Seven new campuses open across Dubai and Sharjah next August. Some are British, some are IB, and fees run anywhere from about AED 40,000 up to well over AED 100,000. What’s actually interesting for parents this year is that most of the sites are going up in the newer residential areas, so the daily drive should finally get shorter for a lot of families.
Below is what’s new, who each school is really suited to, and how to sort through the list before your inbox fills up with brochures.
You’re a parent in Dubai or Sharjah looking at admissions for FS1 through Year 8 (or Pre-KG to Grade 8 on the American track) for August 2026. If your child is happily settled somewhere, you can jump to the FAQs. If you’re on a wait list, thinking about moving between the emirates, or just landed in the country and starting from scratch, this is for you.
Three big British school brands are turning up at once. That is Harrow, Queen Elizabeth’s, and Rugby all opening in the same admissions cycle, which honestly hasn’t happened before. Four IB candidate schools are opening on top of that, across Dubai and Sharjah.
The practical result is more premium British seats, more IB seats, and, more importantly for daily life, more of them close to where young families now live. Town Square, Mudon, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai Sports City, Bur Dubai, Aljada. Any of those areas had almost nothing local a year or two ago. If you have been doing 40 minutes each way, that will change your Monday morning more than a shiny new sports hall ever could.
Also worth knowing before you start: private school fees are frozen this year, so what you see on the website today is basically what you pay.
Harrow International School Dubai is the biggest name in the group. Hessa Street location, FS1 through Year 6 for the first phase, fees from AED 80,000 climbing past AED 100,000. It’s set up as a modern day school but built around the same values as the UK boarding school people already know: house system, serious sports and music programmes, and a formal focus on leadership. Shortlist it if you want that side of school life sitting equal with academics, and only if the budget genuinely stretches to it.
Queen Elizabeth’s School Dubai goes into Dubai Sports City and runs Nursery through Year 8 at fees between AED 70,000 and AED 102,000. The pitch is smaller classes early on, a strong reading culture, and personalised learning plans. Sports City works well for families over in JVC, Motor City, Arabian Ranches, or Sports City itself, and it takes a bit of pressure off the older schools nearby that have been running near-full for a while now.
Rugby School Dubai lands in Nad Al Sheba with the widest year-group range of the new arrivals, FS all the way through to Year 13. Fees have not been published yet. The full pipeline from day one is the interesting thing here, because it is the only new British opening where you get sixth form on the same campus without switching schools halfway. Expect fees to sit in the same premium bracket as Harrow when they land.
Quick thing to know before the list. An IB candidate school has applied for IB authorisation and teaches to the framework while the process runs. That process usually takes two to three years. Fees in the candidate window tend to run lower than at fully authorised IB schools.
Ambassador International Academy Mankhool goes into Bur Dubai, which has been thin on new schools for a long time. Nursery through Grade 8, fees AED 45,000 to AED 65,000. School is leaning into reduced screen time, more PE than average, and outdoor learning, and the fee band is one of the lowest of any of the new openings.
Ash Mount School opens in Mudon at Pre-KG through Grade 8, fees AED 52,000 to AED 85,000. Inquiry-based learning is the whole pitch here, and the planned facilities back it up on paper (Forest School area, outdoor learning zones, flexible theatre space). Suits families who want something looser than a Harrow or a Rugby.
Dubai International Academy Town Square is the one to watch on the IB side. DIA already runs two Outstanding-rated campuses at Emirates Hills and Al Barsha, and that record is the real reason parents around Town Square, Serena, and Mira have this one at the top of the list. Pre-KG to Grade 8, fees AED 49,000 to AED 70,500. If you already know how DIA does things, you basically know what to expect.
Raffles World Academy Sharjah opens in Aljada at Pre-KG through Grade 8, fees AED 40,000 to AED 64,000. First Innoventures school in Sharjah, which is a real shift for anyone in Aljada, Muwaileh, or Al Zahia who has been driving into Dubai every morning. It also brings IB into a part of the emirate that has mostly been CBSE and British until now.
If the 2026 openings are already looking crowded on wait lists, these campuses added seats last year and still have places in a few year groups.
Dubai British School Mira from the Taaleem group opened for FS1 through Year 6, with the plan to grow up to Year 13. Fees sit between AED 51,443 and AED 58,836.
Victory Heights Primary School has its second campus in the City of Arabia running FS1 through Year 6 on the UK curriculum. Fees AED 40,000 to AED 57,000.
