Sport at SRI.

Move, try something new, and challenge yourself in an inclusive environment where participation comes first.

Begin
the story
Students training and competing across SRI sports facilities

Confidence, resilience and teamwork.

Sport at SRI begins in FS1, through daily PE and structured play, and grows with every year of the school. Every student is encouraged to move, try something new and challenge themselves at their own pace, in an inclusive environment where participation comes first. Students have the opportunity to discover who they are becoming by building confidence, resilience, character and teamwork long before competition ever becomes the goal.

Athletes training on SRI sports facilities in Dubai Sports City

From first steps to elite pathways

Showing up, trying and growing.

Whether a child is discovering a new sport for the first time or pursuing an elite pathway, the same principles apply: showing up, trying, and growing, supported by exceptional coaches and industry-standard facilities across our 47,600 sqm campus in Dubai Sports City.

Football, swimming, martial arts, fencing and gymnastics build the foundations in Pre-Prep. Gymnastics, fencing, basketball and athletics extend this through Prep. By Senior school, those who want to compete have pathways to elite events and sporting scholarships, but for every student, sport remains first and foremost a place to belong, build character and discover what they’re capable of.

Our Sports Facilities

Purpose-built for every athlete.

01 / 11

  • Olympic-size swimming pool and learner pool

  • Full-size FIFA-standard football field

  • 400m Olympic-standard running track

  • NBA-spec basketball court

  • Strength and conditioning fitness suite

  • Gymnastics arena

  • 2 indoor sports halls

  • Four doubles padel courts

  • Fencing studio

  • Netball court

  • Long jump pit

Welcome from the Director of Sport

Mark Shopland.

Interim Director of Sport

Mark is Interim Director of Sport at GEMS School of Research and Innovation, bringing over 13 years of experience in sport and education, including senior leadership roles within leading independent schools in the UK. He holds a BA in Physical Education and a PGCE from the University of Buckingham, alongside a broad portfolio of coaching qualifications across football, rugby, hockey and swimming.

Sport and coaching culture at SRI

Industry Partnerships

Coaching at industry level.

Specialist partnerships bring industry-level coaching into everyday training: Hamilton, AIS Athletics, Knightsbridge Fencing and Stamina 11 — alongside Lord Sebastian Coe, Special Advisor for Sport, who gives students a direct connection to the highest level of sporting leadership.

Beyond the Timetable

Trailblazer and
co-curricular sport.

Sport at SRI runs beyond our school day. Through the Trailblazer Curriculum, students rotate through activities designed around skill progression, from Pioneers of Invasion Sports and Champions of Movement in the early years, to Strategists of Match Play and Master Movers by Year 5 and 6. In Senior school, students choose specialist pathways such as Tactical Decision Making in Basketball, Skill Acquisition in Futsal, Fencing as a Martial Art, or Yoga: The Science of the Mind–Body Connection, each building genuine expertise and confidence, whether or not competition is the goal.

Alongside Trailblazer, SRI’s wider Co-Curricular programme offers over 100 extended-day activities across Academics, CAPA, Sport and Technology, giving every student a route into a club or squad that matches what they love.

Students in Trailblazer and co-curricular sport pathways

Continue exploring

Arts, innovation and more.

Explore Creative & Performing Arts, or browse the full co-curricular programme.

Creative & Performing Arts Co-Curricular