Dubai English Speaking School – Academic City
Also known as: DESS Academic City
Dubai English Speaking School – Academic City is a private British curriculum school in Academic City, Dubai. KHDA has not published its year groups; its 2026–27 fee sheet covers FS1 to Year 6. KHDA has not inspected it yet. Tuition for 2026–27 is AED 65,000 to AED 75,000 a year, depending on the year group.
Source: KHDA Fees Fact Sheet 2026–27.
- rating
- Not rated yetKHDA has not inspected it yetWhat the ratings mean
- fee
- AED 65,000 – 75,000a year, FS1 to Year 6, 2026–27Fees by year group at every school
- whole
- Which year group?See its fee and the cost to the end of school
- students
- Enrolment not publishedNo figure in KHDA’s data
The map shows the streets and places around the school. The same places are counted in «Within 1 km» below.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Fees at this school, 2026–27
AED 65,000 – 75,000a year, FS1 to Year 6, 2026–27
Not included: transport, uniform, books, trips, sibling discounts.
KHDA Fees Fact Sheet 2026–27.
Overview
Admissions
- Places
- KHDA does not publish how many places are free at a school or its waiting list. Ask the school directly, and early.
- Age on entry
- Counted on 31 December of the year of entry, for a child registering in a UAE school for the first time from 2026–27 (31 August before that).Source UAE Ministry of Education, 17 December 2025
- Apply
- dess.sch.ae+971 4 614 6999nbrinicombe@dess.sch.aeTelephone and e-mail as KHDA's school directory lists them, checked 18 September 2026. What its own website says about admissions → How admission works across Dubai →
- Fees on entry
- «New Students — Application Fees : AED 500 (Assessment fees included)»«New Students — Enrolment Fees : Up to 10% of the tuition fees non refundable & deductible from the 1st term fees»Source KHDA Fees Fact Sheet 2026–27, FS1
- Inspections
- KHDA has not inspected this school yet. KHDA’s visits resume in 2026–27. A full inspection brings a new rating; a shorter monitoring visit does not. Ratings and reports →Source KHDA, 3 June 2026
The school
- Curriculum
- British
- Year groups
- Not published in the KHDA open data workbook or the KHDA directory listing we read.
- Gender
- Not availableKHDA states the gender of students only in inspection reports, and this school has not been inspected yet.
- Languages of instruction
- Not published in the KHDA open data workbook or the KHDA directory listing we read.
- Name registered with KHDA
- Dubai English Speaking School - Academic City
- Principal
- Neil Brinicombe
- Website
- dess.sch.ae
- Back to text, source A
KHDA school directory 2024–25
Checked 16 September 2026.
Fees 2026–27
Dubai English Speaking School – Academic City tuition for 2026–27 is AED 65,000 (FS1) to AED 75,000 (FS2 to Year 6) across eight year groups, as published in the school's KHDA Fees Fact Sheet 2026–27.Note 1Source A: Fees Fact Sheet 2026–27
Tuition by year group, Dubai English Speaking School – Academic City, 2026–27
| Year group | 2026–27Source A: Fees Fact Sheet 2026–27 |
|---|---|
| Foundation Stage | |
| FS1 | AED 65,000 |
| FS2 | AED 75,000 |
| Primary | |
| Year 1 | AED 75,000 |
| Year 2 | AED 75,000 |
| Year 3 | AED 75,000 |
| Year 4 | AED 75,000 |
| Year 5 | AED 75,000 |
| Year 6 | AED 75,000 |
Checked 16 September 2026.
- Back to text, note 1
The range names the lowest and highest tuition on one Fees Fact Sheet. Fees are never averaged across year groups.
- Back to text, source A
Fees Fact Sheet 2026–27
Tuition for 8 year groups.
Checked 16 September 2026.
Dubai English Speaking School – Academic City fees 2026–27 by year group With other charges.
Other campuses of Dubai English Speaking School: Oud Metha
What a year costs, FS1, 2026–27
Showing FS1. Choose another year group above to see its costs.
- Tuition
- AED 65,000
- KHDA's total for the year
- AED 65,000
Required, but not in KHDA's total: uniform, books and the like, bought from the school or elsewhere
- Uniform
- AED 565 to AED 900
A year, before optional servicesAED 65,565 to AED 65,900
Joining and re-enrolling
- Re-enrollment fees · Existing Students
- Up to 5% of the tuition fees or AED 500 (whichever is higher), non-refundable and deductible from the 1st term fees
- Application Fees · New Students
- AED 500 (Assessment fees included)
- Enrolment Fees · New Students
- Up to 10% of the tuition fees, non-refundable and deductible from the 1st term fees
Other discounts the school states
- Sibling 3
- 5%
- Sibling 4
- 10%
The sheet's sibling discounts start at «Sibling 3», as it names them.
The school requested not to increase the tuition fees for the academic year 2026–27. Fees Fact Sheet 2026–27
Ranges are shown as KHDA prints them, never as a single middle figure.
Inspection
KHDA ratings
No rating yet
What the KHDA scale means
KHDA rates schools on six levels. Good is the level KHDA expects of every school; Acceptable is the minimum level it requires.
- «Quality of performance substantially exceeds the expectation of the UAE»23 schools in Dubai hold it now
- «Quality of performance exceeds the expectation of the UAE»47 schools in Dubai hold it now
- «Quality of performance meets the expectation of the UAE»«This is the expected level for every school in the UAE»85 schools in Dubai hold it now
- «Quality of performance meets the minimum level of quality required in the UAE»«This is the minimum level for every school in the UAE»52 schools in Dubai hold it now
- «Quality of performance is below the expectation of the UAE»No school in Dubai holds it now
- «Quality of performance is significantly below the expectation of the UAE»No school in Dubai holds it now
Dubai English Speaking School – Academic City has not been inspected yet. «Not yet inspected» is a state, not a rank: it never counts as Weak.
