QA is a fairly strong school, getting better every year. They run the complete IB program, which is neither British nor American. It is rigorous and demanding, so this is not the school for you/your child if scholastics don't assume a priority in your household. They are cheaper than ASD but as another poster said, it's because they are heavily subsidized by HH, Sheikha Moza and the Qatar Foundation.
Pros:
Relatively cheap tuition by Doha standards for international schools; well-qualified international teaching staff; well-behaved students (for the most part); excellent modern facilities; great liaisons with the American universities located on Education City; strong IB curriculum; mandatory Arabic classes for all students (plus another foreign language in the senior school); community service incorporated into the curriculum.
Cons: Extra-curricular activities are still somewhat limited; the vast majority of students are Qatari/native Arabic speakers(so QA is basically an ESL population school -- if that's an issue for you), and a majority of those come from families of EXTREME wealth, so there's a lot of bling-bling among the student population (girls carrying Fendi/Gucci bookbags, students routinely forgetting their new laptop computer/mobile phone/iPod and never going to claim it from the lost and found...seriously!); though it has improved in recent years, a number of students in each grade level are still performing below standard for their age/grade; students are required to wear uniforms; school starts early (at 7:00 a.m.) and school year runs later into June(though not as late as the British schools tend to); limited learning support offered for students; the school is essentially a private Qatari national school and thus holiday events are centered around the Islamic/Arab culture (so no Christmas pageants or Diwali celebrations are going to happen there!).
QA is a fairly strong school, getting better every year. They run the complete IB program, which is neither British nor American. It is rigorous and demanding, so this is not the school for you/your child if scholastics don't assume a priority in your household. They are cheaper than ASD but as another poster said, it's because they are heavily subsidized by HH, Sheikha Moza and the Qatar Foundation.
Pros:
Relatively cheap tuition by Doha standards for international schools; well-qualified international teaching staff; well-behaved students (for the most part); excellent modern facilities; great liaisons with the American universities located on Education City; strong IB curriculum; mandatory Arabic classes for all students (plus another foreign language in the senior school); community service incorporated into the curriculum.
Cons: Extra-curricular activities are still somewhat limited; the vast majority of students are Qatari/native Arabic speakers(so QA is basically an ESL population school -- if that's an issue for you), and a majority of those come from families of EXTREME wealth, so there's a lot of bling-bling among the student population (girls carrying Fendi/Gucci bookbags, students routinely forgetting their new laptop computer/mobile phone/iPod and never going to claim it from the lost and found...seriously!); though it has improved in recent years, a number of students in each grade level are still performing below standard for their age/grade; students are required to wear uniforms; school starts early (at 7:00 a.m.) and school year runs later into June(though not as late as the British schools tend to); limited learning support offered for students; the school is essentially a private Qatari national school and thus holiday events are centered around the Islamic/Arab culture (so no Christmas pageants or Diwali celebrations are going to happen there!).