The ranking holds 101 schools with an international accreditation or an authorised programme. International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 14 of them. The British Cambridge route, IGCSE and A-Level, at 34. A year of school costs from $2 747 to $28 858. A swimming pool on site is confirmed at 27.
We do not take reviews from maps and directories: their terms forbid it, and nobody checks the quality there. Everything below comes from the official registers of the accrediting organisations and from the schools' own sites, and every fact carries its source and the date of the check.
| Cheapest | $2 747 a year | The Creative British School, Abu Dhabi |
| Median | $14 527 a year | top of the fee range at 47 schools with a published fee |
| Most expensive | $28 858 a year | Cranleigh Abu Dhabi |
Figures are converted to dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish their fees in their own currency. One-off charges, meals, transport and uniform are not included unless the school says otherwise. Fees for schools in Abu Dhabi are taken from published price lists, not from what third parties say.
80 of the 101 schools in the ranking are private. The other 21 are state schools, set out below. The type of school does not affect the score: private and state schools sit in one list and are scored by the same formula, and only verifiable data moves the number.
21 schools with an international accreditation are funded by the state: Applied Technology Schools - Abu Dhabi Boys, Applied Technology Schools - Abu Dhabi Girls, Applied Technology Schools - Baniyas, Applied Technology Schools - Bainoonah, Al Karamah School and Training Institute, Al Ghad Charter School, Al Azm Charter School, Aisha Bint Abu Baker Girls School, Yas School, Zayed Al Thani C3 Boys School, Mleih School For Girls, Al Itthad Boys School, Al Reyada Girls School, Al Majd Charter School, Al Riyadh Charter School, Al Qeyam Charter School, Al Nahdha Charter School, Al Mutanabi Charter School, Al Bayan Charter School, Maryam Bint Omran Charter School, Jern Yafoor Charter School. Admission to these schools is usually competitive, and tuition is free or markedly cheaper than at a private school. In the ranking they stand alongside private schools and are scored on the same nine criteria.
Schools in Abu Dhabi with an IB programme (14): American International School in Abu Dhabi, Aspen Heights British School, Emirates National Schools - Mohamed Bin Zayed City Campus, Emirates National Schools - Abu Dhabi City Campus, International Community Schools - Mushrif Campus, American Community School of Abu Dhabi, GEMS American Academy Abu Dhabi, Al Najah Private School, Raha International School, Gardens Campus, GEMS World Academy - Abu Dhabi, Bateen World Academy, Abu Dhabi International School, Raha International School, Khalifa City Campus, Sama International School. 5 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP. Authorisation is confirmed against the International Baccalaureate register.
The British Cambridge programme - IGCSE and A-Level - is taught at 34 schools in Abu Dhabi: Aspen Heights British School, Amity International School Abu Dhabi, Al Basma British School, Al Najah Private School, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, The Cambridge High School - Abu Dhabi, ICS Al Danah, GEMS World Academy - Abu Dhabi, Bateen World Academy, The International School of Choueifat - Khalifa City, GEMS Cambridge International School - Abu Dhabi, Ajyal International School - MBZ, SABIS International School - Yas Island, The Cambridge High School - Abu Dhabi, Al Nahda National Schools, Yasmina British Academy, Abu Dhabi International School, Diyafah International School, The British School Al Khubairat, Al Rabeeh Academy, Al Murooj Scientific Private School, Merryland International School, Reach British School, Emirates Private School - Abu Dhabi, Islamiya English School, Brighton College Abu Dhabi, SABIS International School - Al Bateen, Al Maharat Private School, Wales International School, Mamoura British Academy, Lycee Francais International Theodore Monod, The Creative British School, Abu Dhabi, Repton School Abu Dhabi, Modern British Academy.
A facility counts only when the school names it outright on its own site: a modern campus is not a swimming pool. Swimming pool: 27 schools · School transport: 30 schools.
