Crescent English School
Acceptable Al Qusais, Dubai · Indian (CBSE/ICSE)
- KHDA rating
- Acceptable
Meets minimum standards; may be on an improvement plan. Read the full report before enrolling. From the 2023–24 inspection cycle — now more than two years old. KHDA has not completed a full cycle in two consecutive years, so this rating, and every rating on every other site, is older than it looks.
- Annual fees
- AED 3,628 to 10,775 a year
Varies by year group; confirm current fees with the school. 2026–27 fees are frozen by KHDA directive.
- Curriculum
- Indian (CBSE/ICSE)
- Established
- Founded 1984
- School transport
- Bus service available
- Location
- Al Qusais, Dubai
District-level pin for Al Qusais — use the Google Maps link for the exact gate.
We could not verify an official website for this school, so no link is shown.
Check travel time from your location
Opens live directions in Google Maps — real traffic from your own address beats any published estimate. School-run traffic peaks roughly 7–8am; test your route at drop-off time.
How far is this from another school? What the bus costs
If your children may end up at different schools, the distance that decides your mornings is the one between them, not from home to each.
In context
Its mid-range fee is about 50 per cent below the median for Indian (CBSE/ICSE) schools in this guide (AED 14,500). It is one of 51 schools in this guide currently rated Acceptable. As a CBSE school, its academic year runs April to March — plan relocation timing around this.
Worth comparing: Iranian Salman Farsi Boys School (AED 2,673 to 4,038 a year) — a lower-fee option in the same area.
These comparisons are computed from the verified data in this register, not editorial opinion.
What the inspectors said
Paraphrased from the last full DSIB inspection we could verify (2023–24 cycle) and its published record — read the complete report on the official KHDA directory. These findings are from the 2023–24 cycle and are now more than two years old. Leadership, staffing and provision can change substantially in that time — see the note below on why every rating in Dubai is older than it looks.
Strengths the inspectors named:
- Established 1984 and among Dubai’s longest-standing Indian-curriculum schools, serving over 1,550 students from KG1 to Grade 12 in Al Qusais 1 on the CBSE framework.
- Acceptable after years of Weak ratings — a genuine stabilisation, and the direction matters as much as the current position.
- Genuine strengths in Kindergarten provision, student character development and pastoral wellbeing, with parents describing a caring atmosphere and personal attention rare at this price.
- Among the most affordable schools anywhere in this register — roughly AED 3,600 for Grades 1 and 2 inclusive of mandatory fees, rising to about AED 10,800 at Grade 12.
What they asked the school to improve:
- Acceptable is the floor, not the standard, and this school has meaningful ground to cover before it can be called a strong academic performer — that is the honest summary of its own record.
- The academic year runs April to March on the Indian calendar, with fees collected across three terms — a real logistical factor if you are moving from a September-start system.
- Ask what the improvement plan funds this year, and what specifically changed to move the school off Weak.
Inclusion (students of determination): Acceptable in KHDA’s official Inclusion Rating Table. Beyond that rating we have not verified a cohort figure or team structure so we have left it out. What is verifiable is that pastoral wellbeing and character development are named strengths, which is not the same as staffed inclusion provision. Ask who leads inclusion, how many students of determination are on roll, and whether your child’s name would sit on the SEND register rather than simply be known to a teacher. See the special educational needs guide for the questions to ask on a visit.
Inspector summaries are being added school by school as each report is read — 212 of 212 so far, dated per cycle, never invented. A school without a summary yet is unread, not unjudged.
Visit kit
Questions worth asking on a tour — tuned to this school’s rating and curriculum:
- What did the last KHDA report ask you to improve, and what has changed since?
- Who leads inclusion here — and may we meet them before enrolling?
- How much staff turnover did you have last year, and why?
- What are actual class sizes this term — not the maximum?
- How and how often will I hear about my child’s progress?
- How do you handle children joining outside the April intake?
Saved only on this device — never uploaded, never shared.
Special educational needs? Read the inclusion guide before you visit.
Other schools in Al Qusais
- International Academic School — Acceptable, AED 18,000 to 35,000 a year
- Ambassador School — Very Good, AED 20,000 to 38,000 a year
- New Dawn Private School — Not yet rated, AED 8,000 to 15,000 a year
- The Millennium School — Very Good, AED 18,278 to 26,876 a year
Work at this school? Correct or update this record — verified corrections are made promptly and logged publicly.