Horizon International School

Very Good Umm Al Sheif, 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 39,182 to 74,424 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 2008
School transport: Bus service available
Location: Street 9A, off Al Wasl Road, Umm Al Sheif, Dubai
Open in Google Maps

District-level pin for Umm Al Sheif — use the Google Maps link for the exact gate.

We could not verify an official website for this school, so no link is shown.

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 in line with 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: GEMS Wellington Academy – Al Khail (AED 19,460 to 93,959 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 in 2023–24 — the step up after twelve consecutive inspections at Good, driven by rises to Outstanding in FS science and in Primary and Secondary mathematics, plus eleven further upgrades.
A small sixth form where excellent teaching and enthusiastic students in small groups produce outstanding outcomes in lessons.
A genuinely international community of 80-plus nationalities.

What they asked the school to improve:

The long plateau at Good — at premium fees — is part of this school’s honest history; ask what sustains the new trajectory.
Sixth-form retention has been a challenge; small cohorts cut both ways.

Inclusion (students of determination): Just under 90 students of determination registered at the last inspection. The school states it adopts a Quality First Teaching approach in line with the Dubai Inclusive Education Policy Framework, modifying and adapting the curriculum for a wide range of special educational needs and disabilities. Its most useful provision is concrete: the UK-based ASDAN programme delivered one to one through the school’s Achievement Centre, offering an alternative pathway for students who cannot access a full IGCSE curriculum — a genuine route rather than a holding position, and one to ask about specifically if a full exam programme is unlikely to suit your child. A Gifted and Talented Programme runs alongside, and the school holds an Outstanding British Schools Overseas rating across all inspection categories. Inspectors’ caveat: higher-ability students are not always challenged to work independently, and feedback on the quality of students’ work is inconsistent across the school. 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.

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

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