Bahrain School is a

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on beh ...

(DoDEA) school located in Juffair, Manama, Bahrain.

Overview

The school is operated by the Bahrain International School Association (BISA) with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(DoDEA) and takes students from

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

Twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

. Graduating seniors can earn an American diploma and from 1982 to 2023 an International Baccalaureate Diploma. Bahrain School is the only DoDEA school in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

area. The closest DoDEA school to Bahrain School is George C. Marshall School in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, Turkey. It provides education primarily to the children of the United States Navy stationed in Bahrain, but historically, about half of the student body has been local enrollment, usually the dependents of diplomatic personnel and ARAMCO employees, as well as wealthy Bahraini citizens. The Navy dependent population declined in July 2004 when dependents were sent home due to security concerns. In July 2009, dependents were again authorized to return to Bahrain. As of 2013, there were 435 total students enrolled in both the middle and high schools, with 69% of the students in grades 10 to 12. 57% of the students at the time were American citizens, with the remaining 43% representing approximately 68 countries. Also as of 2013, the middle and high school employed forty-three teachers, seven supporting professionals, and seven support staff for a total of fifty-seven teachers and staff. Of those, eighteen were male and thirty-nine were female. In 2024 a rain storm damaged the school, and so it closed for three weeks. Jim Banks (R-Indiana) sponsored an addition to a bill stating that US military employees in Bahrain could instead use money from the federal government to send their children to private schools. Banks cited the rainstorm and accused the school of "struggling with poor teaching" and " elebratinga notorious antisemite." The addition was removed from the bill in 2024. In 2025, High tensions between Iran and Israel caused security risks in the region, prompting dependents, including children who are enrolled to The Bahrain School to be evacuated to a "save haven," where they could enroll into a new school if the situation stays the same. Students are expected to not unenroll from Bahrain School, as dependents will return to normal in school operations when the situation deescalates.

Accreditation

Bahrain School is accredited by the

North Central Association The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It ...

of Colleges and Schools to offer an American diploma. The

College Board The College Board, styled as CollegeBoard, is an American not-for-profit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an asso ...

authorizes Bahrain School to offer

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

courses: Calculus AB, Microeconomics, Chemistry, Physics, and Spanish. On March 1, 1982, the school became the first in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the second in the Middle East after the American International School in Amman, Jordan in 1981, to offer the

International Baccalaureate Diploma The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...

under the accreditation of the

International Baccalaureate Organization The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

.Bahrain School

Sports

Bahrain School has many of the sports that typical American schools have such as basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball, track and field and cross country. The school competes against other schools on the island. Since the school is a part of DoDDS Europe, they also compete in the DODDS European championships.

Notable alumni

* Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the

Bahrain Defence Force The Bahrain Defence Force (, abbreviated BDF) is the military force of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahrain Defence Force is under the direct command and leadership of a commander-in-chief who holds the rank of field marshal. The Government has ...

. * Brent Brandon, Outstanding Graduate from the United States Air Force Academy, Two-year winner of the National John F. Kennedy Fellowship - Harvard University, Winner of the Gilroy Award for Leadership and Flying - USAF Electronic Warfare Officer School, Nominated for Silver Star and awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for Heroism in Aerial Combat in EF-111 aircraft on first wave attack in Desert Storm; chairman of the Board - Boise Classical Academy * Summer Bishil, American

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

-nominated actress. *

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n- Lebanese singer-songwriter

References

External links