Schools in the UAE are seeing growing demand from families arriving from a wider range of countries, as the country's international population continues to expand.
British and Indian families are still among the largest sources of applications, but school heads told The National they were also seeing increased interest from countries including Turkey, Spain, Singapore, Russia and the US.
“What is evolving is the breadth of the UAE's appeal. We are increasingly serving a genuinely global population,” said Dino Varkey, chief executive of Gems Education.
He said the demographic profile across Gems Education schools remained “broadly consistent”, but there was growing interest from newer markets including Singapore and Turkey.
Luz Barrios, head of admissions at The Arbor School in Dubai, reported a similar shift.
“British and Indian families continue to represent the majority of our applications, but this year we have also seen an increase in admissions from families from Spain, the United States, Russia and Turkey,” she said.
However, British families remain an important source of demand for schools, particularly in Dubai. Ms Barrios said this continued to be supported by families relocating to the emirate for work.
About 240,000 British nationals are estimated to live in Dubai, while research published by Al Habtoor Research Centre reported a sharp rise in UK interest in relocating to the emirate. The growth in demand has also coincided with the arrival of several well-known British schools in the UAE.
Queen Elizabeth’s School opened in Dubai Sports City at the start of the new academic year, becoming the first branch of a UK state school to open in the Emirates. The school traces its roots to a grammar school founded by royal charter in 1573 in Barnet, north London.
Harrow International School Dubai also opened this academic year in Jumeirah Village Circle with 400 founding pupils. The school, operated by Taaleem, is the first Harrow campus in the Middle East and will eventually accommodate up to 2,000 pupils.
Carole Lecointre, head of marketing and admissions at Taaleem, said: “British families continue to form an important part of our communities, while our schools remain highly diverse.” Ms Lecointre said families were increasingly viewing the UAE as a long-term home.
“Families continue to demonstrate considerable confidence in the UAE as a place to live, work and educate their children,” she said. “Increasingly, they are putting down deeper roots and choosing to make the UAE their long-term home.”
Harrow International School Dubai’s founding community includes families from about 45 nationalities, with British pupils accounting for 53 per cent of enrolment, she said. Nine of Taaleem’s 15 private schools are at full capacity, while Harrow opened with 400 founding pupils, exceeding its original business plan target.
Demand returns after regional uncertainty
Schools also reported that some families delayed relocation plans during the Iran conflict earlier this year. Ms Barrios said enquiries had since started to return. “We have begun hearing again from families who had enquired before the conflict and are now looking to move to Dubai,” she said.
Mr Varkey said the wider demand picture had remained resilient. “Despite a period of regional uncertainty earlier this year, the underlying fundamentals have remained resilient,” he said.
More than 1.27 million pupils returned to more than 1,180 public and private schools across the UAE at the start of the 2026-2027 academic year. A further 26,700 new pupils were registered in public schools, according to the Ministry of Education. Taaleem’s private schools currently have more than 19,800 pupils, up from about 18,300 at the end of the previous academic year.
Gems Education, which operates 49 schools across the UAE, said it had achieved almost 99 per cent of its new sales target at the start of the academic year. “We see this as a reflection of continued strength of the UAE as a destination for families,” Mr Varkey said.
Families look beyond academics
School leaders said parents were also considering a wider range of factors when choosing where to enrol their children. Families are increasingly looking at the “whole experience”, including the school community, opportunities available to pupils and support during relocation, Ms Barrios said.
“For us, that reinforces the importance of admissions being about much more than filling places,” she said. “It is about finding the right fit between a child, a family and a school community.”
The UAE’s education sector has also recorded gains in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment.The UAEs ranked first among Arab countries in reading,mathss and science in PISA 2025. Dubai private schools ranked sixth globally in reading and eighth in both maths and science.
