← Back to homeDubai International Academy, Al Barsha
Dubai, UAE · est. 2018 · Private
Illustration · Dubai
The school opened in 2018 and has grown to more than 1800 pupils of more than 90 nationalities. The 23-acre campus in Al Barsha is built on a grand scale: a hall of 400 seats, three swimming pools, two sports halls, a floodlit running track, natural-grass and artificial-surface pitches, tennis courts, cricket nets, and beside them a greenhouse, an apiary and solar panels, with which the school takes pupils through sustainable development topics. Teaching is in English from the pre-kindergarten group at the age of three to the twelfth grade. Arabic is compulsory from the first to the ninth grade and runs at two levels, for native speakers and for the rest; from the second grade French or Spanish is added. Separately the school keeps a home language programme: Dutch, Hindi, Swedish, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Portuguese and German, and the condition is simple - one of the parents must be a native speaker. Results the school publishes for three years running and they are strong: in 2025 all 39 graduates passed the diploma, the average score was 36 out of 45 against a world level of about 30, the best result was 44, and 23 per cent scored above 40. The middle stage in the same year had 90 entrants, all passed, the average result was 45 out of 56, and one pupil got the rare full score of 56. The list of universities is very long and covers Britain, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, continental Europe, Australia and the Emirates themselves; the school says its graduates receive about a million dollars in scholarships a year. Sport is taken seriously: more than 150 teams in more than 15 disciplines, training twice a week with a specialist, and entry in the city school league. The annual fee runs from 47,807 dirhams in the pre-kindergarten group to 84,928 in the eleventh and twelfth grades, in three instalments. What is worth knowing in advance: from the second grade admission goes through the digital CAT4 test, and an offer of a place must be answered within five days or the place goes to the next in the queue.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $13 018–23 125 a year
47 807–84 928 AED
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP, CP
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Dutch, Hindi, Swedish
Registration fee
≈ $143
525 AED
About the fees The fee for the 2026-2027 year: the pre-kindergarten group 47,807 dirhams, the first year of kindergarten 53,582, the second 56,237, the first and second grades 62,163, the third to the fifth 62,608, the sixth to the eighth 70,635, the ninth and tenth 78,170, the eleventh and twelfth 84,928. It is split into three instalments, and the first is larger than the two that follow: in the twelfth grade, for example, that is 29,727, 25,478 and 25,478 dirhams. Payment can be made through the app, by cheque, by card or by transfer. Continuing pupils pay a re-registration fee of 5 per cent of the annual fee: from 2,680 dirhams in the kindergarten to 4,245 in the final grades, and it is credited against the first instalment. New pupils pay instead a registration fee of 10 per cent of the annual fee, which is also credited against the first instalment. For a second and a third child the school takes off 5 per cent, for a fourth 10, for a fifth 15, for a sixth 20. Stationery, trips, uniform, meals and the bus are not included in the fee and are paid for separately.
Admissions Admission runs all year: the school writes that it accepts applications at any time of the school year, and when there are no places it puts the child on a waiting list and invites the first suitable candidate to assessment when a place frees up. Restrictions by nationality, faith or sex the school does not set. The order has eight steps: an application through the site, the waiting list, an invitation to assessment together with a request for documents, the assessment itself, evaluation and decision, an offer letter for a place, submission of the remaining documents, enrolment. The assessment depends on age: for the pre-kindergarten group children are taken on a parent questionnaire, for the kindergarten and the first grade English and mathematics are looked at with a possible non-verbal reasoning part, and from the second grade the pupil sits the digital CAT4 test on verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning; where appropriate a personal interview is added. The assessment can be taken without travelling: the school arranges it with the child's current school abroad. The assessment costs 525 dirhams and is not refunded. There are nine documents: a copy of the passport, a valid UAE resident visa, a birth certificate in English or Arabic, a recent vaccination card, two photographs, reports for the last two years, a confidential teacher reference, a transfer document with the required attestations and a transfer certificate from the Dubai education authority for those moving within the city. Its own deadlines the school promises out loud: an answer to an application in one to two working days, a test result in three, a decision in five. An offer of a place must be answered within five days, or it goes. The enrolment decision the school calls final. Children with special educational needs are directed to the head of the support service, and a place depends on whether the school can provide the help needed; for pupils who need English support a separate assessment and level of lessons are assigned in the primary school.
