The UAE has hundreds of international schools with multiple curricula coexisting. A school choice is driven by your child's age, your plan to return home, budget, and home location.
Main curricula
- British (IGCSE → A-Level) — the largest count. GEMS, Raffles, Kings'.
- American (Common Core → AP/SAT) — ACS, American School of Dubai.
- IB (International Baccalaureate) — PYP/MYP/DP. Dubai International Academy.
- Indian (CBSE/ICSE), French (Lycée), German (DISD) — nationality-aligned schools
- UAE Ministry (public) — mostly Emiratis; foreign students limited.
Tuition (rough)
- Range: 40,000–120,000+ AED/year
- Higher years / higher ratings → more expensive
- Most schools add registration fee, deposit, books separately
Ratings
- Dubai: KHDA annual school inspections (Outstanding / Very Good / Good / Acceptable / Weak). Public.
- Abu Dhabi: ADEK's equivalent (Irtiqaa).
Ratings directly affect tuition and waitlist length.
Korean curriculum and Korean-language classes
- Dubai Korean School (KSD) — weekend Korean school. Korean language, history, and subjects in parallel to a weekday school.
- Weekday schools are chosen from the international systems above.
- Some areas offer supplementary Korean classes on weekends.
Things to think about
- Return timing: if returning within 3–5 years, British or IB simplifies re-entry.
- Waitlists: top-rated schools can take multiple years. Start enquiring before you've even signed the move.
- Transport: school bus availability, route, cost.
- Sibling discount: many schools offer 5–20% off the second child's tuition.
Gotchas
- Term start: Sep (British/American), Apr (some Indian/Pakistani schools)
- Visa linkage: no enrollment without child's dependent visa + Emirates ID
Detailed guides still pending
- Per-curriculum tradeoffs (especially Korean re-entry)
- How to read a KHDA report
- Dubai Korean School details (enrollment, tuition)
- School selection checklist
This is an overview. Education is a multi-year family decision — we run no ads or referrals to keep neutrality. Parent experience welcome at GitHub.