Reports before 2015–16 used four levels, not these six. 21 of Dubai's 228 open schools hold no six-level rating yet. Counted the way Market Statistics counts ratings, for the schools open today.
Source UAE School Inspection Framework 2015–16, p. 19 (KHDA)
History
No rating yet
This school has no published KHDA inspection report yet.
Findings
No rating yet
This school has no published KHDA inspection report yet.
Leadership
Subjects
No rating yet
Arabic at every school in Dubai: at least 4 lessons a week from Year 2 to Year 10 for a child of non-Arab nationality. Arab children have 4 to 6 lessons to Year 13; Muslim children also study Islamic Education.Source KHDA, Guidelines on National Mandatory Subjects, page 14 (opens in a new tab)
Recognised by UAE universities?
UAE universities ask for the Ministry of Education’s equivalency of the Grade 12 certificate. For this school’s curriculum, the student needs:
- British: five IGCSE or GCSE passes (grade E or 3) and one A level or two AS levels (grade E).
Arab students also need Arabic, and Muslim students Islamic Studies, in each of the last three years.
KHDA attests the certificate first. Ask the school which body accredits it.Source Ministry of Education, equivalency service, read 24 September 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Calendar 2026–27: term dates and holidays
31 Aug 2026 to 2 Jul 2027 · 185 school days
- First midterm break
- 12 Oct 2026 to 16 Oct 20265 days
- National Day
- 2 Dec 2026 to 3 Dec 20262 days
- Winter break includes New year’s day
- 14 Dec 2026 to 1 Jan 202719 days
- Eid al-Fitr
- 8 Mar 2027 to 11 Mar 20274 daysexpected, subject to moon sighting
- Spring break
- 5 Apr 2027 to 9 Apr 20275 days
- Eid al-Adha
- 17 May 2027 to 18 May 20272 daysexpected, subject to moon sighting
Public holidays are tentative and subject to official government announcements (KHDA).
Source Source A: KHDA school directory 2026–27
Fridays: every private school in Dubai finishes by 11:30, since 9 January 2026.Source The National, 19 Dec 2025 (opens in a new tab)
During Ramadan, whose dates follow the moon, KHDA caps the school day at five hours; each school confirms its own times.Source Gulf News (opens in a new tab)
How these dates compare with other Dubai schools: holidays 2026–27, break by break
- Back to text, source A
KHDA school directory 2026–27
Checked 18 September 2026.
Activities
Sports and activities
What the school lists on its own website and what KHDA’s inspectors mention in their reports. An activity missing here may still be offered.
Neither the school’s website nor KHDA’s reports we read name a specific sport or activity.
Also mentioned: Cookery Club
- Back to text, source A
School website, read 23 September 2026
Checked 23 September 2026.
On the school's website
What the school says about itself on dess.sch.ae, read on 22 September 2026. The school's own words, not checked by KHDA; a figure here is the school's own count. Bus routes and bus fees can change each year, so confirm with the school. The site's name beside a line opens that page.
Admissions
- «Please note we are no longer accepting applications for Years 5 and 6, as we have reached full capacity and currently have a substantial waiting list.» dess.sch.ae on the school's website, opens in a new tab
- «After review of your Application Form and documentation, a member of the Admissions Team will be in touch with detailed information on how to pay your application fee of AED525 and the next steps for progressing your application to the next stage of our process.» dess.sch.ae on the school's website, opens in a new tab
- «If there are no places available once the application process has been completed and your application has been approved, you will be placed on our Waitlist, which we review on a daily basis.» dess.sch.ae on the school's website, opens in a new tab
- «To secure the place, we must be in receipt of all required documentation, accompanied by an acceptance fee payment within 7 days of the offer date.» dess.sch.ae on the school's website, opens in a new tab
- Back to text, source A
School website, read 22 September 2026
Checked 22 September 2026.
Students
- Students,
- Not available
Location
- Address
- Academic City
- Phone and email
- +971 4 614 6999nbrinicombe@dess.sch.aePrincipal: Neil Brinicombe
- As KHDA's directory listed it on 2026-09-18. Source A: KHDA school directory 2026–27
Around the school
Schools nearby
Within 10 km, by straight-line distance, not a route.
- German International School Dubai
0.5 km · 2023–24 · Other, German
- Dubai English Speaking College
0.5 km · 2023–24 · British
- Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Islamic Institute
0.6 km · 2023–24 · MOE
- Lycée Français International Georges Pompidou – Academic City
0.8 km · 2023–24 · French
- Vernus International Primary School
2.2 km · 2023–24 · American
All 5 schools in Academic CityAll British curriculum schools in Dubai
- Back to text, source A
KHDA school directory 2026–27
Checked 18 September 2026.
Sources
Every document behind this page. Official documents open on the KHDA site in a new tab.
Fees Fact Sheets · web page, English
KHDA school directory · web page, English
KHDA school directory 2026–27 (opens in a new tab)KHDA school directory 2024–25 (opens in a new tab)
School website · web page, English
Is something on this page wrong? Tell us what it should say; we reply within 5 working days. Corrections made so far
hello@dubaischoolatlas.com
Are you from Dubai English Speaking School – Academic City? Correct your listing: write from the school's own address and attach the KHDA document or page that shows the right value.