GEMS World Academy Dubai

What the school is

Campuses, size and leadership

GWA is part of GEMS Education, which was founded in 1959. Facilities on its original campus include a 3D planetarium, a 50-metre pool and a 650-seat auditorium. Emirates REIT owns the campus property and leases it to the school; GEMS operates the school.

WhichSchoolAdvisor describes a community of approximately 1,850 students from more than 85 nationalities. Its inspection summary records 188 teachers and 104 teaching assistants, with a reported teacher-to-student ratio of 1:11. That ratio is different from class size, which the review puts at an average of 22–24 and a maximum of 25. The Grades 9–12 campus opened about 400 metres away in August 2024, with a free shuttle between sites. Reported expansion plans allow for up to 3,300 pupils across the school; ask about actual enrolment and class sizes in the year your child would join.

Heath Monk was announced as principal in June 2025, succeeding Dr Saima Rana and joining from The British School in the Netherlands.

Academics in practice

IB programmes and published results

The PYP and MYP lead to a choice of the IB Diploma, the Career-related Programme or individual IB courses in Grades 11–12. GWA does not offer GCSEs or A-levels. Subject choices and entry requirements differ between its senior pathways, which matters most for a child transferring from another curriculum. The review also describes a Language Institute offering 14 mother-tongue languages without an additional charge, an entrepreneurship programme and Week Without Walls service activities.

The reported IB Diploma average was 33 points in 2025. In 2024, 88 candidates achieved an average of 32, an 86% pass rate and one score of 45; the reported 2023 average was 32.1 with a 92% pass rate. The cited 2025 summary does not supply that year’s Diploma cohort size or pass rate. Separately, 86 students took the MYP eAssessment in 2025 and averaged 39.4 out of 56. These are different qualifications and their scores should not be compared directly.

GWA received a Very Good KHDA rating from 2017–18 through the 2023–24 inspection. Summaries of the 2023–24 report describe Outstanding personal development, curriculum and pastoral care. They also identify weaker attainment in Arabic as an additional language, inconsistent use of assessment information for English-language learners, and variable teaching in Islamic education, Arabic and mathematics. These are dated findings: ask what has changed in the relevant classes since that inspection. The school also reports CIS and NEASC accreditation alongside its IB programme authorisations.

Admissions and cost

Tuition, deposits and additional costs

The official 2025–26 tuition schedule lists AED 71,113 for Pre-K and KG1, AED 88,960 for KG2–Grade 4, AED 102,378 for Grades 5–8, AED 112,709 for Grades 9–10 and AED 123,442 for Grades 11–12. Payments are divided across three terms in shares of 40%, 30% and 30%. The cited 2026–27 compilation lists the same tuition under Dubai’s tuition freeze; optional charges need separate confirmation. Nursery is priced separately, so request its current schedule rather than using the Pre-K rate.

The published admissions process includes an AED 525 application fee, school reports covering two years and an assessment. A registration deposit of 10% is due within seven days of an offer and is credited toward tuition, so it should not be added again to the annual tuition total. WhichSchoolAdvisor reports that standard learning support is included, while parents pay for individual assistants. Bayut’s older 2024–25 transport schedule lists AED 6,450–9,850 by zone.

The school promotes a FAB payment-card offer, but any savings depend on its current eligibility rules, limits and payment terms. Ask GWA directly about sibling discounts and whether offers can be combined; discount policies differ between GEMS schools.

The family experience

Activities and parent feedback

The review describes a broad extracurricular programme, including Model United Nations, athletics and mother-tongue language teaching. Availability, charges and selection differ by age and term, and for siblings on different campuses, drop-off, collection and the shuttle have to fit together.

WhichSchoolAdvisor’s external parent survey records a rating of 2.4 out of 5 from about 150 respondents. It reports that 20% would not recommend the school and 45% had considered moving their child, with concerns about communication, discipline and value for money. Respondents choose whether to participate, so the sample is self-selected. The findings offer specific questions to discuss with the school and with families whose children are in the relevant grade.