Weekly boarding becoming the new trend for families at Swiss International School, Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Swiss International School Dubai, one of the only boarding schools in the Middle East, is seeing a significant increase in weekly boarders at its stunning Al Jadaf location.
The school, which opened in 2015 and is already ranked among the world’s top 100 schools, follows the IB curriculum and offers boarding to pupils aged between 11 and 18 years. It offers a unique co-teaching programme, whereby classes are taught in dual languages. The school’s philosophy focuses on creating well-rounded global citizens, and ensures its growing cohort of boarders is well looked after.
World-class facilities, and the highest levels of academic and pastoral care make it an ideal destination for students, busy parents, or families who live slightly further away from the school campus.
And for sportier students, weekly boarding means they can easily enjoy the school’s state-of-the-art sports facilities with ease, before and after school. 
Ashley Fitzgibbons, Head of Boarding, says, “We are clearly ticking all the boxes for both pupils and parents. Some 20% of our boarders are now weekly. They appreciate their independence, the friendships, the facilities and the opportunity to gain skills to prepare for university life.”
“Being on site during the week means they get to easily enjoy everything we have to offer-from the sports facilities to after school clubs-as well as spending more time with their school friends than they might if they went home every day. It means we are a very close community, and we operate under the reassuring close care of our professional team of boarding experts-from wellness and health to tutoring and social activities.”
Parents appreciate the fact that their children can spend more time on their homework, hobbies and interests while boarding, without having to spend time travelling.
Ashley suggests that boarding is mutually beneficial, as busy parents who might travel a lot, or live far away from the school find it much more beneficial for themselves and their children. Those parents who spent time every day driving their children to sports training or clubs, no longer have to.
Ashley adds, “We find our boarders have a strong, loving bond with their parents, as they mutually look forward to weekends. Unfettered by homework, our weekly boarders can enjoy more uninterrupted time with their families, while parents can focus more on the children, having had more time in the week to concentrate on work and other commitments.”
“As life returns to something approaching normal, post-pandemic, we have seen more weekly boarders at our school. We think this is partly down to a return to the office and more traditional working patterns for many parents, coupled with a desire to ensure their children achieve well academically and hone their social skills after being excluded from school and normal society for so long. We also think boarding is an ideal pre-cursor for university life-often an opportunity to experience living away from the family for the first time, in a an environment that is still geographically close to home.”
SISD provides a unique campus experience, with playing fields, sports halls, gyms, and even an Olympic-sized swimming pool for students to use both during school and afterwards, even on weekends. SISD isn’t just a place to study-it’s a place for students to call home, too.
