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Under its pioneering Global Schools initiative, QE Barnet has successfully opened new schools in India and UAE – the first to bear the proud Queen Elizabeth’s name overseas.

Queen Elizabeth’s School, Gurugram, and Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City, welcomed their founding families in colourful, joy-filled ceremonies.

Pupils explored their new schools, met their classmates, and received the warmest of welcomes: from teachers and other staff; from leaders of QE’s partner organisation, Global Education (GEDU) – and even from a couple of robots!

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This is a tremendously significant milestone for QE Global Schools – the first time that a UK state school has ever opened affiliate schools abroad.

“I welcome and thank all the parents in Gurugram and Dubai who have entrusted us with providing a first-class, modern education for their children rooted in the mission, ethos and traditions of QE Barnet.

“I also offer my sincere congratulations to my colleagues both here and in Dubai and India: it is very exciting to see their hard work and preparations over many months coming to fruition.

“At a stroke, these openings create a new, worldwide family of QE schools. In the years to come, we look forward to many exciting collaborative, educational and networking opportunities for current pupils, alumni and staff alike.”

The two new schools are both fee-paying, co-educational schools open to children of nursery age onwards. They will eventually educate pupils up to and including Year 13. QE Gurugram will offer boarding, in addition to day places.

QE, Dubai Sports City, welcomed more than 500 pupils and staff for the start of the 2026–2027 academic year. Families joined together in the Founding Families’ Hub, where Arabic calligraphy, a majlis (a special gathering), and time together over coffee created a welcoming start to the morning. Across the campus, students explored their new surroundings with their QE Passports, visiting classrooms, sports facilities and the e-sports lab, before coming together for their first assemblies and team-building activities. The day also brought some memorable surprises, with a humanoid robot greeting families on arrival and a robot dog delivering House invitations to students as they discovered their House colours for the first time.

Dan Clark, Founding Principal of QE, Dubai Sports City, said: “The opening marked the beginning of an exciting journey, and we were delighted to welcome our founding students, families and staff.

“From the outset, our ambition has been to provide an outstanding academic education, framed around a simple mission: to nurture confident, able and responsible young men and women. This will be achieved by translating the deep culture of scholarship, the focus on character and the commitment to belonging that are the hallmarks of Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet.

“We are excited for our students to experience our exceptionally broad offering, enhanced through unique partnerships in sport, creative arts, innovation and entrepreneurship. Each Elizabethan will have the opportunity to discover their strengths, develop their confidence and feel a genuine sense of belonging through our tailored signature programmes,” Mr Clark added.

At QE Gurugram, the inaugural cohort of students and their families were welcomed by the school leadership and introduced to the school’s vision and values through a special assembly and Bell Ceremony. The day included a Tree-Planting Ceremony, symbolising the beginning of a new community taking root in Gurugram, while families were invited to sign the school’s Legacy Book as part of its founding history. Gurugram, also known as Gurgaon, is a major satellite city of Delhi.

Dr Craig Cook, Founding Principal of QE Gurugram, said: “These children will always be the first chapter of Queen Elizabeth’s School in Gurugram. We want them to feel that this is a school where they are known, valued and challenged to discover what they can achieve. Academic excellence is important, but so are confidence, curiosity, relationships, creativity and character. Our responsibility is to give every child the opportunity to flourish.”

Caroline Pendleton-Nash, CEO of Queen Elizabeth’s Global Schools, said: “For our founding students, the year ahead will be filled with firsts: lessons, friendships, teams, competitions, celebrations and traditions. These are the moments that will begin to define our schools and, in years to come, become part of their history. There is something incredibly special about being part of a founding community. Our students and families will not simply join the story of Queen Elizabeth’s Global Schools; they will help shape it.”

Mr Enright and his senior staff in Barnet are playing a key role in shaping and guiding the new schools to ensure that they reflect the name and reputation of Queen Elizabeth’s School. For its part, GEDU – a hugely experienced organisation already educating 60,000 students across 12 countries – is shouldering much of the administrative burden of managing the new schools. Revenues from the initiative received by FQE International Enterprises will be invested into further improving educational opportunities at QE Barnet.

Click on the gallery of images below for more. You can see a short video from the opening of QE Dubai Sports City here.

Building on more than 450 years of academic excellence in Barnet, Queen Elizabeth’s Global Schools is to open a branch campus in India, it was announced today.

The new independent school, which will open in August 2026, will be in Gurugram – a satellite city of Delhi in the northern Indian state of Haryana that is known as a financial and technology hub.

Queen Elizabeth’s School, Gurugram, will deliver a curriculum grounded in academic depth, intellectual discipline and holistic development, designed to prepare students for leadership in an increasingly interconnected world.

It will offer an exceptional, vibrant campus life that is focused on academic excellence and co-curricular activities, providing students with a learning environment that draws inspiration from both QE Barnet and the wider local context in Gurugram. The new school will include world-class sport facilities, a swimming pool and specialist creative and performing arts facilities.