Comparing schools on a single feature is useless: the most expensive is not the best, and a famous name says nothing about what is backed by documents. The score is therefore built from nine criteria with different weights - from academic programmes and accreditation to facilities, clubs and fees relative to other schools in the country.
A criterion counts towards the score only when there is verifiable data behind it. That is why every score says how many of the nine criteria were counted: at schools in Abu Dhabi that is 7.5 out of 9 on average. A school with a detailed site and a school with no site cannot earn an equally reliable score, and that is shown rather than hidden.
Ratings and reviews from Google Maps, Yandex Maps and 2GIS are not used: their terms forbid aggregation. Only verified reviews left here count. Full methodology →
Published fees run from $2 747 to $28 858 for a school year. The cheapest is The Creative British School, Abu Dhabi, the most expensive Cranleigh Abu Dhabi. The median for the senior stage is $14 527 a year. Fees are converted into dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish them in their own currency.
American International School in Abu Dhabi comes first with 77.4 points out of 100, counted from 7 of the 9 criteria. Next come Aspen Heights British School (76.3) and Emirates National Schools - Mohamed Bin Zayed City Campus (74.8). The score is built from data anyone can check: accreditations found in official registers, programmes, facilities and published fees. A place in the ranking is not for sale.
The ranking holds 101 schools: 80 private and 21 state (Applied Technology Schools - Abu Dhabi Boys, Applied Technology Schools - Abu Dhabi Girls, Applied Technology Schools - Baniyas, Applied Technology Schools - Bainoonah, Al Karamah School and Training Institute, Al Ghad Charter School, Al Azm Charter School, Aisha Bint Abu Baker Girls School, Yas School, Zayed Al Thani C3 Boys School, Mleih School For Girls, Al Itthad Boys School, Al Reyada Girls School, Al Majd Charter School, Al Riyadh Charter School, Al Qeyam Charter School, Al Nahdha Charter School, Al Mutanabi Charter School, Al Bayan Charter School, Maryam Bint Omran Charter School, Jern Yafoor Charter School). Private and state schools go into the ranking on equal terms.
International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 14 schools: American International School in Abu Dhabi, Aspen Heights British School, Emirates National Schools - Mohamed Bin Zayed City Campus, Emirates National Schools - Abu Dhabi City Campus, International Community Schools - Mushrif Campus, American Community School of Abu Dhabi, GEMS American Academy Abu Dhabi, Al Najah Private School, Raha International School, Gardens Campus, GEMS World Academy - Abu Dhabi, Bateen World Academy, Abu Dhabi International School, Raha International School, Khalifa City Campus, Sama International School. 5 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP.
IGCSE and A-Level are offered by 34 schools: Aspen Heights British School, Amity International School Abu Dhabi, Al Basma British School, Al Najah Private School, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, The Cambridge High School - Abu Dhabi, ICS Al Danah, GEMS World Academy - Abu Dhabi, Bateen World Academy, The International School of Choueifat - Khalifa City, GEMS Cambridge International School - Abu Dhabi, Ajyal International School - MBZ, SABIS International School - Yas Island, The Cambridge High School - Abu Dhabi, Al Nahda National Schools, Yasmina British Academy, Abu Dhabi International School, Diyafah International School, The British School Al Khubairat, Al Rabeeh Academy, Al Murooj Scientific Private School, Merryland International School, Reach British School, Emirates Private School - Abu Dhabi, Islamiya English School, Brighton College Abu Dhabi, SABIS International School - Al Bateen, Al Maharat Private School, Wales International School, Mamoura British Academy, Lycee Francais International Theodore Monod, The Creative British School, Abu Dhabi, Repton School Abu Dhabi, Modern British Academy.
The earliest intake starts at 3 years old. 5 schools have a preschool section.
The score of every school adds up from nine criteria with different weights: academic programmes, accreditation, facilities, clubs, the fee against other schools in the country, reviews, university destinations, safety and teachers. A criterion counts only when there is data behind it that can be checked, so every score says how many of the nine were counted. Right now that is 7.5 out of 9 on average. We do not use reviews from maps or directories.