BEST SCHOOLS IN DUBAI 2024: NEW KHDA INSPECTION RATINGS REVEALED IN FULL. WHICH SCHOOLS ARE OUTSTANDING?

Which are the best schools in Dubai? The emirate’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has updated (April 2024) the inspection ratings on its website for the academic year 2023-24. There are now 23 schools out of the more than 200 schools in Dubai that have been rated as Outstanding, which is the highest rating that schools are able to achieve. The official KHDA reports for the 2023-24 inspection round have still not been published yet, but according to the KHDA’s latest update all 20 of the school rated as Outstanding last year in 2022-23 have retained their rating for 2023-24, and there are three additional schools that have been rated as Outstanding for the first time. These are: Safa Community School, which is also the 2024 SchoolsCompared Top Schools Awards winner for Happiest School in the UAE; Dubai British School Jumeirah Park, which was awarded the Top Schools Award for Best School in the United Arab Emirates in Theatre and the Performing Arts; and Lycee Francais International.

Of the 23 schools rated Outstanding for 2023-24, only one offers the American curriculum (GEMS Dubai American Academy is the only KHDA ranked Outstanding American school in the UAE, an accolade which it has held since 2011), only one offers the Indian curriculum (GEMS Modern Academy – alongside the IB, also achieved in consecutive years without interruption since 2011), two now offer the French curriculum – and the rest are either British curriculum, or IB/ blended British and IB curriculum. It is worth noting too that Dubai International Academy-Emirates Hills is today the only IB continuum (all-through) school to be ranked KHDA Outstanding – you can read our review of this remarkable school here.

Best Schools in Dubai 2024

Below is a table of all the schools rated as Outstanding in the 2023-24 KHDA inspections (see below for more on what the inspection ratings mean), listed in alphabetical order. The full KHDA reports have not been published yet, and the fees in this table are from academic year 2023-24. Schools that retain their Outstanding inspection rating this year are entitled to raise their fees by 2.6% for next academic year, while those schools that have upgraded from Very Good to Outstanding may raise their fees by 3.9% for next academic year, so expect these fees to go up once the final reports are released. Read more on how much Dubai schools can raise their fees by for next academic year.

Scroll down for a full list of all Dubai schools and their 2024 KHDA ratings, including all schools rated Very Good, Good, and Acceptable.

Movers and Shakers: Which Dubai schools have changed KHDA rating this year?

Below is a list of all the schools that have changed their KHDA inspection rating this year, or which have been inspected for the first time in 2023/24 (you can compare with last year’s rating on the right).

Best Schools in Dubai 2024: The full List

Below is a table of all of the 2024 KHDA ratings for Dubai Schools that have been updated so far, listed by rating category, in alphabetical order.

What do the ratings mean?

Every year the KHDA inspects Dubai schools in partnership with the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB). The aim of the inspections is to raise the standard of education within the Emirate’s schools using a common framework across all schools and curricula. Schools are rated on a scale of 6 results from Outstanding, Very Good, Good, Acceptable, Weak to Very Weak. The ratings give parents a useful, broadbrush idea of which are the best schools in Dubai, although every child is different and it is important to read full reviews, and eventually visit each school in order to make the best decision for your child.

There are a total of 216 Schools in Dubai, offering 17 different curricula and catering to 326,001 students.

 

This is the second time all schools have been inspected since before the pandemic, when school inspections were paused.

This is also the second time that inspections have put a specific focus on happiness in schools, with every single school now also being rated on the KHDA’s new Wellbeing Framework of 2022.

And this is the second year that parents have been put at the heart of the KHDA school rating results: Customised Parent Summary Reports will soon be made available for each school to give you all the info you need to know quickly.

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