of AED 500, a Medical Fee is AED 500, and the Enrolment Fee on offer of a place is 10% of the annual fees.  The Enrolment Fee is a non-refundable deposit which is deducted from a student's first term’s tuition fees.  There is an annual re-enrollment fee of 5% of the applicable tuition fees (for the year being entered) which is refundable against the first term's fees.

Fees also do not include any English language or Special Needs Learning Support that students may require.

This school is in a Best School by parents ranking

Victory Heights Primary School is a Best of school, a ranking determined by parent surveys on the site. It can be found in the following Best of rankings:

• #6 in Best Schools in the UAE
• #3 in Best Premium Schools in Dubai
• #1 in Best Premium British Schools in Dubai
• #3 in Best British Schools in Dubai
• #1 in Best Primary Schools in Dubai
• #6 in Best Schools in Dubai

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