QE Global Schools is a partnership between QE Barnet and GEDU Global Education established to open new overseas schools which reflect the founding School’s ethos, academic rigour and heritage. Queen Elizabeth’s School, Gurugram will launch in the same month as Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City, the opening of which was announced in autumn 2025.

QE Barnet Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We are delighted to have this opportunity to offer a rounded and enriching QE education to children in India, spreading opportunity and supporting students to become the leaders of their generation. Our school in Barnet is built upon the high levels of aspiration, dedication and active engagement of our Elizabethan community, and these are values that we think will resonate strongly in Gurugram.

“We are excited by the potential for international collaboration, which, in time, will build a global network of Elizabethans for the benefit of our new students as well as those within the state sector in Barnet.

“In addition, we intend to use revenue from QE Global Schools to support long-term educational excellence here at Queen’s Road.

“QE Barnet was recently named The Sunday Times State Secondary School of the Year, also winning national recognition as State School of the Year for Academic Excellence and for A-levels. The School ranked first in the sector nationally for GCSE and A-level results.

“The QE experience is so much more than what goes on within the classroom” added Mr Enright. “The breadth and depth of our co-curricular activities (from sport to the arts, debating to robotics), bespoke pastoral care and expert guidance, mean that we succeed in our enduring mission to produce fully rounded young people who are confident, able and responsible.”

Caroline Pendleton-Nash, Chief Executive Officer of Queen Elizabeth’s Global Schools, said, “The opening of Queen Elizabeth’s School in Gurugram is another landmark moment for our organisation.

“Children born in India now will be graduating in 2047, entering the workforce of an economic, political and cultural superpower.

“A world-class K12* education will be critical to ensure these individuals seize the opportunities that are presented to them, and support the aspirations of Viksit Bharat 2047 [Viksit Bharat 2047 is the national vision to transform India into a developed nation through holistic development and empowerment by the 100th anniversary of the country’s independence.].

“We’re honoured to bring the heritage, values and exacting standards of Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, to Indian students and families. With GEDU Global Education’s long-term commitment to India, we are building a school that will nurture confident, capable and principled young people who are prepared to lead with purpose in a rapidly changing and competitive world.”

With a second Queen Elizabeth’s School campus planned for India in 2027–28, GEDU has also committed to investing an additional £150–£200 million over the next three years across India’s K12* and higher education landscape. GEDU’s investments and partnerships in the country reflect its long-term vision of building a network of exceptional K12* and higher education institutions. Through these efforts, GEDU aims to significantly elevate access, quality, and opportunity across India’s education sector.

Alison Barrett MBE, Country Director of the British Council in India, said: “I congratulate Queen Elizabeth’s School on opening its first campus in India, in Gurugram, which will strengthen connections and create greater opportunities for young people in both India and the UK. This initiative complements the UK-India Vision 2035, to internationalise education and help young people gain a deeper understanding of each other’s countries – especially modern UK and India – while building trust and equipping them with the skills to succeed anywhere in the world.”

Alba Smeriglio, British Deputy High Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission Chandigarh, said: “Education is one of the strongest bridges between the UK and India. The opening of Queen Elizabeth’s School in Gurugram is an exciting milestone for UK–India ties and will help nurture skills, promote exchange of best practice, and expand opportunities for young people in Haryana to engage with world-class British education”.

The leadership for the school will be announced in the coming weeks, comprising an expert international team with decades of experience across global education.

For more information visit www.qegurugram.com

*  K12 is short for kindergarten through to 12th grade, reflecting the US school system from the age of around 5 to 17 or 18.  

• Top is an artist’s impression of the new campus in Gurugram. Also pictured above is Mr Enright with GEDU Group CEO Dr Vishwajeet Rana and with Ms Pendleton-Nash.

England cricket legend Sir Alastair Cook joined QE Headmaster Neil Enright as well as more than a dozen Old Elizabethans and former members of staff at a special event in the UAE to showcase the new Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City.

The new school, which will open in August 2026, is the first to receive the go-ahead under the QE Global Schools programme – an initiative run by QE Barnet and its international partner, GEDU Global Education.

Former Test and One Day International captain Sir Alastair is GEDU’s Official Education Ambassador. He joined VIP guests from across business, education, sport and media, along with prominent social media figures, for the exclusive networking event held at the site of the new school in Dubai Sports City – a complex built around five major sports venues.

Speaking at the event, Sir Alastair said: “Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, has a remarkable heritage of excellence, ambition and character. To see that legacy now being brought to Dubai is incredibly exciting. This school will give young people the opportunity to thrive, not only academically but personally, developing confidence, ability and responsibility, qualities that are essential for success in any field.”

Sir Alastair will serve as an advisor to the QE Global Schools’ planned élite sports programmes, supporting the development of high-performance pathways and strengthening the role of sport within the wider educational experience.

Mr Enright said: “We are making excellent progress towards the opening of Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City, next August, and I was delighted to meet so many local leaders and people of influence at this reception. It was also great to catch up with alumni and former colleagues now living and working in Dubai.

“There are exciting prospects for international collaboration and for gradually building a global network of Elizabethans, benefitting both the children in the new independent schools and our state-sector pupils in Barnet.