Stages and year groups Grades Pre-KG - Grade 12. The stages run like this: the pre-kindergarten group and the first year of kindergarten work to the British early years framework, from the second year of kindergarten to the fifth grade runs the primary stage, from the sixth to the tenth the middle stage, and the eleventh and twelfth are the final grades. The 2025-2026 school year the school began on 25 August. The school day has two breaks: a short one of 20 minutes and lunch, 30 minutes for the primary stage and 40 minutes for the middle and senior stages. For the youngest, from the pre-kindergarten group to the first grade, hot food is brought to the classroom; from the second grade pupils bring lunch with them or buy it in the canteen. Class sizes, the number of classes in a year group and the number of teachers per class the school does not publish.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP, CP · authorised programmeGEMS · school is part of the networkschool is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19), CP (ages 16-19, with a vocational slant). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible. DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate. CP is the final stage with a vocational slant, ages 16 to 19: some of the DP subjects plus an applied qualification. It is meant for those heading into a trade or an applied degree rather than an academic one.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →GEMSschool network
GEMS Education is a private school group that describes itself on its own site as one of the oldest and largest K-12 (to Grade 12 / Year 13) private education providers in the world. The site dates its start to 1959 («Our story began in 1959«, «65+ Years of Legacy«), while another page on the same site says «over 60 Years of Legacy«. School counts on the site disagree: the homepage says both «52 schools across the UAE, Qatar and Egypt« and «Choose from our list of over 47 schools«, while the Our Company page says GEMS has schools «in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Europe and North America«. Students: «200,000 students from over 176 countries« (Our Company) and «over 200,000« (homepage). On ownership the site is explicit: «GEMS Education own, operate and manage schools globally« — it both owns and manages, but does not say which schools fall into which category.
What this means for this school. The network owns or operates the school. Its accreditation and programme authorisation the school obtains separately, in its own name.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
36 (world average 30.88)
Exam results The school publishes results for three years running and for two stages. The final stage: in 2025, 39 sat, all passed, the average score was 36 out of 45, the average subject grade 5.6 out of 7, the best result 44, above 30 points 82 per cent, above 35 - 67, above 40 - 23. In 2024, 30 sat, all passed, the average score was 32, the best 42, and 10 per cent came out above 40 points. In 2023, 28 sat, 96 per cent passed, the average score was 33, the best 42. The middle stage: in 2025 there were 90 entrants, all passed, the average result was 45 out of 56, the best 55, 19 per cent scored above 50 points, and one pupil got the full score of 56, whom the school calls one of fewer than ten such in the world. In 2024 there were 67 entrants, the average result 43, the best 55. In 2023 there were 37 entrants, the average result 45, the best 53. Results of the career-related stage the school does not give separately.
Where leavers go: University of Cambridge · Imperial College London · University College London · University of Edinburgh · King's College London · University of Manchester · University of Bristol · University of Glasgow · University of Southampton · University of Birmingham · University of Sheffield · University of Warwick
and others, 144 universities in the school's list in allThe school lists universities under five headings - Britain, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, the rest of Europe with Australia, and the Emirates themselves - and says in a separate line that its graduates receive about a million dollars in scholarships a year. Neither shares of those admitted nor a distribution by year does the school give.
Facilities from the school's official website
✓Swimming poolThree swimming pools
✓Sports hallTwo sports halls, a fitness room and a dance studio
✓LaboratoriesScience laboratories, a product design laboratory and a digital design laboratory, an invention room
✓Theatre or assembly hallA hall of 400 seats for performances and assemblies, music and drama rooms
✓LibraryA library and a separate study centre for the final stage
✓CateringA canteen; for the youngest food is brought to the classroom
✓School transportSchool buses
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Playground
Campus: 23 acres in Al Barsha, with a greenhouse, an apiary and solar panels; the school speaks separately of space, natural light and shaded areas
Clubs and activities: Football · Cricket · Swimming · Athletics · Cross-country · Basketball · Netball · Aquathlon · Rounders · Cheerleading · Tennis · Volleyball · Badminton · Gymnastics · Table tennis · Dance · Tag rugby · Duke of Edinburgh's Award · Entrepreneurship · Sustainable development · Community service · Drama and music · Field trips
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
The teachers have come from more than 20 countries, and the school counts this as one of its features. The leadership team is named individually with qualifications: master's degrees in educational leadership, British professional qualifications for headship and senior leadership, a qualification for the coordinator of work with special needs and International Baccalaureate certificates. Professional development the school describes as continuous and assembles from external training on baccalaureate programmes, British leadership qualifications and its own sessions. Neither the total number of teachers, nor the share of foreigners, nor class sizes, nor the pupil-teacher ratio does the school name.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
✓CounsellorSchool psychologists are part of the wellbeing team along with pupil ambassadors, parents, teachers, senior leaders and the school council
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Wellbeing the school runs as a separate strand: surveys of everyone connected with the school, a charter of its own and a programme for tracking pupils' condition. A separate child protection policy, the name of a designated safeguarding lead, security, video surveillance, a medical room and an anti-bullying policy the school does not name on its open pages; the health page is given over entirely to the procedure for reporting an absence, and reporting must be done before eight in the morning.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)95 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data95 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
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