· updated monthly
The five schools United arab emirates parents researched most this year, chosen from the 359 international schools in the country. Ranked by how many families opened each school’s profile and spent time reading it between July 2025 and June 2026, then the full picture on curricula, class sizes and fees.
The 2026 ranking
Ranked purely by parent interest — the number of families who opened each school’s profile and spent time reading it between July 2025 and June 2026.
The Indian International School Dubai Silicon Oasis provides the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum from Kindergarten 1 through Grade 10. Located within the Dubai Silicon Oasis technology park, the campus features specialized physics, chemistry, and biology laboratories, an indoor auditorium, a dedicated library, and outdoor sports grounds. A unique signature initiative at the school is the "Happy Home" program for early years, which utilizes structured play-based learning spaces specifically designed to ease young learners into the school environment. Students participate in regular co-curricular activities, including performing arts, ICT workshops, and language clubs teaching Arabic, Hindi, French, and Malayalam. The school operates an organized student bus network across Dubai to transport pupils to and from the campus. Classrooms are equipped with interactive digital boards to support daily instruction, creating a technologically integrated learning environment for all enrolled pupils.
Summit International School in Abu Dhabi delivers the American Curriculum, strictly aligned with California Common Core standards, for students from Kindergarten through Grade 12. The downtown, four-building campus features a regulation football pitch, a multi-use gymnasium, a swimming pool, and a theater. Instruction replaces traditional textbooks with a 1:1 Chromebook learning model and utilizes Exact Path adaptive software to create individualized learning paths based on NWEA MAP assessment data. A unique hallmark of the school is its unified "Climber" identity. Students, parents, and staff are all referred to as Climbers ascending "Mount Summit," and daily interactions frequently incorporate the school’s signature call-and-response motto, "To the Top!" Students begin in co-educational classrooms until Grade 4, transitioning to gender-segregated instruction from Grade 5 onward. The school provides a technology-driven, data-informed environment focusing on individual student growth, robotics, and strong core subject foundations.
Al Nahda National Schools is a private English-medium day school in Abu Dhabi with separate Boys' and Girls' campuses for ages 4–18. Established in 1983, ANNS offers British and American Curricula, including Cambridge IGCSE and Pearson Edexcel IGCSE, plus Advanced Placement. The British Program and American Program cover languages, mathematics, sciences, humanities, information technology, Islamic studies, physical education, music, drama and art. The school is licensed by ADEK and the UAE Ministry of Education and accredited by NEASC, CIS, ECIS, Cambridge International Examinations, Pearson-Edexcel, and the SAT Center. Examinations include IGCSEs, GCSEs and A-levels, alongside the BTEC suite. The SAT Center supports university admissions testing. With nearly 5,800 students, the school focuses on high-quality learning and global citizenship, while maintaining its two-campus, gender-segregated model. Extracurriculars feature sports, robotics, and debating, and the school's arts program integrates music, drama and art alongside National Day and Cultural Evenings. National Day celebrations foster cultural awareness.
What’s on offer
The mix of programmes and teaching languages across all 359 schools. Many offer more than one curriculum, so totals run higher than the school count.
Number of schools teaching each curriculum.
Number of schools teaching in each language.
Size & classes
School size and class size shape day-to-day experience as much as curriculum does.
Schools grouped by total enrolment.
Average school size is 1,712 students · based on the 266 schools that report enrolment.
Schools grouped by typical class size.
Average class size is 18.6 students · based on the 256 schools that report it.
What it costs
Fees shown are one year for a 12-year-old (or the closest age available), excluding one-time enrolment costs.
Across the 292 schools that publish a price for a 12-year-old. All figures in AED.
How many schools sit in each annual-fee range.
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