Cities / Sharjah / Wesgreen International School
Wesgreen International School
The longest established British curriculum school in Sharjah, operated by GEMS, rated Outstanding by BSO and a default mid priced choice for families across the emirate. Wesgreen opened in 1991 in Muweilah, was acquired by GEMS in 2017 and now serves over 3,000 students across more than 60 nationalities.
In brief
The longest established British curriculum school in Sharjah, operated by GEMS, rated Outstanding by BSO and a default mid-priced choice for families across the emirate.
Wesgreen opened in 1991 in Muweilah, was acquired by GEMS in 2017 and now serves over 3,000 students across more than 60 nationalities. The school runs the National Curriculum for England with IGCSE and A Level, holds BSO Outstanding and is a member of BSME, with James McDonald as principal. Pedagogical frameworks like High Performance Learning are embedded across the school. Fees run from around AED 23,545 to AED 52,180, with GEMS payment discounts available.
Parents praise teacher attentiveness, the breadth of the co-curricular offer and visible academic progress in younger years. The BSO inspection flags strong outcomes from FS2 upward, with high proportions of children exceeding age-related expectations. The questions families should ask are about class sizes given the school's scale, and how individual attention holds up in the larger year groups. Wesgreen, Scholars International Academy and Sharjah English School are the three names that come up most often in side-by-side comparisons in Sharjah.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| FS1 | 3 | AED 23,545 |
| FS2 | 4 | AED 23,545 |
| Year 1 | 5 | AED 23,545 |
| Year 2 | 6 | AED 28,000 |
| Year 3 | 7 | AED 28,000 |
| Year 4 | 8 | AED 28,025 |
| Year 5 | 9 | AED 30,500 |
| Year 6 | 10 | AED 30,650 |
| Year 7 | 11 | AED 30,705 |
| Year 8 | 12 | AED 34,735 |
| Year 9 | 13 | AED 34,735 |
| Year 10 | 14 | AED 38,250 |
| Year 11 | 15 | AED 41,465 |
| Year 12 | 16 | AED 46,540 |
| Year 13 | 17 | AED 52,180 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| New Admission Fee (non-refundable, adjustable against Term 1) | AED 1,000 |
Reviews
- Staff-side signal is consistently cautious, with teachers flagging disorganised leadership, limited classroom support, scarce resources, weak SEN and extra-English support, and heavy busywork.
- Some teacher comments are still positive about students, parents, salary, and the staff team, so the concern is less about the pupil community and more about management and resourcing.
- Parent-specific review signal is limited in the public sources found, so the strongest evidence is about staff experience and the conditions around teaching.
Positives
- Students and parent community. Even negative staff reviews include positive comments about students, parents, colleagues, or salary.
Considerations
- Leadership and organisation. Teacher comments repeatedly criticise leadership, organisation, deadlines, and accountability.
- Resources and support. Staff reviews flag limited resources, weak SEN support, and poor extra-English support.
Leadership
Mr. James Francis McDonald
James McDonald is the Principal/CEO of Wesgreen International School – Sharjah, bringing over two decades of leadership experience across the UK, Qatar, Egypt, China, and the UAE. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Education from John Moores University and was recently appointed as the Chairman of the Association of British Schools Overseas (AoBSO). James is committed to delivering a high-quality, stimulating learning environment and has led the school to achieve exceptional academic results and an 'Outstanding' BSO rating. He is a strong advocate for global citizenship and high performance learning, ensuring students are equipped with a comprehensive education for the wider world.
Accreditations
- British Schools Overseas (DfE) 01
- British Schools in the Middle East accreditation 02
Academic results
- SPEA Rating Good (Nov 2024)
- Accreditation BSO, BSME, HMC, HPL