SABIS curriculum explained: pros and cons

What SABIS is

SABIS originated in Lebanon in 1886 as a single school, the International School of Choueifat. The network expanded sharply across the Middle East from the 1980s and went global from the 1990s, currently operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Romania, Switzerland and several other markets. Most SABIS schools brand under the SABIS name; others retain a Choueifat name. The group is privately held and not part of the listed international school groups (Nord Anglia, ISP, Cognita, GEMS).

SABIS does not deliver a British, American or IB curriculum. It delivers its own SABIS Integrated System, an internally designed curriculum that runs from kindergarten through pre university. Pupils sit external examinations at the end of the programme (IGCSE or American high school, depending on the school) but the day to day teaching follows the SABIS curriculum and the SABIS pedagogical model rather than a national programme. This is the single most important fact about SABIS for parents to understand: a SABIS school is not a British school or an American school. It is a SABIS school.

The SABIS Integrated System

The SABIS Integrated System is built around a small number of design principles. First, content is broken into small, sequenced units called concepts, each taught and tested before the class moves on. The curriculum publishes a defined sequence of concepts per grade per subject (often called the SABIS Book Charts in the schools), and teachers follow the sequence. Second, daily lessons follow a standard pattern: short teacher led input, immediate guided practice, immediate testing, immediate correction. Third, the same concept is revisited multiple times across the year through spaced repetition, a deliberate design choice grounded in cognitive research on retention.

The classroom is more directed than a typical British or American classroom. Lessons run on a tight schedule, pupils work through structured worksheets and textbook exercises, and the teacher follows a closely defined lesson script. There is less room for open ended inquiry, project based learning or transdisciplinary themes than at an IPC or IB PYP school. Parents transferring from an inquiry led setting find SABIS more traditional; parents transferring from a strict traditional setting find SABIS familiar. Our piece on Montessori at international schools covers the inquiry led end of the spectrum for comparison.

AMS daily testing

The most distinctive feature of SABIS is the Academic Monitoring System, almost universally shortened to AMS. AMS is a daily testing routine: every pupil in every grade sits short, low stakes tests in core subjects most school days. The tests are typically five to ten minutes, marked rapidly, and feed into a daily report on each pupil's mastery of the concepts taught that day. Where a pupil scores below threshold, a short reteaching session is scheduled for the same day or the next morning. The system is designed to catch gaps early and not let them accumulate.

AMS is the most controversial feature of SABIS among parents. Supporters argue it produces unusually high retention, immediate feedback, and pupils who are unusually comfortable with examination conditions. Critics argue it creates a testing heavy culture, raises anxiety, and reduces classroom time for richer activities. The truth depends on the child. Confident pupils who score consistently well usually thrive on the rhythm; pupils who score lower can find the daily cycle harder. SABIS does not allow opt outs from AMS: it is part of how every SABIS school works, every day.

Prefects and student life organisation

SABIS schools run an unusually formal pupil prefect system. Senior pupils are appointed to prefect roles across academic, pastoral and operational functions: subject prefects who run revision and peer teaching, life skills prefects who lead pastoral activities, and administrative prefects who help run school logistics. The system is more developed than the prefect or house captain structure at a typical British or American school, with formal training, weekly meetings and a published organisational chart in each school.

The prefect system is one of the things SABIS pupils most often cite as formative when they look back at the school years later. It develops responsibility, public speaking and event organisation at a level that mainstream school programmes rarely match. The downside is a culture that can feel hierarchical to pupils who are not selected for prefect roles, and an organisational style that some parents find regimented. Parents on tour should ask to meet a current prefect cohort and observe a prefect activity in action.

Qualifications at exit

The SABIS Integrated System is the day to day curriculum, but pupils sit external qualifications at exit. SABIS schools in British curriculum markets (UK, UAE, Egypt, Pakistan, India) typically deliver IGCSE at Year 11 and A Level at Year 13. SABIS schools in American curriculum markets (US, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Vietnam) typically deliver an American high school diploma with AP options at Grade 12 and the SAT. A small number of SABIS schools have added the IB Diploma alongside the SABIS programme; the IB delivery sits separately from the core SABIS Integrated System.

