UAE School Admissions Explained: What The New Age Cut-Off Means For Parents, Students

From the 2026-27 academic year, children in the UAE will be able to start Pre-Kindergarten at age three, as long as they turn three at any point during the admission year. The change applies to schools that begin their academic year in August or September.

The revised policy, approved by the Education, Human Development and Community Development Council, shifts the age cut-off from August 31 to December 31, making eligibility dependent on the admission year rather than the month the school year begins.

In effect, all children born between January and December of the same admission year are now eligible, provided they reach the required age by December 31. The change especially benefits children born between September and December, who previously had to wait an extra year to start school.

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What exactly has changed in the admissions rule?

The UAE has moved to a calendar-year-based admissions system.

Previously, eligibility was tied to whether a child reached the required age before August 31, ahead of the school year starting in August or September. Under the new rule, what matters is whether the child reaches the required age at any time during the admission year, up to December 31.

This means the admission year, and not the school start month, now determines eligibility.

How does this affect children starting school at age 3?

Children who turn three at any point during the admission year, including in September, October, November, or December, are now eligible to enter Pre-Kindergarten.

Under the previous system, many of these children would have been considered underage and required to wait an additional year. The updated policy allows earlier entry.

What ages now apply to each school stage?

Under the new December 31 cut-off, the age requirements are:

Pre-KG: Child must be 3 years old

KG1: Child must be 4 years old

KG2: Child must be 5 years old

Grade 1: Child must be 6 years old

All ages must be reached on or before December 31 of the admission year.

How does this align across different curricula?

The policy standardises age placement across international education systems:

Pre-KG: FS1 (British), Petite Section (French), Pre-KG (others)

KG1: FS2 (British), Moyenne Section (French)

KG2: Year 1 (British), Grande Section (French)

Grade 1: Year 2 (British), Cours Préparatoire (CP) in the French system

Does age alone determine whether a child is ready for school?

No. A review found that age is only one factor in school readiness.

Researchers assessed children across core developmental areas, including cognitive, language, socio-emotional, and motor skills. The findings showed that readiness depends on a combination of interacting developmental indicators, not age alone.

This means two children of the same age may be at very different stages of readiness.

What did the study find about early entry?

A national dataset covering more than 39,000 students was analysed, including children who entered school at ages 3, 4, and 5 under the previous cut-off system.

The academic performance data revealed no significant disadvantages associated with early entry. In some cases, children who started at age three demonstrated stronger academic outcomes, while those who enrolled later showed marginally lower performance.

Does this new rule apply to all schools in the UAE?

The December 31 cut-off applies to all schools and kindergartens whose academic year begins in August or September, regardless of curriculum.

However, schools that begin their academic year in April are not affected and will continue using the March 31 cut-off under the existing system.

Will this affect children who are already enrolled?

No. The updated policy applies only to new student admissions for the 2026-27 academic year.

Students currently enrolled will continue under the admission rules that were in place at the time of their original registration, with no changes to their placement.

What if a child is transferring schools or coming from overseas?

For students transferring between schools, switching curricula, or arriving from outside the UAE, placement will be based on the last successfully completed grade.

Schools will follow approved grade equivalency and academic progression procedures to ensure continuity in learning.

Do parents have to enrol their child earlier because of this change?

No. The policy allows earlier entry but does not require it.

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