UAE announces new cut-off age for KG, Grade 1 school admissions

Starting the 2026–2027 academic year, the cut-off age for admissions to Kindergarten and Grade 1 will shift to December 31, from the previous date of August 31.

This will apply to all schools with academic calendars beginning in August or September.

The move has been approved by the Education, Human Development and Community Development Council, following a formal recommendation by the Ministry of Education.

To be eligible for admission, students must have completed the required age on or before December 31 of the admission year, as follows:

• For Pre-Kindergarten, children must be three years old by December 31. This corresponds to Foundation Stage 1 (FS1) in the British curriculum, Petite Section (PS) in the French system, and Pre-KG in other international curricula.
• At the Kindergarten 1 (KG1) level, children are required to be four years old by December 31. This stage aligns with Foundation Stage 2 (FS2) under the British curriculum, Moyenne Section (MS) in the French curriculum, and KG1 in other international systems.
• For Kindergarten 2 (KG2), admission is open to children who are five years old by December 31. This level corresponds to Year 1 in the British curriculum, Grande Section (GS) in the French curriculum, and KG2 in other international curricula.
• At the Grade 1 level, children must be six years old by December 31. This equates to Year 2 in the British curriculum, Cours Préparatoire (CP) in the French curriculum, and Grade 1 in other international curricula.

Schools that begin their academic year in April will continue to apply the March 31 cut-off date under their existing system, with no change.

Education, Human Development and Community Development Council Approves New Age Cut-Off for School Admissions Effective Year 2026–2027 pic.twitter.com/o84Ij9vC8J

— UAEGOV (@UAEmediaoffice) December 17, 2025

The decision is designed to ensure greater fairness and consistency in enrolment, facilitate smoother transitions between different curricula, and better match early education expectations to age-appropriate developmental stages.

Why the changes?

The new cut-off age was determined after carrying out a comprehensive technical and pedagogical review that drew on national academic performance data, international benchmarking, and input from across the education sector.

A national dataset of more than 39,000 students was analysed, including children who had enrolled at ages 3, 4, and 5 under the previous cut-off system.

The academic performance data revealed no significant disadvantages associated with early entry. In some cases, students who entered at age 3 demonstrated stronger academic outcomes. Conversely, those who enrolled later showed marginally lower performance.