Swiss International Scientific School Dubai (SISD)

What the school is

Language pathways, ownership and campus

The curriculum follows the International Baccalaureate. In early years and primary, the school describes English, English–French and English–German options. In the middle years, subject-by-subject language choices are available under the school’s placement arrangements. The Diploma and Career-related programmes in Grades 11–12 are taught in English, with routes toward bilingual Diploma recognition. Each route sets its own subject and language-proficiency requirements.

Nord Anglia Education acquired SISD in July 2023. The group describes collaborations with organisations including UNICEF, Juilliard and MIT, alongside its Global Campus platform and staff development. Some of these activities involve selection, travel or additional charges.

The published campus description covers approximately 70,000 square metres, with boarding houses, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a 600-seat auditorium and STEAM facilities. Full and weekly boarding are offered from Grade 6. Ask which nights, weekends and school breaks each arrangement covers, as well as the supervision and medical support in the boarding houses.

Academics in practice

Results, benchmarks and the transparency question

The cited review reports a 2024 IB Diploma average of 33.2 points, while the school website summary gives 34. These are different figures; 33.2 does not round to 34, and neither source names the cohort behind its number. Reporting also describes a 100% pass rate across Diploma and Career-related entrants, with roughly 70 candidates combined, without separate totals for the two qualifications. The reported 2023 MYP eAssessment average was 41 out of 56, with 67% earning a bilingual certificate.

The review describes TIMSS results at the High International Benchmark and PISA results above the comparison groups it cites. To interpret those findings, ask for the assessment year, tested grades, sample size and subject scores. The same principle applies to Diploma averages: a complete results table over several years provides more context than a single headline score.

The published KHDA history records Acceptable in 2018, Good in 2019 and 2022–23, and Very Good in 2023–24. The cited summary of the 2023–24 inspection describes Outstanding curriculum design and health and safety, and Good Arabic and Islamic Education.

Admissions and cost

Admissions, fees and the calendar

The official 2026–27 day schedule lists KHDA-approved tuition from AED 68,868 for Pre-KG to AED 137,736 for Grades 11–12, the same approved figures as 2025–26. A community discount reduces billed bilingual-stream tuition to AED 104,247 for Grades 6–8, AED 112,992 for Grades 9–10 and AED 118,400 for Grades 11–12. The English+ stream is billed at the same rates from Grade 6 and is discounted to AED 62,900–83,317 from Pre-KG to Grade 5. The schedule does not state how long the discounts run.

The official 2026–27 schedule lists full-boarding fees from AED 240,747 to AED 259,100 by grade, and weekly-boarding fees from AED 201,897 to AED 220,250. The school says both packages include tuition, accommodation, meals, books and examination fees, but not medical insurance, whole-school trips or EAL classes. Ask for an itemised offer that also covers holiday arrangements.

Places are allocated by grade and language stream, which can involve assessment and support requirements; boarders need a house place as well as a school place. The cited review reports teacher turnover of 21%, without a period, phase breakdown or cause.

The family experience

Location, community and the daily reality

The campus is in Al Jaddaf near Dubai Creek. The cited profiles describe French as the largest student nationality and British as the largest teacher nationality; these are whole-school figures, and the language mix varies by class and stream.

WhichSchoolAdvisor records a parent-survey score of 2.6 out of 5 from 37 respondents. This is a small, self-selected sample. Its findings and the inspection’s positive judgement of parent partnership were collected in different ways. Use them to prepare questions about communication, then seek recent examples from families in the relevant phase or boarding house.