GEMS Founders School Dubai

Very Good Motor City, Dubai · British (NCfE)

KHDA rating: Very Good
High quality across the board with minor areas to improve — often better value than Outstanding. Ratings are from the last full inspection cycle (2023–24).
Annual fees: AED 23,949 to 42,712 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 2011
School transport: Bus service available
Location: Motor City, Dubai
Open in Google Maps

District-level pin for Motor City — use the Google Maps link for the exact gate.

Link verified against a live domain, July 2026.

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

Its mid-range fee is about 39 per cent below the median for British (NCfE) schools in this guide (AED 54,632). It is one of 46 schools in this guide currently rated Very Good.

Worth comparing: The Winchester School (AED 18,000 to 31,000 a year) — a lower-fee school with the same Very Good rating and curriculum.

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 (2023–24 cycle) and its published record — read the complete report on the official KHDA directory.

Strengths the inspectors named:

Very Good achieved in 2023–24, up from Good — at extraordinary scale: over 6,000 students, including around 860 students of determination.
Very effective leadership ensuring consistent improvement — 24 rating improvements this cycle, with 81% of Foundation Stage judgements now Very Good or Outstanding.
Students’ personal and social development in FS and Primary a named strength.
Inclusion a defining strength: strong in-class support and specialist pathways at a mid-market fee point.

What they asked the school to improve:

The wider profile is still mixed — 69% of all judgements at Very Good or better, with the rest the school’s stated climb.

Inclusion (students of determination): 860 students of determination — the largest cohort documented anywhere in this register, in a school of over 6,000 — supported by a sizable qualified team of SEN specialists and learning support assistants, with strong in-class support and specialist pathways where needed. The school is non-selective and states explicitly that it welcomes students of determination, gifted and talented students and English language learners into a common learning environment with similar-aged peers. Inspectors credit investment in new buildings, staffing and resources as evidence of leaders’ determination to build a highly inclusive school. At mid-market fees, this is one of the strongest inclusion propositions in Dubai on volume alone — the question to ask is what the ratio of specialists to those 860 students actually is. 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:

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 long is the real waiting list for my child’s year group, and how does sibling priority work?

Special educational needs? Read the inclusion guide before you visit.

Other schools in Motor City

GEMS Metropole School — Good, around AED 44,000 a year
Vernus International Primary School — Acceptable, AED 28,000 to 50,000 a year

Work at this school? Correct or update this record — verified corrections are made promptly and logged publicly.

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