The external examination at exit means SABIS pupils end up with qualifications that universities recognise on a standard basis. The grades are the qualification; the SABIS Integrated System is the route to the grades. A SABIS pupil applying to UK universities will use UCAS with their A Level grades in the standard way. A SABIS pupil applying to US universities will use the Common Application with their high school transcript and AP and SAT scores in the standard way. Our Cambridge IGCSE versus Edexcel piece covers the IGCSE board choice that many SABIS schools make.

Academic results record

SABIS publishes group level results data but not consistently at the individual school level, which makes school by school benchmarking harder than at GEMS or Nord Anglia. The published group level data shows IGCSE pass rates above 90 per cent across the network and A Level grade A and A* rates broadly comparable to the international British school average (around 30 to 40 per cent A and A*). University placement at the strongest SABIS schools is strong, with regular destinations to the Russell Group and US tier one universities, although the proportion of Oxbridge and Ivy League placements is below the flagship British or IB schools in the same cities.

School by school there is meaningful variation. The flagship SABIS schools in the UAE and Saudi Arabia (Choueifat Dubai, Choueifat Sharjah, the larger SABIS Saudi properties) post stronger results than newer or smaller SABIS schools in less developed markets. Parents evaluating a specific SABIS school should ask for the school's own three year results data: IGCSE grade distribution, A Level grade distribution, university destinations. Where the school will not share, the data is not as strong as the brand might suggest.

Pros of the SABIS approach

The SABIS model has real strengths that are often understated in international school market chatter. First, the daily testing system genuinely does build mastery and identifies gaps early. Pupils who pass through SABIS tend to be unusually well drilled in the core academic content and unusually comfortable in formal examination settings. Second, the consistent global system means a child transferring between SABIS schools across countries finds the same curriculum, the same daily routine and the same testing rhythm. The transfer friction is significantly lower than between a British school in Dubai and a British school in Singapore that happen to run different schemes. Third, the prefect system develops leadership and responsibility at scale.

Fourth, SABIS schools are usually more affordable than the flagship British or American schools in the same city. Tuition is typically 30 to 50 per cent below the tier one schools in markets like Dubai, Riyadh and Doha, while delivering results that are reasonable to strong. For families on a tighter education budget, SABIS is often the strongest value choice in the local market.

Cons and trade offs

The SABIS model also has clear trade offs. The classroom culture is more directed and less inquiry led than at an IPC, IB or strong British school. Pupils who thrive on open ended exploration, debate or project work often find SABIS too structured. The daily testing creates a testing heavy culture that some children find motivating and others find anxiety inducing. The prefect system can feel hierarchical. The lesson scripting reduces teacher autonomy, which can produce inconsistent quality where teacher recruitment is weaker. The university placement record at the strongest end (Oxbridge, Ivy) is below the top British and IB schools in the same cities. Our piece on which curriculum is best for STEM covers the pre university pathway decision in more detail.

Which families it suits

SABIS suits families who value structure, discipline and a clear academic mastery model. It suits children who respond well to regular testing and a defined sequence of work. It suits families on a tighter budget who want serious academic delivery without flagship fees. It suits families who expect to move between SABIS markets and want curriculum continuity across countries.

SABIS is less obvious a fit for families who value inquiry led learning, transdisciplinary themes, or open ended project work, where IPC, IB PYP or strong British schools deliver more. It is less obvious a fit for families on a clear Oxbridge or Ivy League track from a young age, where the flagship British and IB schools in the same cities have stronger track records. It is less obvious a fit for pupils with significant test anxiety, where the daily AMS routine can create more stress than it relieves. Our how to choose an international school guide covers the broader fit question.

Related guides

• American curriculum at international schools
• British curriculum explained
• Montessori international schools

Frequently asked questions