DESS Primary Academic City
Not yet rated Academic City, Dubai · British (NCfE)
- KHDA rating
- Not yet rated
Newly opened or not yet through a full inspection cycle. Ratings are from the last full inspection cycle (2023–24).
- Annual fees
- Fees not listed — confirm with the school
Varies by year group; confirm current fees with the school. 2026–27 fees are frozen by KHDA directive.
- Curriculum
- British (NCfE)
- Established
- Founded 2025
- School transport
- Bus service available
- Location
- Academic City, Dubai
District-level pin for Academic City — 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.
In context
It has not yet completed a full KHDA inspection cycle — no rating is not a bad rating, but there is no inspection evidence yet either.
These comparisons are computed from the verified data in this register, not editorial opinion.
What the inspectors said
This school has not yet been inspected by KHDA, so there is no rating and no inspection findings to report. What follows is verified public record about the school itself — what it has committed to, and what remains unproven — kept clearly separate from anything a regulator has judged.
What is known and committed:
- Opened August 2025 as a primary-only school following the English National Curriculum, extending the Dubai English Speaking family into Academic City.
- The DESS name carries a genuinely strong record: the original Dubai English Speaking School holds Outstanding, as does Dubai English Speaking College — both not-for-profit, both with Outstanding inclusion ratings in the regulator’s published table.
What is not yet proven:
- No KHDA rating: a full inspection normally follows in the third year of operation, so nothing about this campus has been independently judged.
- Primary-only — plan the Year 6 transition before you enrol, and ask what priority, if any, its students receive at the family’s senior schools.
- A new campus with a new staff body: the reputation belongs to the schools that earned it, not automatically to this one.
Inclusion (students of determination): No KHDA rating yet — but this is the best-documented inclusion provision of any new school in this register, because the school has published it. The Inclusion team works from a dedicated Learning Zone and comprises nine staff: an Inclusion Champion, two Inclusion teachers, a Student Advisor and five learning support assistants. By January 2026 the team had identified approximately 48 students, around 6% of the roll, receiving SEN support, with a further 65 students at 8% designated with Gifts and Talents and 16 receiving English as an Additional Language support. The support model is explicit: school staff determine provision for Wave 1 needs, while for Wave 2 or 3 needs the school works with parents to arrange a customised plan — so establish in writing what ‘customised’ covers and who pays. One structural advantage worth knowing: children here are guaranteed places at DESS College at the end of Year 6, provided paperwork is completed, which removes the secondary-transfer problem most primary-only schools leave families to solve. 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 — 169 of 169 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:
- Which facilities are open today, and which are still ‘coming soon’?
- 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?
- If the school is not full, what happens to fees and staffing next year?
Saved only on this device — never uploaded, never shared.
Special educational needs? Read the inclusion guide before you visit.
Other schools in Academic City
- School of Modern Skills — Acceptable, AED 24,000 to 46,000 a year
- Global Indian International School — Good, AED 13,000 to 26,000 a year
- Amity School Dubai — Good, AED 13,000 to 26,000 a year
Work at this school? Correct or update this record — verified corrections are made promptly and logged publicly.