Next Generation School
Good Al Barsha, Dubai · American
- KHDA rating
- Good
Good standards in most areas. The most common rating among Dubai schools. 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 25,076 to 49,376 a year
Varies by year group; confirm current fees with the school. 2026–27 fees are frozen by KHDA directive.
- Curriculum
- American
- Established
- Founded 2016
- School transport
- Bus service available
- Location
- Al Barsha, Dubai
District-level pin for Al Barsha — 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 in line with the median for American schools in this guide (AED 37,000). It is one of 79 schools in this guide currently rated Good.
Worth comparing: Al Mawakeb School Al Barsha (AED 24,000 to 50,000 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:
- A fully integrated American-Islamic model, and reviewers who follow this school judge that it is more than branding: the curriculum runs New York learning standards for literacy and mathematics, Next Generation Science Standards for science, and New York State standards for arts, PE, ICT, drama and electives — while treating Arabic and Islamic Studies as central subjects rather than compliance subjects.
- Inspectors identify real strengths in Kindergarten and in Islamic education, and the school’s stated aim is to nurture moral character, responsibility and cultural identity alongside academic performance.
- Parents describe five Arabic classes a week, three Quran and three Islamic studies, alongside robotics, swimming and a Life Skills programme covering entrepreneurship and financial education — subjects most systems neglect entirely.
- Over 1,200 students from more than 40 nationalities in Al Barsha 3, including close to 170 Emirati students, and now running Pre-KG through Grade 12 after Grade 12 opened in August 2025.
What they asked the school to improve:
- Our sources disagree on this school’s current rating and we publish both rather than choose. At the February 2024 inspection the school was rated Acceptable; more recent reporting describes it as Good. The two may reflect different cycles and we have not established which is current — check the KHDA directory for the live rating before you rely on either.
- The context of that Acceptable rating matters and is rarely reported: the inspection took place two months after the Founding Principal died, and was led from the school side by the then Vice Principal. Achieving the least KHDA accepts in those circumstances reads differently from achieving it in normal ones.
- Classes are mixed-gender from Pre-KG to Grade 3 and segregated by gender from Grade 4 onwards — a defining structural feature to weigh rather than a fault.
- The school was at around 60% of capacity at inspection and is still maturing: reviewers describe it as improving and evolving rather than fully formed, and Grade 12 has only just opened, so there is no senior examination track record yet.
- Published fee ranges differ between sources — roughly AED 24,500 to 48,200 appears alongside AED 25,076 to 49,376. Confirm the KHDA-approved schedule directly.
Inclusion (students of determination): Acceptable in KHDA’s official Inclusion Rating Table. The school states that it identifies the special needs of children and commits to leaving no child behind, and its Kindergarten is a named inspector strength — but a stated commitment is not a rating, and the rating is the least KHDA accepts. Ask which of the four statutory inclusion roles are filled and by whom, how many students of determination are on roll, and what is charged beyond standard tuition. Note too that gender segregation from Grade 4 can affect how support is staffed and delivered across two cohorts rather than one — worth asking about directly. 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:
- 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?
Saved only on this device — never uploaded, never shared.
Special educational needs? Read the inclusion guide before you visit.
Other schools in Al Barsha
- GEMS Albarsha National School — Acceptable, AED 10,000 to 20,000 a year
- Repton Al Barsha — Very Good, AED 53,540 to 89,774 a year
- Nord Anglia International School Dubai — Outstanding, AED 69,625 to 105,288 a year
- Kings School Al Barsha — Outstanding, AED 54,000 to 98,000 a year
Work at this school? Correct or update this record — verified corrections are made promptly and logged publicly.