Jeddah Prep and Grammar School

The short version

The short version

Jeddah Prep and Grammar School (JPGS) began in 1967 as The International British/Dutch School — two rooms in a villa off Tahlia Street serving British and Dutch expatriate children to GCE O Level.

It moved to its present Al Naim campus in north Jeddah in 1997, added its sixth form in 2012, and today teaches around 650 students of some 50 nationalities on a Cambridge pathway from FS1 to IGCSE, International A-levels and a BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Business.↗↗

For an expat family, the practical summary is this: JPGS is Jeddah’s A-level route — the established alternative to the British International School of Jeddah’s IB-only sixth form — at materially lower cost. Published 2025/26 fees run from SAR 36,800 (FS1) to SAR 79,925 (Year 13) including VAT, against SAR 101,430 at BISJ’s sixth form.

And one structural fact surprises many families: JPGS is co-educational all the way through, which is unusual in Saudi Arabia even among international schools.↗

What the school is

British curriculum, but not a British bubble

The name sets an expectation the demographics correct.

JPGS is “British” by curriculum and governance — Cambridge programmes, a not-for-profit Board of Governors, COBIS accreditation, BSME membership and British Embassy support — but its community is genuinely mixed: almost a quarter of students are of Pakistani heritage, 17% are Saudi, 12% Egyptian, and most speak English as a second language.

For many families that is a feature; for those expecting a British-majority peer group it is worth knowing before the visit.↗

Two more structural notes. Enrolment has eased from a high of 800 to about 650 as transient expatriates left the city — which typically means better availability than the school’s reputation suggests, and small classes: averages of 18 in Foundation, 20 in Primary and Secondary, and 10 in the sixth form.

And leadership saw turbulence in 2021 with the unexpected departure of the then headmaster; the school has been led since August 2022 by Headmistress Zoe Woolley, previously Principal of Repton School Al Barsha in Dubai.↗

Academics in practice

The results case for the A-level route

JPGS voluntarily sits UK-recognised British Schools Overseas inspections — one of the few Saudi schools to do so — and at its March 2022 inspection was found to have met all required standards.

Inspectors highlighted teaching in key stages 4 and 5, prep-school care and guidance, and the school’s long-standing community reputation; their recommendations — improve prep-school outcomes, align assessment systems, strengthen governance and update premises — are the honest counterweight and worth asking about directly.↗

The published results are strong for a small school.

In 2022 — the first full post-pandemic exam year — IGCSE entries came in at 54.3% A*–A, 80.7% A*–B and 92.9% A*–C; A-level results were 74.5% A*–A, 89.4% A*–B and 100% A*–C, following a 2021 in which 97% of Year 11 achieved five or more A*–C IGCSEs including English and mathematics.

The caveat is cohort size: the sixth form opened in 2012 with 20 students and had about 80 by 2021/22, so individual students move percentages.

The pathway itself is well constructed — nine IGCSEs including English Language and Literature, maths, a science and Arabic or French, then A-levels with a BTEC Business option (equivalent to two A-levels) and the Extended Project Qualification; sixth-form entry requires five IGCSEs at grade B or above.↗

For the most ambitious leavers, the school runs targeted support for Oxford, Cambridge, Medicine, Veterinary and Dentistry applicants through a dedicated club, and reports that the vast majority of graduates receive offers from universities in the UK, USA and Canada — a school-stated figure we pass on with that framing.↗

Admissions and cost

Admissions, fees and the value calculation

Published 2025/26 fees run from SAR 36,800 in FS1 to SAR 79,925 in Year 13, inclusive of VAT (the VAT-exclusive band is roughly SAR 32,000–69,500). Non-refundable admissions charges, also VAT-inclusive, are SAR 402.50 application, SAR 977.50 assessment and SAR 13,800 admission & registration.

Saudi nationals are exempt from VAT under the kingdom-wide ZATCA rule. At every stage that is materially cheaper than BISJ or AISJ — for 2025/26, roughly SAR 20,000–25,000 a year less at the senior end.↗↗

The trade-off for the lower price is physical, not academic: the main buildings have stood for about 25 years, and while the BSO inspectors recorded a functional, well-used campus — six science labs, two computer labs, junior and senior libraries, a gymnasium, two pools and a marked sports field — they also recommended updating accommodation, and the review describes ongoing renovations rather than a showcase rebuild.

Families who need gleaming facilities should visit before assuming the fee gap is free money.↗

The family experience

Small-school life in north Jeddah

The Al Naim location puts JPGS in north Jeddah near the airport and Medina Road — practical for families in the northern districts and compounds, less so for those based in the south.

Inside the gates the structures are those of a small British school: a house system (Victoria, Newton, Imperial), form tutors, around 70 extra-curricular activities drawing 300–400 students, the Duke of Edinburgh International Award, and membership of the SAIKAC and LISST leagues for inter-school sport.↗

Parent-sentiment data beyond the inspection record is thin, as it is across the Kingdom — the 2022 BSO report noted that parents “talked favourably about the care and guidance” the school provides, and we found no substantial English-language forum record to add texture, so we make no stronger community claims.

The co-educational-throughout model, the small classes and the price point together define the school’s real constituency: families who want a British education with results, in a genuinely mixed community, without premium-tier fees.↗

Take these to the school

Questions that move beyond the tour script