UAE changes school entry age in 2026

The UAE has approved changes to school entry age requirements for Kindergarten and Grade 1 admissions, which will take effect from the 2026 to 2027 academic year.

The updated policy, approved by the Education, Human Development and Community Development Council following a recommendation from the Ministry of Education, moves the official age cut-off date from 31 August to 31 December of the admission year.

The change will apply to all schools and kindergartens whose academic calendars begin in August or September.

The decision follows a comprehensive technical and pedagogical review that drew on national academic performance data, international benchmarking and consultation across the education sector. Authorities said the updated cut-off date is designed to improve consistency in enrolment and support smoother transitions between different curricula.

UAE revises school entry ages

Under the revised criteria, children must meet the required age by 31 December of the admission year. For Pre-Kindergarten, children must be three years old by that date. Kindergarten 1 admissions will require children to be four years old, while Kindergarten 2 admissions will be open to children who are five years old by 31 December. For Grade 1, children must be six years old by the cut-off date.

The age thresholds align with equivalent stages across major international curricula, including British and French systems, as well as other international education frameworks used in the UAE.

The policy will apply only to new student admissions from the 2026 to 2027 academic year and will not affect children who are already enrolled in schools, who will continue under the age requirements that applied at the time of their original registration.

Schools that operate on an academic calendar beginning in April will continue to use the existing 31 March cut-off date, with no changes to their current admissions system.

New policy aligns with global systems

For students transferring between schools, moving between different curricula or arriving from outside the UAE, placement decisions will continue to be based on the last successfully completed grade and academic progression, in line with approved grade equivalency procedures.

The review underpinning the policy examined child readiness across cognitive, socio-emotional, language and motor development domains. A national dataset of more than 39,000 students was analysed, including children who entered school at ages three, four and five under the previous cut-off system.

The findings showed no significant academic disadvantage linked to earlier school entry. In some cases, students who enrolled at younger ages demonstrated stronger academic outcomes, while those who entered later showed slightly lower performance.

Education authorities said the revised policy reflects a broader approach to early education that considers developmental readiness alongside age, and supports fairness, consistency and educational quality across the UAE school system.