Arcadia Global School has been steadily filling out year by year, currently FS through Year 9, adding Year 10 in the coming academic year. AED 40,000 to AED 61,000.
Dwight School Dubai is the IB option in this group, running the full IB continuum from Early Years through Grade 12 and now offering the Career-related Programme on top. Fees AED 65,117 to AED 110,755. It’s worth a proper look if you want the whole IB pathway including the CP, which is still pretty rare across Dubai.
The list is longer than it first looks. Here is the way most parents I know work through it.
The budget goes first. Add up tuition, uniform, transport, books, activities, the lot. Then figure out what you can genuinely keep paying every year for the next decade, not just what fits into next August’s budget. That number will kill or approve half your shortlist immediately.
Then the curriculum. British is a clean pick if there is any chance you head back to the UK later, or you specifically want IGCSE and A-Level. IB works better for families who value breadth and might end up living anywhere. Pick a lane and stay in it. Bouncing between the two mid-primary makes life miserable for the child.
Location third. A school 15 minutes from home costs a fraction of the time a 45-minute one does, and it adds up over years. Also add Salik charges if the school sits on the wrong side of a gate from you. That number gets uglier faster than most parents plan for.
For rating, look at how the operator’s other schools score, not the new campus itself. New campuses have no KHDA rating yet, so the closest thing to a signal is the group’s inspection history. Taaleem, Innoventures, DIA, all of them have public records you can pull up over an evening.
And do the visit before you commit. On the tour, watch how staff actually speak to children in the corridors. That will tell you a lot more than the marketing deck.
While you are on the visit, also ask about tech in the classroom. Some new campuses barely mention it. Others are already piloting AI classroom tools that flag learning gaps as they happen, which some parents love and others find intrusive. Ask upfront so you don’t discover it after enrolment.
Stuck between two schools across different emirates? Do the practical maths. UAE weather affects outdoor play, uniform layering, and morning drop off more than most people plan for in their first year here. Dubai’s 2040 urban master plan is also worth a skim, because it explains why so many of these new schools are landing in areas that were empty desert ten years ago.
Premium British schools open with pretty limited seats. Harrow especially is going to fill early in FS1 and Reception. If your child fits that bracket, apply the day enrollment opens rather than waiting for the physical tour.
How much do the new schools opening in Dubai for 2026-27 actually cost?
Depends heavily on the school. Bottom end is around AED 40,000, which you’ll see at Raffles World Academy Sharjah and Victory Heights City of Arabia. Top end sits above AED 100,000 for Harrow and Queen Elizabeth’s, and Rugby will probably land in the same neighbourhood once fees are announced. Most of the new campuses cluster in the AED 50,000 to AED 70,000 range if you want a middle-of-the-market figure to plan around.
Are private school fees frozen for 2026-27?
Yes, KHDA has held them flat for this cycle. Individual schools can still move fees within their existing bands, but there is no broad increase this year.
Which new Dubai school is best for the IB curriculum?
If you specifically want a candidate school opening in 2026, DIA Town Square is the safer bet because DIA’s other two campuses in Emirates Hills and Al Barsha are both Outstanding-rated. If you want the full IB continuum with the Career-related Programme on top, Dwight School Dubai is the stronger call.
When do 2026-27 applications open?
Most schools open enrollment 8 to 12 months before the August start, so applications are already live at nearly every new campus. Premium British openings tend to close their early year groups first. Don’t wait for a physical tour to make up your mind, especially in FS1 and Reception.
Do I have to live near the school?
You don’t, but the daily commute is one of the largest hidden costs of any school choice. A school half an hour further away costs a parent something like 250 hours a year in the car, plus fuel, plus Salik if the route crosses a gate. Add it up before you commit.
IB or British for university applications?
Both are widely accepted by UK, US, Canadian, and Australian universities. IB is generally seen as broader because kids carry six subjects through to Year 13, whereas British students specialise into three or four A-Levels. Medicine, engineering, and law sometimes lean toward A-Levels. Liberal arts and broader science paths tend to work better through IB.
Should I go for a candidate IB school or hold out for full authorisation?
Candidate schools teach the IB framework the whole way through the authorisation process, and fees usually run lower during that stretch. The trade-off is that your first cohort could finish primary before authorisation is finalised. If that risk bothers you, look hard at the operator’s other IB schools before signing anything.
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