English Language Private School
Acceptable Umm Hurair, Dubai · British (NCfE)
- 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 4,528 to 11,888 a year
Varies by year group; confirm current fees with the school. 2026–27 fees are frozen by KHDA directive.
- Curriculum
- British (NCfE)
- Established
- Founded 1978
- School transport
- Bus service available
- Location
- Umm Hurair, Dubai
District-level pin for Umm Hurair — 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 83 per cent below the median for British (NCfE) schools in this guide (AED 48,202). It is one of 51 schools in this guide currently rated Acceptable.
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:
- One of the first schools established in Dubai — opened April 1978 as English Medium School to serve the growing population, and still running a full FS2 to Year 13 British pathway affiliated with Edexcel International in Oud Metha.
- Among the most competitively priced British all-through schools in the emirate: roughly AED 4,500 to 11,900, with a KHDA-regulated average of about AED 7,465 — a fraction of comparable institutions and far below the Dubai British-curriculum average.
- A school of real scale at that price: close to 1,969 students and 131 teachers, with a predominantly Pakistani community.
- Inspectors commended principal Muhammad Afzal, who joined in July 2023, for providing clear strategic direction — a school consolidating genuine improvement rather than drifting.
What they asked the school to improve:
- Acceptable in the 2023–24 inspection — the floor rather than the standard, and the honest headline whatever the direction of travel.
- The advertised fee is not the whole cost. A one-time admission fee of AED 500 applies to new students, and all students are charged annual fees for extracurricular activities, medical cover, skill development resources and a school magazine, with an additional enrichment fee in Years 12 and 13. Transport runs roughly AED 1,400 to 1,700 per term by zone.
- Published fee ranges differ between sources — roughly AED 4,182 to 10,991 appears alongside AED 4,528 to 11,888. Confirm the current KHDA-approved schedule directly.
- A new principal in post since mid-2023 means the record you are reading was earned partly under different leadership.
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 and we are not going to guess. The structural context worth weighing: close to 1,969 students at an average fee around AED 7,465. Provision at that price is possible — this register has documented several schools doing it — but it is not automatic, so ask which of the four statutory inclusion roles are filled, by whom, and what is charged beyond standard tuition. 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?
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Special educational needs? Read the inclusion guide before you visit.
Other schools in Umm Hurair
- Springdales School Dubai — Good, AED 10,000 to 20,000 a year
- Iranian Towheed Girls School — Acceptable, Fees not listed — confirm with the school
- Iranian Khadije Kobra School — Acceptable, Fees not listed — confirm with the school
Work at this school? Correct or update this record — verified corrections are made promptly and logged publicly.