Let us guide you through joining our school
Welcome to Oryx International School, you are one of the exclusive parents in Qatar that has the privilege of joining our five-star, purpose-built school solely for the children of the employees of Qatar Airways and their affiliated subsidiaries.
We would be delighted to provide you with the opportunity to visit our school, meet the team and allow you to make an informed choice as to what is best for your child and your family.
Please do contact us if you have any specific questions or would like to understand the availability of spaces for specific year groups.
To start the admissions process, please follow the simple steps below and remember, we are committed to supporting you every step of the way.
Step 1: Status check
Oryx International School is dedicated for the children of employees of Qatar Airways and its recognised subsidiaries. Therefore, please ensure that you are you a full-time employee of Qatar Airways or one of the approved subsidiaries prior to initiating this process.
Qatar Airways subsidiaries include:
- Qatar Duty-Free (QDF),
- Qatar Aviation Services (QAS),
- Al Maha Services,
- Qatar Executive,
- Qatar Airways Catering Company (QACC),
- Qatar Distribution Company (QDC),
- Airport Hotel,
- Dhiafatina,
- HIA,
- Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha (formerly Oryx Rotana Hotel),
- Qatar Amiri Flights, and
- Discover Qatar
If you fit into one of these categories, please proceed.
Step 2: Submit an Enquiry
You can register your interest in our school, by completing our online enquiry form. Upon receiving your enquiry, our admissions team will be in touch to provide further information and can arrange for you to come and visit the school.
Once you have submitted an enquiry, we will keep you updated with what's going on in school and we'd love to invite you to our community events.
Step 3: Come & Visit Us
We are always delighted to welcome prospective parents to our school and we look forward to meeting you and your child/ren.
During your visit we will:
Introduce you to our school and take you around our extensive campus and facilities.Discuss your child’s educational needs and the curriculum.Answer any specific questions you may have.Help you with your admissions requirements.You may also directly book your school tour on our website.
Tour days:
- Sundays starting at 09:00 and Wednesdays starting at 10.00
Step 4: Submit Your Application
When you are ready to apply for a place for your child(ren) at Oryx, you will need to:
- Submit your application via our online admissions portal
- make the payment of the 450 QARApplication Fee *
Once you begin the Application process, our dedicated Admissions Portal will remain open for the duration of your admissions journey. You can log in to the portal to view your progress and submit documents at any time, you will also receive a notification when there is an update. However, please note that once you submit forms and sign documents, you will no longer be able to make edits.
If you have previously enquired to the school, please use the same email address to log in to the portal because this enables us to identify you and avoids duplicate applications for the same family.
Before starting, ensure that you read all the requirements in the application section carefully - please refer to the "Important Notes" section below for important information in this regard.
*IMPORTANT: Applications will only be processed on receipt of the Application Fee.
The Application Fee can be paid in one of two ways, either via bank transfer or by dropping a cheque into the school, we also accept post-dated cheques. You will be able to find our bank details on the school website. For all payments, you will receive a receipt via email. Please note that for families benefitting from the QR Education Allowance, these expenses are reclaimable in the GEMS system upon presentation of the valid receipt.
Do please be aware that payments cannot be made directly in the Admissions Portal. Therefore, you do not need the “step” for the application fee payment to be marked in black for you to do this.
The Application Fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. Without this payment, despite completing the "Application Form" you cannot proceed to have your child assessed, and are not considered on our waiting list, for those year groups which are at capacity.
Important Notes
As per local legal requirements, students are not allowed to start school until we have received the Attested Report cards and Qatar National Identity Document (QID), which will then be registered with the MoE&HE on the NSIS system.
Please remember to have your original report cards attested if your child is coming from outside of Qatar and joining Year 2 or above. Reports uploaded must be translated into English for assessment requirements (this does not need to be a professional translation). However, if you are attesting your report card (coming from outside of Qatar), you will require a professionally translated report for MOFA Qatar attestation. (see Attestation Steps section below)
Before your child starts school, you will have to provide us with:
- Attested report cards if you are joining from outside of Qatar, NOT required if you are joining FS1, FS2 or Year 1.
- Transfer certificate if you are joining from a school within Qatar, and
- The Qatar ID for your child. (The is an MOE requirement here in Qatar)
- Local "Fit to Join School" from your local public Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC). For new arrivals into the country, you will need to firstly register your child with your local PHCC centre in order to obtain your Public Health Care Card, this is available with a small fee and can usually be printed on the same day. Your child’s card will give him/her an identification number, which can then be used to book their appointment to obtain their Fit to Join School Certificate.
Attestation Steps
Attested Report Card process, NOT required if you are joining FS1, FS2 or Year 1:
- The school your child is coming from OR the Department of Education of the country you are coming from
- the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country you are coming from
- The Qatar Embassy in your country of origin (or nearest to it)
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar (once you arrive in Qatar).
Islamic Studies
Islamic and Muslim students with a passport from a regional country must take Islamic Studies as a Ministry of Education examinable subject. These countries include: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Step 5: Assessment
Once you have submitted the Application Form and paid the 450 QAR Application Fee, your child will be required to undertake an Admissions Assessment.
Completion of an assessment does not guarantee a place at the school for your child and results will be reviewed by our academic team, to ensure that your child is able to access our curriculum. As a school we assess all applications on individual merit, and we always ensure to make the best decision for the individual child, to best set them up for future success.
