What this guide covers - and what it doesn’t yet

This register covers 228 of the 229 private schools in KHDA’s online directory, checked on 14 September 2026, plus 2 schools the directory does not yet show - Dubai Arabian American Private School, Harrow International School Dubai - each explained on its own page. 230 schools in all. The one exception is Renaissance School: still in the directory when it was read, but closed, so listing it as a school a family could apply to would be false. The reason and the source are in the change log.

What that check found, stated plainly. Until 14 September 2026 this page said the register covered 212 of about 227 schools. When every entry was compared with KHDA’s own directory, 102 schools were recorded in a different area from the community KHDA gives - for some a neighbouring or more precise name, for others a different part of the city - 31 under a different curriculum, and 3 with a different rating. Those figures had been carried from the register the site launched with, and no earlier check had compared them with the regulator. All of them now follow KHDA.

The same check added 27 schools KHDA lists that this register had never carried, and took out 8 entries: the 6 Iranian community schools, whose licences the UAE Ministry of Education revoked in March 2026; The Fifth Dimension Elementary School, which has closed; and a duplicate entry for American School of Creative Science. Their old addresses redirect rather than break.

Added on 14 September 2026

Al Basateen Private Nursery, Al Fanar School, Al Mawakeb School Al Garhoud, Ambassador International Academy Mankhool, Amity English School, Arcadia Global School, BC Academy International School, Dewvale School, GEMS Founders School Nad Al Hamar, GEMS School of Research and Innovation, Glendale International School, Hampton Heights International School, Himayah Kindergarten for Education (Karama), Himayah School for Education Boys (Abu Hail), Icademy Middle East, International School of Arts and Sciences, Kent College Dubai, Lycée Français International (Oud Metha), Lycée Français International Georges Pompidou - Grades 1 to 12, MSB Private School, Pace Springfield International School, Sharjah American International Private School Dubai, St. Mary Catholic High School Dubai, The Apple International Community School, The Indian Academy, The National Charity School for Girls, The School of Research Science US High School.

Coverage. Every school in KHDA’s online directory is listed. 2 more are listed although the directory does not show them, each with the reason on their page: Dubai Arabian American Private School - Rated Weak in KHDA’s published 2023-24 ratings table. Not shown in KHDA’s online directory as of 14 September 2026; the school has published 2026-27 fees. Confirm directly with the school before applying. Harrow International School Dubai - Opened for 2026-27 (The National, 30 August 2026). Not yet listed in KHDA’s online directory as of 14 September 2026 and not yet inspected - new schools are usually inspected in their third year. The fees shown were announced by the school. We never encode a school we cannot page.

Inspector summaries. 9 schools are not yet summarised - mostly the schools added on 14 September 2026. A school without a summary is unread, not unjudged: its page links KHDA’s own record, and the absence says nothing about the school.

Editorial. Nobody from this guide has walked a corridor or sat in a lesson. Everything here is documentary: regulator ratings, published reports, school websites, checked links. When that changes, this page will say so.

Inspections themselves. Most ratings still date from KHDA’s 2023-24 inspections, and every school page states the year its rating comes from. When KHDA publishes new results we check the register against its directory again, and every change is dated on the public log.