There’s no denying private schools in Dubai can be expensive – here are the 10 priciest (and the 10 cheapest)…

Private school fees can be very expensive in the UAE. In fact, the price of education can lead families with children to pack up and move home.

But a new study shows that the range in price between Dubai’s private schools is vast, with the cheapest English-language private school in the emirate more than Dhs103,000 cheaper than the most expensive one.

Sure, not all of these private schools teach in an English-language curriculum, but there are cheaper English options out there – for Dhs5,287 per annum a student can complete their final year of school – Year 12 – at Emirates English Speaking School.

A new report by online education guide Edarabia has shown that average school fees in Dubai can range from Dhs2,479 to Dhs120,145 depending on the age of students (that’s USD675 to USD32,711 per annum), and is not including additional fees for admission, transportation, school uniforms and books.

Just as a general (non-scientific) comparison, private senior school fees in the UK can range from Dhs45,000 to Dhs90,000 according to BestSchools.co.uk (but then there are far more English-language public school options in the UK considering it’s an English speaking country, just as there are far more Arabic-language public schools here).

Here’s a list of the 10 most expensive, and the 10 cheapeast schools in the UAE (based on the Year 12 school year, aka the last year of high school) and as compiled by Gulf Business.

10 most expensive Dubai schools

*Note: these are all English-language speaking schools (and the prices are just estimates)

(Based on fees for Grade 12/Year 13. Stats from Edarabia, based on KHDA data)

1. GEMS World Academy, Al Barsha

gems-world-academy

Fees (per annum): Dhs107,928

Curriculum: IB

2. Repton School, Nad Al Sheba

repto-school

Fees (per annum): Dhs100,759

Curriculum: UK/IB

(Note: The original study claims that the Year 13 fees for Repton are Dhs120,000, which we initially reported. Repton has since contacted us to say that the fees are in fact Dhs100,759.) 

3. Kent College Dubai, Nad Al Sheba

kent-college-dubai

Fees (per annum): Dhs98,000

Curriculum: UK

4. Sunmarke School, Jumeirah Village Triangle 

(Sunmarke School said it is offering a ‘founders discount’ in the first three years following its opening in September 2016. The maximum fee during this period is Dhs72,900)

Fees (per annum): Dhs95,000

Curriculum: UK

5. Kings School, Al Barsha

Fees (per annum): Dhs94,400

Curriculum: UK

6. Regent International School, The Greens 

(Regent said it no longer offers secondary education and only goes up to year 6 since last summer. The maximum fee is Dhs49,308)

Fees (per annum): Dhs92,482

Curriculum: UK

7. GEMS Wellington International School, Al Sufouh

Fees (per annum): Dhs89,368

Curriculum: UK

8. Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS), Arabian Ranches

Fees (per annum): Dhs89,274

Curriculum: UK/IB

9. Dubai College, Al Sufouh

dubai-college

Fees (per annum): Dhs87,986

Curriculum: UK

10 least expensive schools in Dubai

*Note: These schools are taught in a range of languages, but predominantly in English (and the prices are just estimates)

(Based on fees for Grade 12/Year 13. Stats from Edarabia, based on KHDA data)

1. Khadija Kobra Iranian School For Girls, Al Karama

khadija

Fees (per annum): Dhs4,167

Curriculum: Iranian (Farsi-language)

2. Emirates English Speaking School, Al Safa 

emirates-english-speaking-school-dubai

Fees (per annum): Dhs5,287

Curriculum: CBSE (English – learning Arabic is compulsory, while Hindi, Urdu and other languages are optional)

3. H. H. Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistani School-Dubai, Al Qusais

Fees (per annum): Dhs6,112

Curriculum: Pakistani

4. Gulf Model School, Musainah 

Fees (per annum): Dhs6,198

Curriculum: CBSE (English-language primarily, following the Kerala-board academics)

5. Central School Dubai, Al Nahda 

Fees (per annum): Dhs6,262

Curriculum: CBSE (English – learning Arabic is compulsory and there’s a strong Islamic education, while Hindi, Urdu and other languages are optional)

6. Gulf Indian High School (GIHS), Garhoud 

Fees (per annum): Dhs6,368

Curriculum: CBSE (English – learning Arabic is compulsory, while Hindi, Urdu and other languages are optional)

7. New Indian Model School, Garhoud 

new-indian-model-school

Fees (per annum): Dhs6,517

Curriculum: CBSE (Kerala syllabus, English-language)

8. National Charity School Dubai, Garhoud 

Fees (per annum): Dhs7,841

Curriculum: MOE (aka, the UAE Ministry of Education’s official curriculum)

9. Pakistan Education Academy, Oud Metha 

Fees (per annum): Dhs8,210

Curriculum: Pakistani

10. Crescent School Dubai, Al Qusais

crescent-english

Fees (per annum): Dhs8,994

Curriculum: CBSE (primarily English language)

For more about Dubai straight to your newsfeed, follow us on Facebook.

Photos: Facebook, Google Maps, Getty & Supplied.