A Place to create,
learn, and thrive.
We built a different kind of school for the world our children will inherit.
As parents, we remember the subjects, but not the skills. Not what they’d created. So we built Citizens where curiosity drives learning, learners question, think critically, and solve real challenges.
We opened in 2022 with one purpose: inspire, empower, thrive.
Parents ask themselves
How will school help my child?
How is this relevant for the future?
Opened
2022
Nursery to Y10
From Foundation Stage through to Year 10, with year groups expanding annually.
First KHDA Rating
Good
Very Good
in Innovation
Very Good
in Personal Development
Backed by 25+ years of research and learning science.
Our entire approach to education is grounded in the research and what actually is proven.
10+
SPECIALISED PROGRAMMES
& growing
CAMPUS
43,000
square metres
City Walk, Dubai
Accreditations
Why Parents choose Citizens
Skills practised in real contexts become mindsets. Mindsets lead to thriving — confident, capable, engaged humans.
Inspire
The seven values guide every choice we make — how mentors plan, how we welcome families, how learners engage with each other.
Empower
Five pillars that shape every lesson at Citizens. Entrepreneurship, transdisciplinary projects, deep mentor relationships, inquiry-led core, and human-first digital literacy.
Thrive
The outcomes we want every learner to carry into the world — growth mindset, emotional intelligence, entrepreneurial thinking, global citizenship, wellbeing.
Why we say learners and
mentors.
A student is taught. A learner takes ownership — to ask questions, make choices, and drive their own progress.
A teacher delivers content. A mentor builds a relationship and guides thinking. Every adult at Citizens is trained to do both.
Everything at Citizens
flows from our values.
The way mentors plan a lesson. How we welcome a new family. How learners engage with each other.
Sustainable Development
Empathy
Inclusivity
Growth Mindset
Curiosity
Resilience
Wellbeing
life at Citizens
As a school in the heart of Dubai, we’re proud of where we stand and the heritage we honour. Arabic and UAE values are part of how we operate, with local sitting alongside global citizenship.
Mentors who know every learner by name. Morning coffees that turn parents into partners. Events that bring families and the wider community in. A school where children feel seen, parents feel heard.
Meet the people behind Citizens
FOUNDER
Dr. Adil Alzarooni
An Emirati entrepreneur, educator, and the vision behind Citizens.
PRINCIPAL
David Lees
Two decades of UK school leadership. The pedagogical authority and daily voice for how Citizens works.