# British Schools in AD and good education + housing allowance



## Zainal16 (Mar 15, 2021)

Hi everyone,

I'm after some advice here. I've been offered an assistant prof. position at a gov institution with a basic salary of AED22,000. I was told that the housing allowance will be approximately AED80000 and education allowance is AED40000 up to 3 children. I have a feeling that these are quite low considering the cost of living in AD? We're a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children - one is 8 another is 4) from the UK and I don't want to be moving to AD just to send my children to a school that is not to the UK standard. I just want to make sure that the move is worth while and that we can afford living in AD. I've just looked at the fees for the top 3 british schools and they all exceed AED60k.

My question is, are these usually negotiable? I have a PhD and 8 years' experience of working in HE in the UK. How do I usually go about the negotiation without sounding rude or too demanding? I just want to make sure that we are getting the best and we're not looking at downgrading our life when we move to AD. Hope anyone can help with this? Many thanks!


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

HI,
Everything is negotiable - up to a point.
It will depend if you are in competition with other candidates - who are not complaining about the allowances or whether your field is more unique with less competition for places.
Both the housing allowance and the school fees allowance that you mentioned are extremely low for a good position in Abu Dhabi.
Our son goes to one of the top British school in Abu Dhabi - he is 15 and in year 11.
The fees at his age are 100,000 per year!
Depending on where you want to live (relative to your work and kids schools) - you won’t get a lot for 80,000 per year - especially in popular western Ex-pat areas.
Cheers
Steve


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## Zainal16 (Mar 15, 2021)

Stevesolar said:


> HI,
> Everything is negotiable - up to a point.
> It will depend if you are in competition with other candidates - who are not complaining about the allowances or whether your field is more unique with less competition for places.
> Both the housing allowance and the school fees allowance that you mentioned are extremely low for a good position in Abu Dhabi.
> ...


Thanks Steve! Considering the extremely low allowances, may I know what is the average housing and education allowance that an expat should get to be able to live not too far away from the centre and to send children to a good British school? At least I could have an estimated figure in mind when negotiating. Also, as a parent, could you help me list down top 5 British schools in AD for me to consider? Although I could easily google this, I prefer to read parents' first-hand experience to help me decide on schools. Thanks again!


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
A great education allowance will pay the fees in full for you chosen school - but this is rare these days!
30-40,000 AED per child is quite common.
Regarding housing allowance - then this varies so much between organizations - but 120,000 to 250,000 AED per year are typical for senior positions - sometimes even more.
British schools include - Cranleigh, Brighton, BISAD, BISAK, Repton, Al Yasmina and Raha International.
The ADEK website will give you fee and inspection information for all the schools.
Cheers
Steve


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