Dubai School Fees 2018/19, Complete List

Dubai school fees for 2018/19, approved by the KHDA, have remained frozen at 2017-18 levels

No school was given permission to raise its fees. In 2017-18 of the 168 private schools in Dubai, 124 were given permission to increase their fees.

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- Click here for up to date real time trends for Dubai school fees
- Click here for a complete and up to date list of Dubai school fees
- Click here for a complete and up-to-date list of Abu Dhabi school fees
- Click here for a complete and up-to-date list of Sharjah school fees

For full Dubai fees by year group/grade, go here.

Notes, for 2016/17

To coincide with the 2015/16 inspection results, the KHDA has also released the newly approved schools fees for the 2016/17 academic year.

Given the current economic climate and with around 20 new schools set to open next year, it looks like many existing Dubai schools have remained prudent on increasing fees for the upcoming year.

Many new schools focus on discounts for the initial start-up years, examples include Taaleem’s Dubai British School Jumerirah Park and Uptown School, which offer significant reductions to their KHDA authorized fees. Meanwhile the Swiss International School Dubai is offering discounts for their newly launched Middle Years Programme.

While many schools have held back on announcing their 2016/17 fees for the time being, WSA has accessed the full list via the KHDA.

The Indian schools are significantly more affordable than the rest, and have historically always been so. Almost all are priced below AED 15,000 and as they are not indicative of the other curricula we have removed them from this report.

Outstanding Fees

A cursory glance over the Outstanding schools and you could be mistaken for thinking that there are some exceedingly affordable schools in the category.

However, closer inspection shows that almost all those priced under AED 50,000 are in fact, only primary schools. Of the 16 Outstanding schools in the group five are primary schools, (and 2 secondarys: DESC and DC), so not quite as economical as they first appear.

Repton remains the most expensive Outstanding option priced between AED 50,379 and AED 100,759.

The Lycee Francais International Georges Pompidou School (Dubai Branch), however, is highly affordable with fees between AED 31,400 and AED 43,000.

Very Good Fees… or Are They?

GEMS Wellington Academy Al Khail is the most expensive school in the Very Good category with fees between AED 35,000 and AED 79,185, closely followed by Deira International School between AED 38,328 and AED 77,222.

Once again, the French curriculum offers an affordable option with the Lycee Libanais Francophone Prive-Dubai coming in at a very affordable AED 23,151 to AED 49,610.

Jebel Ali Primary’s flat rate of just over AED 41,000 for all classes, is also a very good deal, however, as the school is set to relocate to a new purpose built facility in August 2016, the fees will increase.

A Good Deal

The largest fee differences are in the Good category, as these schools range from premium-plus to value, with everything in between.

At the value end, there’s UK curriculum Al Ameen School with fees between AED 9,000 to just over AED 10,000. Other affordable options include Al Diyafah High School with a top price of AED 17,902, Al Mawakeb School with fees finishing at AED 21,678 and Al Salam Private School peaking at AED 27,899, plus numerous others.

At the other end of the spectrum there’s Foremarke priced between AED 90,000 and AED 98,000 and GEMS world Academy topping off at a staggering AED 107, 928, making it the most expensive school in Dubai.

Other costly schools in the Good category include: Regent International Private School finishing at AED 92,482, Uptown School at AED 83,852 and Raffles World Academy at AED 82,119.

Yet, at the same time all these schools boast premium facilities, UK trained teachers and a slew of extracurricular activities.

While some of the value options might seem ‘too good to be true,’ cash strapped parents need to remember most are housed in older buildings, in busy parts of town with few facilities and limited subject options.

On the other side of the coin, GEMS World Academy offers students some of the most spectacular learning environments available in the country including: a planetarium, fitness centre, indoor climbing wall and peace garden.

Acceptable Fees?

Across the board, the Acceptable schools tend to be more affordable, however exceptions include: Bradenton Prep at AED 32,421 to AED 76,504 and International Concept Education with fees between AED 55,000 and AED 77,000.

Conclusions

A cursory glance over the Dubai private school inspection results and fees could leave some parents scratching their heads’ as to why such a price disparity exists , even within the same rating groupings.

However, parents should be aware that, while the KHDA inspectors rate everything from the core subjects, curriculum and teaching, the students social development and more, they do not take into consideration the facilities, extracurricular activities and the number of subject options available.

Those who do wish to compare only the fees should proceed with caution and be aware they are often not comparing ‘like with like.’

For full Dubai fees by year group, go here.