• Set for completion in 2027, with capacity for 2,700 students  
  • Premium campus to include performing arts centre, library, multi-purpose halls, STEM Centre, sports facilities and swimming pools

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates – Arada has announced a partnership with Bright Capital Investment to bring one of the UK’s best-performing independent schools to the Masaar megaproject in Sharjah. With planned capacity for 2,700 students, Reigate Grammar School Masaar will be the first branch campus of a British school in Sharjah, offering a full K-12 programme and complementing the existing rich variety of high-quality academic institutions in the Emirate.

Scheduled to welcome its first pupils in September 2027, Reigate Grammar School Masaar marks the expansion of the Reigate Grammar School brand into the UAE, after opening seven other schools in the UK, Saudi Arabia, China and Vietnam.  

Founded in 1675 near London, Reigate Grammar School was ranked as one the UK’s top 20 private schools by A-Level results in 2023 and has frequently been named ‘School of the Year’ by a range of British industry and education bodies. In particular, the school is famous for its educational approach, dubbed ‘The Reigate Way’, which emphasises visionary leadership, innovative teaching methods and exemplary pastoral care, focusing on student wellbeing. 

Reigate Grammar School Masaar will be operated by Bright Capital Investment, a fast-growing UAE-based education provider that currently has investments in four schools in Dubai. Established in 2010, Bright Capital Investment aims to cover the complete education spectrum from pre-primary to secondary and is also planning to expand across the Middle East and Africa. JSquare Capital, led by Managing Director Jimmy John, served as the Transaction Advisor to Bright Capital for the transaction.

Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada, said: “Reigate Grammar School is one of the most established and respected educational institutions in the UK, with an exceptional record of academic excellence and achievement. This is another example of a partnership that elevates the quality of life and wellbeing of residents in our communities, and we look forward to working with Bright Capital Investment to bring this world-class facility to Masaar.”

Esref Temel, Managing Director at Bright Capital Investment, said: “We are delighted to partner with Arada, to bring the first ever UK branch School to Sharjah. With its 350-year rich history and consistent ranking among the top 20 British schools, Reigate Grammar School represents educational excellence. Our collaboration aims to offer unparalleled academic opportunities to students in the UAE, ensuring they receive a world class education that prepares them for global success. This initiative highlights our commitment to investing in transformative projects that enrich the community and shape the future. Establishing Reigate Grammar School emphasises our dedication to enhancing the educational landscape in Sharjah and the UAE.”

Sean Davey, Global Business Director for Reigate Grammar School International, said, “We are delighted to be working in close partnership with Arada and our friends at Bright Capital to establish the first UK branch school in Sharjah, located within the highly impressive and premium Masaar development. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to establish a premium world-class school as part of our global village philosophy, where we will ensure that all of our children fulfil their potential and become global citizens with noble purpose. We look forward to working with the brilliant team at Arada to create an outstanding campus, and also with Bright Capital, to ensure that the educational provision at Reigate Grammar School Sharjah is both inspiring and exceptional. All students will benefit from being part of our international Reigatian community which provides rich educational, learning and cultural links with exchange opportunities.”

Based in the fast-growing forested Masaar master community in the Suyoh district, Reigate Grammar School Masaar will be built on a 450,000 square foot plot in the northern corner of the project, which contains 3,000 villas and townhouses linked by a ‘green spine’ of 70,000 trees. The school’s state-of-the-art campus will incorporate a range of world-class facilities including a performing arts centre, a library, a STEM Centre, multi-purpose halls, sports facilities and swimming pools.

Demand for premium private schools in Sharjah is driven by growing income levels, a large expatriate population, and increased uptake in demand from the Emirati population. Research recently undertaken at the Masaar community revealed a strong preference among residents for a premium, K-12 school with a British curriculum, incorporating exceptional facilities. 

Masaar is ideally located in the up-and-coming Suyoh district, close to Tilal City, the Sharjah Mosque and Arada’s first project, Nasma Residences. The community has easy access to Emirates Road and Mleiha Road, and is a 15-minute drive from Sharjah International Airport, and a 20-minute drive from Dubai International Airport.

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About Arada

Based in the UAE, Arada is a developer that has been created to build communities that enrich, engage and inspire their residents. Our homes are exceptionally designed and are complemented with best-in-class amenities, all provided at an accessible price point. Arada was founded in 2017 by HH Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Arada, and HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, Vice Chairman of Arada, with the intention of delivering superior properties to the UAE real estate segment.

For more information and high-resolution images contact media@arada.com

For more information about Arada: www.arada.com

About Bright Capital Investment

Bright Capital Investment is a school operator and an investment company, which aims to create one of the largest educational platforms in the UAE. Our target is to cover the complete education spectrum from pre-primary to secondary levels. Bright Capital Investment prides itself with the operation and expansion support it delivers to school developers and the education sector in general. Currently Bright Capital has investments in Bright Learners Private School and three campuses of Star International Schools in Dubai.

About Reigate Grammar School

Reigate Grammar School (Reigate Grammar School-UK) was founded by Alderman Henry Smith in 1675. For 350 years, young people have been educated on the same site, in the heart of Reigate, a historic market town 15 miles south of the City of London. Reigate Grammar School UK is recognised as one of the premier co-educational independent day schools in the UK, offering the very best academic education with equal prominence placed on the arts, sport and a rich extra-curricular programme.  It is ranked as a top 20 for academic performance in the UK with 98% of students receiving offers from top universities. In 2021 Reigate Grammar School-UK was awarded School of the Year by the Tatler and in 2019 the school received the prestigious UK Independent School of the Year award for Wellbeing and Pastoral Care, and in 2021 Reigate Grammar School was named School of the Year at the UK Social Mobility Awards. The school is a prominent HMC school and Headmaster, Shaun Fenton OBE, was the Chairman of HMC in 2018. The first line of one of the school’s most recent ISI reports asserts that ‘the quality of the students’ achievements and learning is exceptional’. The school is one of a small number of world-class schools to have been a global pioneer in High Performance Learning (HPL), focusing on the development of global citizens, advanced performers and enterprising learners. The Good Schools’ Guide gave Reigate the compliment “Happy Kids, great Results.” Reigate Grammar School International is wholly owned by Reigate Grammar School and licences, oversees, and manages the international Reigate Grammar Schools in Saudi Arabia, China and Vietnam.