Admissions Policy
QIS is a British International School that follows the national curriculum of England. We offer all key stages from Early Years until Year 13 (ages 3-18).
All nationalities are welcome to apply. However, our priorities are for:
– Students with current siblings in the school.
– Students with an excellent English background.
– Students with outstanding previous school reports.
Our initial online pre-application is free of charge and will be available on our website on the published admission dates. All relevant information should be completed fully and a recent school report must be attached. If the report is not in English, you should provide a translated version along with the original. Applications a without school/nursery report will automatically be rejected.
You will receive a notification email from our Admissions Team about the status of your application. Based on our priorities and school vacancies, selected applicants will be contacted by email for a full application online.
The school is currently full. Your child’s name will therefore be placed on the waiting list until a place becomes available. We recommend that you also apply for other schools.
A Qatar Residence Permit is not a mandatory document to apply. However, if your application is successful, the applicant will need to submit a valid copy of his/her QID prior to the actual admission to QIS. This requirement is mandatory as per the Ministry of Education and Higher Education rules and regulations for all students in Qatar. QIS reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a place if the applicant is not in possession of a Qatar Residence Permit prior to starting at QIS.
Below is the international education systems equivalency table
Required documents.
– One passport size recent photo.
– A copy of the latest school reports (for Year 1 to Year 12).
– A copy of a nursery report for Preschool or Reception (Early Years- FS1 and FS2).
– A copy of the applicant’s and parents’ passports.
– A copy of the child’s birth certificate and vaccinations record.
– A copy of the applicant’s and parents’ Qatar Resident Permit (QID).
– Assessment fee (online payment).
– Accepted students are required to get a ‘Fit to Join School Certificate’ from a Hamad health centre (PHCC) in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for Early Years (FS1 and FS2) and students going to Year 1. This is also required of all new international students to Qatar, for all ages. Certificates issued by a private medical centre / clinic are not accepted.
– All new international students, joining any school in Qatar must get the most recent school report attested and delivered to the school at the start of academic year.
Attestation must include:
1. School stamp
2. Attestation from the Ministry of Education in the home school country
3. Attestation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the home school country
4. Stamped by the Qatar Embassy* in the home school country
5. Attestation from the Ministry of Education in Qatar
6. Finally, stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar.
Minimum Accepted Age for the year of entry
Age |
| Year group |
3 | On or Before 31 Aug | Pre-school |
4 | On or Before 31 Aug | Reception |
5 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 1 |
6 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 2 |
7 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 3 |
8 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 4 |
9 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 5 |
10 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 6 |
11 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 7 |
12 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 8 |
13 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 9 |
14 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 10 |
15 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 11 |
16 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 12 |
17 | On or Before 31 Aug | Year 13 |
The criteria for shortlisting is based on the priorities of the QIS Admissions Policy:
– Students with current siblings in the school.
– Students with an excellent English background.
– Students with outstanding previous school reports.
In addition to this the school will shortlist students who are highly motivated, demonstrating outstanding potential with excellent attendance reports and high performance.
Family applications
When reviewing family applications we will look at each child’s report before shortlisting and will proceed accordingly, based on the overall performance and not individually.
The same principle will then be followed for the final selections. The school will accept or reject the application based on all of the family members’ assessment results and not indvidually. This means it will either be a successful application for the whole family or not.
Entry assessments
The entry assessment is designed to select students of above average ability. All students must meet entry requirements. The assessment fee is QR214 and is non-refundable. The assessment fees are to be paid online, within the time frame given and prior to the assessment date. The testing of students will be carried out by scheduled appointments only.
The assessment is designed to give QIS a percentage score, which is then used to select the most suitable candidates for that academic year. We strictly follow our own objective school assessment and admission policy, which includes criteria related to QIS expectations and curriculum requirements. This enables us to ensure the selection process is fair and equal for all applicants.
Early Years (FS1 & FS2)
Early Years shortlisted students will have to sit an assessment that measures their readiness to enter school. It will evaluate their language knowledge, motor skills, personal attitude and parental support.
Primary (Years 1-6)
Primary shortlisted students (Years 1-6) will have to sit entry assessments in English (reading and writing) and Maths. Children are expected to have a high level of English comprehension as well as age appropriate reading skills according to the English curriculum. They will be assessed in Maths, number recognition and various arithmetical and paper-based activities. We will also consider children’s behavior and attitude.
Secondary (Years 7-13)
Secondary shortlisted students will sit Cognitive Abilities Tests (CATs).
The CATs exam comprises a variety of computer-adaptive tests that are divided into shorter assessments, but which take around two hours overall. This test determines overall academic strengths and weaknesses and is administered by computer with a headphone set to ensure that instructions and questions are read out loud.
The assessment consists of four areas: verbal, non-verbal, quantitative, and spatial reasoning – and it provides an objective perspective on potential student achievement. This means the tests will show how well the student will cope with our curriculum and also predict likely grades in future IGCSE examinations.
Afterwards, successful students will then go through a final, personal interview with a designated Head of Progress for each year group.
Offer of a place
Following the assessment process, our Admissions Team will communicate with parents. An offer will be sent to parents with payment details when a place is made available. Otherwise, the child will remain on the waiting list until a suitable place arises.
When a place is offered parents must pay QR3,213 for the non-refundable registration fee and QR2,000 as a non-refundable deposit. Both of these fees are required to guarantee the place and neither fee is refundable under any circumstances.
For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us on: info@qis.org.
**Refund and withdrawal Policy
Tuition and fees
When the student has attended the school for any part of the term, the refund owed to the parent will be calculated by the finance department. The more time that the student has spend in the school during the term will, understandably, reduce the refund. After attending for 50% or more of the term no refund is available.
Deposit fees
- If the student and parent left the country due to the termination of employment contract prior to the start of the academic year (residence permit is cancelled for parent and student).
- Parent providing the school with a seat confirmation letter from another school before the end of the academic year.
- If the school formally dismisses the student, the parent has the right to refund the seat booking fees paid for the next academic year before the end of the current academic year.