“We also intend to use income from QE Global Schools to support long-term educational excellence at Queen’s Road.”

The CEO of Queen Elizabeth’s Global Schools, Caroline Pendleton-Nash, said: “Our aim was to bring together key members of the media and the wider business community to introduce the exceptional education that will be available from August 2026 at Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City.

“We are gathering real momentum. Admissions have opened to very strong demand for places, and earlier this month we announced Dan Clark as our Founding Principal. These are important steps as we build towards launch.”

Mr Clark has held senior leadership positions at two of the UK’s leading independent schools, Repton and Marlborough College.

“Our hope now is that families across the UAE who aspire to a truly world-class K–12* education will look to Queen Elizabeth’s School as their school of choice,” Mrs Pendleton-Nash added.

She highlighted the significance of Sir Alastair’s involvement: “Having Sir Alastair represent us as an Education Ambassador is a tremendous privilege. His career reflects the exacting values that we seek to instil in every Elizabethan.

“Our location in Dubai Sports City means sport, health and wellbeing will be central to the student experience, supported by élite facilities and expert coaching. To have one of the most respected figures in world sport advising on our élite sports programmes is both inspiring and fitting.

“Sir Alastair Cook exemplifies the confident, able and responsible young people we aim to develop. He is an outstanding role model for our future students.”

*  K–12 is short for kindergarten through to 12th grade, reflecting the US school system from the age of around 5 to 17 or 18.

• For more on QE Global Schools, go to our dedicated web pages.
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Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, has secured initial approval to open the first international branch campus under its QE Global Schools initiative. 

Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City, will provide an education delivered to the same high academic standards that have made QE Barnet one of the UK’s leading schools. The new school will offer the QE Essentials – the coherent set of meticulously developed programmes, initiatives and concepts which together underpin a QE education. 

QE Barnet is working with its partner, GEDU Global Education, to open independent, fee-paying schools in UAE and India – the first such venture by a UK state school. The international schools will open under the QE banner but will operate as independent campuses, each with its own principal, senior leadership team, and teaching staff. 

The approval from Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) clears the way for the school to open next August: applications for places open on 4 November 2025. 

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We are delighted to have received this encouragement from the KHDA to offer a rounded and enriching QE education to children in the UAE, spreading opportunity and supporting students to become the leaders of their generation.  

“We are also excited by the potential for international collaboration, which, in time, will build a global network of Elizabethans for the benefit of our new students as well as those within the state sector in Barnet. 

“Our intention is also to use revenue from QE Global Schools to support long-term educational excellence at Queen’s Road.”

The announcement drew praise from Edward Hobart, His Majesty’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, who said: “I am delighted that Queen Elizabeth’s School will open in Dubai Sports City next year. This milestone represents the first time a British state-funded grammar school has expanded globally, testament to the enduring strength of UK-UAE educational partnerships.” 

“By bringing QE’s proven educational methodology and 450-year heritage of academic excellence to Dubai, it increases the opportunity for young people in the UAE to access world-class British education. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this world-class institution will have on students and the broader educational landscape in the UAE.” 

Dubai Sports City is a complex built around five major sports venues that provides a mix of residential, retail, leisure and recreational facilities. Teaching at the new school will follow England’s National Curriculum. 

Caroline Pendleton-Nash, CEO of Queen Elizabeth’s Global Schools, said: “This landmark approval allows us to accelerate our vision to deliver world-leading K-12 education* to students from across the UAE. 

“While the model of establishing international branches is familiar among leading UK independent schools, this marks the first time in history that a distinguished UK state grammar school has embarked upon such a partnership. It represents an unprecedented and truly exciting milestone for global education.  

“Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City, will be a co-educational school, opening initially from Nursery to Year 8, with a phased growth through to the sixth form. Its location in Dubai Sports City affords our students privileged access to unrivalled sporting facilities, embedding sport and physical excellence as a defining pillar of their education. This will be brought to life through our QE Flourish Programme, which nurtures character and personal development across the strands of Care, Challenge, Create and Compete, realising the boundless potential of our students.” 

QE Flourish is one of the QE Essentials. Other elements include: an emphasis on free-thinking scholarship; bespoke pastoral care with a focus on character education (supported by the House system at QE Barnet); QE Futures, which helps all pupils find their individual pathways after school; and membership of QE Connect, the supportive global alumni network. 

“The Dubai branch campus will remain faithful to the mission, ethos, tradition, and exacting academic standards of Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, while embracing Dubai’s spirit of innovation and ambition,” Ms Pendleton-Nash added. “Our mission is to nurture confident, able, and responsible young people who are prepared to lead happy and fulfilled adult lives and to make a positive contribution to others. In uniting the heritage of one of the UK’s most distinguished schools with the vision of Dubai, we aspire to set a new global benchmark for educational excellence.” 

*  K-12 is short for kindergarten through to 12th grade, reflecting the US school system from the age of around 5 to 17 or 18.  

• Top is an artist’s impression of the new campus in Dubai. Also pictured above is Mr Enright with GEDU Group CEO Dr Vishwajeet Rana and with Ms Pendleton-Nash.