UAE: All new schools opening in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in 2025 and 2026

Dubai: As Dubai and the wider UAE continue to grow, the demand for quality private education is rising rapidly. To meet this need, new schools are opening across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, offering a variety of curricula including British, American and IB, catering to students from early years to secondary levels.

According to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), at least 100 new private schools are expected to open by 2033. This expansion supports Dubai’s Education 33 (E33) strategy, which aims to boost school capacity, improve affordability, and strengthen the city’s position as a global education hub.

In the 2024–25 academic year alone, 10 new schools launched across Dubai, adding over 16,000 student places and driving a 6 per cent increase in private school enrolment.

Whether you're relocating to a new neighbourhood or exploring alternative schooling options for your child, here’s a detailed look at the schools confirmed to open in the coming years, including their locations, operators, tuition fees and academic offerings.

New schools opening in Dubai

Dubai British School (DBS) - Mira

• Opening: August 2025

• Operator: Taaleem

• Tuition fees: From Dh51,477 in FS1 to Dh77,217 in Year 13

Dubai British School (DBS) Mira is set to open its doors to students in the Mira community and is the fourth sister school under Dubai British School, which also includes branches in Emirates Hills and Dubai British School Jumeirah Park. Teaching will follow the National Curriculum for England. The Emirates Hills branch has received an ‘Outstanding’ KHDA rating since 2017.

Dubai English Speaking School Academic City (DESSC)

• Opening: August 2025

• Tuition fees: Dh55,250 - Dh63,750

Dubai English Speaking School Academic City will open in August 2025 as a primary-only school. DESS Primary Academic City will follow the English National Curriculum.

GEMS School of Research and Innovation

• Opening: August 2025

• Tuition fees: Dh116,000 to Dh206,000 annually

GEMS Education has launched what it claims to be the most innovative and premium school in Dubai. The GEMS School of Research and Innovation, which will be an inclusive school, will have classes running from Foundation 1 all the way to Year 13.

The school, which covers an area of 47,600 square metres in Dubai Sports City, has been set up at a cost of $100 million, 30 per cent higher than that of existing premium schools.

Victory Heights Primary School, City of Arabia

• Opening: August 2025

• Tuition fees: Dh40,000 – Dh57,000 annually

Victory Heights Primary School (VHPS) City of Arabia will open for students from Foundation Stage to Year 6. This standalone primary school, a sister school to the popular KHDA Outstanding-rated Victory Heights Primary School Sports City, is located in Dubailand.

BC Academy

Located in Umm Suqeim 2, Jumeirah, the school sits on a spacious 20,000m² site, combining accessibility with a peaceful learning environment. On it’s website, the school refers to itself as a ‘boutique school with a capacity of just 700 pupils’.

Opening in Dubai in 2026

Harrow International School Dubai

Taaleem, one of the UAE’s leading education providers, has announced the opening of Harrow International School in Dubai in 2026. Dubai's first Harrow School will take shape on a 50,000 square metre plot in Hessa Street, with the opening scheduled to start from the 2026 academic year. It will have openings for up to 1,800 students. The first Harrow school was founded in Britain all the way back in 1572.

Ash Mount

A new International Baccalaureate (IB) school – Ash Mount School plans to open in Dubai's Mudon community in August 2026 for students aged 3–18 years. Ash Mount School is being launched by Interstar Education, which owns popular schools including Victory Heights Primary School, South View School and Delhi Private School.

New Schools in Abu Dhabi

Yasmina American School – Abu Dhabi

Yasmina American School (Yasmina) is set to be the second more affordable school offering from Aldar Education, due to open in August 2025. It will be a second US curriculum school in the portfolio, following premium-fee ADEK Good-rated Yas American Academy which opened in 2016. There is also Virginia International Private School, an American curriculum school from pre-KG to Grade 12 in Shakhbout City.

Harrow International School Abu Dhabi

Taaleem confirmed the location of another Harrow school, this one in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island, also set for a 2026 opening and with room for 1,800 students.

Gordonstoun School Abu Dhabi

Gordonstoun will open its first school campus outside of Scotland in September 2027. Gordonstoun School, the Scottish independent school that educated the current King of England, King Charles III, will open its first overseas campus in Abu Dhabi in 2027. Gordonstoun Abu Dhabi will open on Jubail Island development in Abu Dhabi and – it is now confirmed that it will welcome its first students in September 2027.

New Schools in Sharjah

Reigate Grammar School

In 2024, Sharjah-based property developer Arada also announced that it has partnered with Bright Capital Investment to bring the UK’s 350-year-old Reigate Grammar School to Sharjah megaproject Masaar.

Ranked in the top 20 private schools in the UK in 2023, Reigate Grammar School Masaar will be the first branch campus of a British school in Sharjah. Set for completion in 2027, the school will have a capacity for 2,700 students.

Rushmore American School

Rushmore American School is a new US curriculum school that will open in the Al Suyoh residential area in time for the 2025–26 academic year. Rushmore American School, located in Sharjah's Al Suyoh, offers a K–12 American curriculum.