Cities / Abu Dhabi / Al Yasat Private School
Al Yasat Private School
A Cognia-accredited American-curriculum school in Al Shamkha with strong university outcomes.
In brief
A Cognia-accredited American-curriculum school in Al Shamkha, sitting at the higher end of the south Abu Dhabi fee range with strong university outcomes.
Founded in 1992, Al Yasat runs US Common Core for English and Maths, NGSS for Science, and the Virginia state curriculum for other subjects. Fees range roughly AED 33,000 to AED 53,000. The school reports around 90 percent of graduates progressing to university, with 60 percent receiving scholarships, which is strong for the fee tier.
Parent feedback is small in volume but consistently warm, focused on caring teachers and active family engagement. Cognia accreditation gives reassurance on assessment and quality systems. The natural comparators are other American-stream schools in Shamkha and Khalifa City, and families crossing the bridge to GEMS American Academy or Aldar's American campuses for a bigger network and broader extracurricular range.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| KG1-KG2 | 4 | AED 34,570 |
| Grade 1-3 | 6 | AED 39,070 |
| Grade 4 | 9 | AED 43,350 |
| Grade 5 | 10 | AED 42,890 |
| Grade 6 | 11 | AED 42,780 |
| Grade 7 | 12 | AED 45,960 |
| Grade 8 | 13 | AED 45,760 |
| Grade 9 | 14 | AED 54,540 |
| Grade 10 | 15 | AED 54,810 |
| Grade 11 | 16 | AED 54,760 |
| Grade 12 | 17 | AED 55,370 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Application Fee | AED 500 | |
| Reservation Fee | AED 1,000 |
Reviews
An Emirati-rooted American-curriculum school on a large Al Shamkha site, holding a Good rating from the regulator with Very Good marks for personal development and pastoral care. Parents talk warmly about caring teachers and a welcoming culture; the gap shows up in external academic benchmarks and in a student voice that sounds less rosy than the adult voice. Scott Carnochan arrived from Brighton College Abu Dhabi for 2024-25, bringing a more structured leadership layer.
Positives
- Pastoral care and inclusion. Personal development and protection, care, guidance and support both rated Very Good in the latest inspection. Strong identification and IEP work for students of determination, and a warm adult culture that parents talk about often.
- Parent confidence and communication. Parental partnership is a consistent strong note. Communication runs in English and Arabic, and the principal making a point of learning Arabic gets picked up by families.
- Facilities and enrichment. Large campus with science and robotics labs, a media suite, indoor pool and sports hall, plus aviation, AI and entrepreneurship strands sitting alongside the core programme.
- Leadership change. Scott Carnochan moved in for 2024-25 after running Brighton College Abu Dhabi. A more distributed phase-head structure has followed, and the regulator credits the shift with a clearer strategic direction.
Considerations
- External academic benchmarks. Internal grades read stronger than results on MAP and the international assessments. The regulator flags that internal assessment is not yet rigorous enough to mirror actual attainment, which is the main brake on the rating.
- Stretch for higher attainers. Differentiation for the most able is patchy across subjects. Gifted learners and Phase 3 students in particular don't always get the challenge the curriculum promises on paper.
- Student voice. Adult feedback is warmer than student feedback. Pupils rate peer culture, respect between students, workload and rule enforcement lower than parents and teachers do, and bullying comes up as something the school is working on rather than something it has settled.
- Fees. Roughly AED 34,000 to 55,000 across the grades for 2025-26. Mid-market for an American-curriculum school in Abu Dhabi, with the upper end concentrated in the high school years.
Leadership
Mr. Scott George Carnochan
Born in the United Kingdom, Mr. Carnochan has extensive experience in education, having worked in various countries including the UK, Hong Kong, and Africa. He holds a BEd(Hons) from Heriot-Watt University and has served in senior leadership roles, including as Headmaster at Brighton College Al Ain. He believes in fostering positive relationships within the school community to support each child's individual needs.
Accreditations
- Cognia 01