If you are planning to move your family to UAE, then this article is for you.

Dubai has some of the world's top private schools & due to this, the admission process is so fast and many have waiting lists. So in order to avoid this list.

Dubai has 216 Schools with 17 different curriculums. The school fee is revised every year by KHDA and for the academic session 2023-24, schools can raise the fee if needed, as it is allowed after the pandemic for the first time. it is up to the school to decide whether to raise or not to rise.

As Dubai is home to 100's of schools following many curriculums, it becomes confusing for parents to decide the right schools for their child. As the child is moving from a different country to study in the United Arab Emirates, it also depends on the student's capabilities to cope with the new school environment and peers.

Here are a few things you need to keep in mind:

1. Choosing the right School:

Get a list of Dubai Schools based on Curriculum, Convenient Location, activities of your child's interest, KHDA reports, Teacher's student's ratio, and class size.

2. Choosing the right curriculum:

You need to understand, which curriculum will be best suited for your child. If you want to continue the same curriculum in the past where your child was studying, or you need to change the curriculum and you and your child must be ready to take up new challenges and adapt to the new culture of the school. Choosing the right curriculum plays a crucial role as you have to decide where your child will study for his undergraduate and accordingly, you as a parent have to decide. 

3. Selecting the right fee budget:

Schools in Dubai vary in the fee structure to the facilities they offer. For top schools like Repton, an average fee will range from 49K AED to 93K AED whereas a GEMS Winchester school fee range will vary from 11K AED to 18K AED annually. So you need to select a school within your budget as the living cost of the city has to be considered.

4. School extracurricular activities/offerings for students:

Look out for the child's interest and seek the same activity available in the school you are choosing. 

5. Convenient location:

Location is an important parameter to be considered while choosing a school for your child. The location must be convenient to travel and not far from your residing area. Check for transportation provided by the school for the same area you have your home.

Once you have chosen a school, the next step would be to understand admission requirements. You can visit the school in person or write to the admissions team regarding the required documents.  You can visit the school list page and can find the admission criteria in the admission requirement section. You can also visit the school website and contact to the admissions team.

There can be admission tests required from school to school. You can expect basic questions from science maths, and English based upon the grades you want admission to. Students are also admitted on a First come First Served basis as well followed by an admission test.

When does Admission Starts in these schools in Dubai?

Admissions for the upcoming academic year are often open throughout the year but act quickly as some popular schools may have waiting lists. Check the school's website to see if your desired grade or year group is available for application or if it is on a waiting list. Keep in mind that schools with available spots will continue accepting students until September. In British and American curriculum schools, admissions for the following academic year typically commence around March 1, and for CBSE, and ICSE the admission will start from Dec-January onwards.

What Documents are needed?

Few documents are common for all schools like Admission forms, Parent's passport copies, Emirates ID, 8 passport-size photos, copy of the child's birth certificate, School Transfer certificate, school records for the last 2 years, and immunization records. Make sure, you check with the school if they allow time to submit documents.

The requirement of schools may vary a little but the process is the same for all the Schools in the United Arab Emirates whether it is Dubai or Sharjah or AbuDhabi.