School Applications and Registrations

Many schools in Bahrain have a waiting list for the foundation years hence it is important to apply for the school well in advance in order to receive a place at the school of your choice. While many schools will accept children year round, it is normal for parents to beginning the application process in January for a September start. Places for September are usually finalised by June. For KG & REC apply at the start of an academic year for a place in September next year.

Some parents like to apply to more than one school in order to have open options in case their first choice is not available or they are wait-listed. If there are limited places in a school preference will be given to those that applied early, those with siblings already enrolled at the school and even a good balance of gender among other things.

Generally expats tend to choose British, American, Australian, French and Indian curriculum schools. These schools all have different registration procedures and different costs, however we have managed to put together a list of what most schools require for registration, including the documents and fees in addition to the school fees. Parents will find that in addition to the school fees there are costs including transportation, after school activities and text book fees among others.

Most schools require an application fee or a registration fee (some require both) these fees are non-refundable and only need paying once. This means that if you apply to more than one school you will be out of pocket for the registration fees of the other schools that you do not choose. Conversely if the child is not given a place at a particular school the parent will, once again, lose this fee.

Here is a breakdown of what is needed in order to register children at schools.

To register, most schools require:
A copy of the child’s passport
2-4 passport sized photos
Birth Cert
Vaccination Record
Completed application form
Transfer/Leaving Cert from pervious School
Exam Certificates

Additional Costs on an individual basis include:
Examination entry fees
Optional Out of Hour Lessons
ESL – English as a Second Language
School trip/Activities Fees
GCSE and 'A' Level examination entry fees
Text Book Fees

Pleaser note that not all schools have these additional costs, some may only have a few of them so it is important to check with your school of choice what you want to do with them.