The first thing to consider when choosing a Dubai school? How much it’s going to cost is usually up there as one of the key factors for parents. And Dubai school fees don’t tend to come cheap. But why are Dubai school fees so expensive? And why do the fees vary so much between schools?

The truth is, there are many possible factors – but one key variable can be the age of the school. Newer schools tend to be more expensive due to modern facilities, ongoing real estate payments, and regulatory limitations on fee increases for older schools. The educational landscape in Dubai and the UAE has evolved significantly over the past 20 years, and newer schools are often able to open at a higher price point than those that opened decades ago or more.

Recognised brands, whether local or global, also contribute to higher costs. Established school groups and globally recognised names provide parents with a sense of security, as they are associated with a known and proven track record of quality education.

While higher costs do not always equate to higher quality, it’s important to be alert to the potential compromises that are sometimes associated with lower fees. These trade-offs might (but do not always) encompass: less favourable student-to-teacher ratios; bigger class sizes; limitations on the breadth of subject options and extracurricular choices on offer; more limited facilities and pastoral care; as well as differences in the training, experience and nationality of school staff (some countries are more expensive to recruit from than others).

So how can you tell if a school offers good value for your money?

One broadbrush way to get an indication of a school’s quality is to look at its inspection rating…

The meaning behind Dubai School KHDA Inspection ratings

The private-education regulator in Dubai (the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, or KHDA) arranges annual school inspections, during which they assess a school’s quality based on a variety of criteria, and then award an inspection rating as a result.

 

The inspection criteria consider everything from academic attainment, facilities, teaching quality and leadership, to student wellbeing, staff turnover and standards of inclusion for students with SEND.

The possible ratings a school can have range from Outstanding to Very Good, Good, Acceptable, Weak and Very Weak.

Dubai schools’ inspection ratings are also known as the DSIB rating, because they are awarded by the Dubai School Inspection Bureau, which is part of the office of the KHDA.

Although the regulators’ rating is not the bottom line when it comes to a schools’ quality – you’ll need to read the SchoolsCompared.com or WhichSchooAdvisor.com review and ultimately visit the school for yourself to get that – it gives a useful, at-a-glance indication of what sort of standard you can expect.

The most convenient way to see if a school offers good value for money is to compare the cost of a school against its KHDA rating – and luckily, we’ve done all that hard work for you.

Below we have listed all of the Outstanding, Very Good, and Good-rated schools in Dubai – so you can be assured they all offer decent quality – ranked in order of their cost, from the most affordable, to the most expensive…

Please note: the schools fees mentioned are taken from the KHDA Fees Fact Sheet for the academic year 2023-2024, which every Dubai school is required to submit annually. They represent the official KHDA approved fees, and do not account for any discretionary discounts that schools may choose to offer against the KHDA approved fees. There are also sometimes further, hidden, mandatory costs – such as uniforms, transport or IT costs – that are not included in the Fact Sheet. These factors may account for any discrepancy between the cited KHDA fees and the fee quoted by the school directly.

It is also important to note that many schools offer bursaries, scholarships, discounts for siblings, welfare assistance in some cases, founders discounts for new schools – and so on. You should always discuss fees with schools as some may be open to negotiation.

A note on the KHDA ratings: The Indian and Pakistani curriculum schools have completed their 2023/2024 inspection round, so their ratings are from 2023/24. The rest of the schools (those following the British, UK, US, IB, etc curricula) are still in the process of being inspected and so the ratings mentioned below are from the most recent available official ratings, which is from the 2022/2023 round of inspections.

Dubai School Fees: Best schools listed in order of cost, from lowest to highest

All Dubi schools rated Outstanding, Very Good or Good, listed in ascending order of the cost of their average annual fees in Dirhams…

*Indian and Pakistani schools have completed their 2023/2024 inspection so their most recent official ratings are included here. 

Cost of Dubai Schools by Rating

Outstanding Dubai Schools in order of fees

All of the below schools have been rated Outstanding by the KHDA. They are listed in ascending order of fees, but we have separated purely primary schools from the all-through schools (those which also include secondary schools), since lower years tend to be less expensive, which can skew the average fees.

VERY GOOD Schools rated by fees

All of the below schools have been rated Very Good by the KHDA. They are listed in ascending order of fees, but we have separated purely primary schools from the all-through schools (those which also include secondary schools), since lower years tend to be less expensive, which can skew the average fees.

Good Dubai Schools listed in order of fees

All of the below schools have been rated Good by the KHDA. They are listed in ascending order of fees, but we have separated purely primary schools from the all-through schools (those which also include secondary schools), since lower years tend to be less expensive, which can skew the average fees.

 Dubai School fees cost by curriculum

Group of Students Studying About Global Issues

Perhaps you are keen to find a school that follows a particular curriculum? There are 17 curricula represented in Dubai schools, but the majority follow the UK curriculum, followed by Indian, US, and then the IB. Below are all of the KHDA-rated Outstanding, Very Good and Good schools, rated in ascending order of cost, and separated by curriculum. 

Find out more about Dubai Schools Fees, such as The Most Expensive Schools in the UAE, and the Average UAE School Fee in Each Emirate here. 

Notes

All fees quoted are published KHDA fees, before any discounts that may be offered by schools to families individually. Some schools may have mandatory additional fees. KHDA ratings pertain to the 2022/2023 inspection round for all schools, apart from Indian and Pakistani schools, for which the official 2023/2024 ratings have already been published.

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