The school issue is in fact a sensitive one, which will be a factor in choosing accomodation. Now regarding the "level" of any of those... well, to have your children educated in their mother tongue is already a must, and yes some nationalities have this possibility more than others. So yes a number of french schools, but also some german ones as here in Sharjah, and also for russians - which is normal regarding the number of them... now italians or danishs must make a choice..
Chandler you should be more considerate of other nationalities - comparing their schools here in the Gulf is pointless, like comparing countries by themselves, or maybe it was your idea at the beginning ? I think you started the conflict with reinhardt (alsacian ?) who gave me some material for further bashing events...
To come back to the subject of new joiners and school, I should say that the biggest problem is that, having no idea of your next residence location, registering your children is therefore a nightmare, be it in a british, french or mongolian school... some of those pooor kids end up packed in their buses for more than one hour, along with drivers and nurses unable to speak ANY european language at all....