FS1 to Year 2 Assessments
Our EYFS & Year 1 & Year 2 students are assessed via an observation process which is called a "Soft Assessment". In most cases, these assessments take place at our school. However, where families are relocating to Qatar, we can accommodate this via video submissions, which a member of our Admissions Team will guide you through if required.
These Soft Assessment sessions are an opportunity for us to be able to better understand the individual needs of your child, how he/she interacts with their peers, how their fine / gross motor skills are developing and how their grasp is of the English language. This informal assessment will best allow us to meet your child’s needs in a classroom setting and ensure that we are able to set them up for success in our school.
As part of our Admissions Policy, please note that all students must be toilet ready to start school.
Year 3 to Year 13 Assessments
Children from Year 3 onwards, are required to undertake a more formal online CAT4 assessment. CAT4 is a suite of tests developed to support schools in understanding students’ abilities and potential. It is an assessment of developed abilities in areas known to make a difference to learning and achievement, such as verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning.
Assessment Results are reviewed along with other relevant documentation as part of your child's application, these include:
- School reports
- Assessment Test and
- Any special needs requirements/reports (where applicable)
Step 6: Offer & Acceptance
Upon successful completion of the Application Process, an Offer Letter with the Admissions Enrolment Agreement will be sent to you to accept the registration of your child to the school. You will receive this documentation via the admissions portal.
In order to guarantee your child's place at Oryx, you are required to return a signed copy of both of these documents to the admissions office via email, as well as submit payment of the non-refundable Registration Fee payment of QAR 3,190 by the deadline set out in the offer letter. This deadline is typically within 7 days of the Offer Letter being issued.
By signing this documentation and paying the Registration Fee, your child's space at Oryx International School will then be reserved, for the agreed start date that you have confirmed with the Admissions Team.
Please Note:
- If you miss this deadline without consultation with the Admissions Office, the Offer will be withdrawn due to the high demand for places at the school.
- By signing the documentation but not paying the Registration Fee, your Offer will be considered expired and will be withdrawn.
Step 7: Welcome to Oryx International School
Once the Admissions process is complete, our Academic Administration Team will send you further relevant information that should answer all the questions that you may have before joining our school. This will include confirmation of your child's:
- Class and Class Teacher
- School House
- How to request a Parent ID Lanyard
- School Catering & Lunch Arrangements
- Where to Purchase School Uniform
- Who to Contact regarding Bus Route Requests
Should you have any further questions, regarding your child's application or any documentation required, our Admissions team will be pleased to guide you through the various stages of the admissions process and to ensure that the admission of your child to our school is as smooth as possible.
Health Records are required for all students who fall into one of the below categories
A Health certificate (Fit to attend school) is required from a Qatar LOCAL health centre. The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) have health centres throughout Qatar.
If you are new to the country, you will need to apply for a health card and then book an appointment for your child to receive a health certificate via PHCC. To find out further information with regards to this, please go to the PHCC website: Health Card (phcc.gov.qa)
This is a Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOE&HE) requirement for all new students, as per the list below, to start school.
- All students joining from FS1 to Year 1, who have never been to school,
- Students who are transferring schools within Qatar – FS1 to Year 1, and
- New students who are coming from outside of Qatar - FS1 to Year 12
To book an appointment from the health centre, call 107 or click on the link for more details: Appointments & Referral (phcc.gov.qa)
Please email a copy of the Health certificate to both the admissions team via email admissions@oryxschool.qa and the School Nurse on nurse@oryxschool.qa. Please note, this certificate is not the child's vaccination record, but specifically, a health record that is only provided within Qatar. If you are not in the country yet, this can be done on your arrival.
Please note
A student cannot be registered with the MoEHE if the correct documentation is not supplied.
Students can only start school once they are registered with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
- If you are moving to Qatar - attested report cards (students from Year 2 and above) and Qatar National Identity Document (QID) to start school.
- For registrations after mid-October - the MoEHE registration form and copy of stamp of entry into Qatar.
- If you are transferring between schools in Qatar, a parent requires a Vacancy letter from Oryx International School, this must be taken to the school you are transferring from and they will provide a Transfer letter. This letter must be handed to the admissions office and the previous school will then transfer your child on the MOE&HE online system from their school to ours.
- Please note: for students applying for Sixth Form in the British Curriculum (Year 12), must be already studying in the English National Curriculum and have completed their I/GCSEs, (not equivalent) as per the MoEHE guidelines
Key Dates
All students transferring from the Indian CBSE, Filipino, Pakistani and Sri Lankan curriculums must do so before the end of December.
The following is required before mid-October:
- All students joining a school in Qatar must have a physical QID card to start school, if they do not have one by Mid October (this date occasionally varies) then you will need to provide us with a copy of your child's QID when you receive it and the entry stamp into Qatar in your child's passport. This is required to prove to the MOE&HE that your child only arrived after this date into the country.
- It is imperative that your child is registered before mid-November when joining in Term 1. The MOE&HE will require continuation of education and if your child has missed Term 1 of the school year, they will have to repeat their last completed academic school year.
- Attested report cards are required before your child can start school (for students Year 2 and above), please ensure that you have these with you on arrival in Qatar.
The last date to register students that are new to Doha from curriculums outside of the English National Curriculum.
Students must present an attested previously completed full academic year and a Term 1 report card, the entry stamp in their passports and a QID to start school.
Last date to register students transferring from schools within Doha.
With a different curriculum to the ENC.
The last date to transfer and register students from schools with the same curriculum.
