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The question is would you send your kids to boarding school?

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More parents are choosing to send their children to British boarding schools as they struggle to enroll them at Gulf schools, Arabian Business has learnt.

Increasing school fees, long waiting lists and a high turnover of staff at regional schools are forcing many parents to send their children to British boarding schools, according to Sue Anderson Consultants, a UK boarding school specialist.

“Very often families arrive [in the Gulf] and are not able to get their child into school, this is particularly evident in Bahrain,” said Sue Anderson, an education consultant and founder of Sue Anderson Consultants.

“It is also about stability of education. Academic staff, particularly in Dubai, frequently change, and if you have a child at GSCE and A level, they don’t want to have 2 or 3 members of staff during that two year period,” she said.

Rising fees combined with the stability of the US dollar, which most Gulf countries peg their currency to, is also making UK boarding schools more attractive said Anderson.

British boarding schools, she said, charge fees inclusive of many extra curricular activities unlike Gulf schools making them a better option financially.

Last week, parents of children at Dubai Modern High School staged a protest after it was announced the school would increase its fees by 90 percent over two years.

Gems Education, which owns 26 schools and is the largest private school operator in the Emirates, have blamed the huge increase on the schools relocation.

According to a Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry report released in October, more expatriate parents are choosing to send their children abroad for schooling.

The report said secondary school fees increased by 25.2 percent in 2008, while primary school fees were 18.7 percent more expensive compared to the previous year.

Sue Anderson Consultants will be holding a three-day roadshow for UK boarding schools at the Kempinski Hotel in Dubai on Feb 26-28.