GEMS Modern Academy
Outstanding Nad Al Sheba, Dubai · Indian (CBSE/ICSE)
- KHDA rating
- Outstanding
The highest KHDA rating — consistently excellent teaching and outcomes. Expect waiting lists. Ratings are from the last full inspection cycle (2023–24).
- Annual fees
- AED 30,000 to 41,000 a year
Varies by year group; confirm current fees with the school. 2026–27 fees are frozen by KHDA directive.
- Curriculum
- Indian (CBSE/ICSE)
- Established
- Founded 1996
- School transport
- Bus service available
- Location
- Nad Al Sheba, Dubai
District-level pin for Nad Al Sheba — use the Google Maps link for the exact gate.
Link verified against a live domain, July 2026.
Check travel time from your location
Opens live directions in Google Maps — real traffic from your own address beats any published estimate. School-run traffic peaks roughly 7–8am; test your route at drop-off time.
In context
Its mid-range fee is about 137 per cent above the median for Indian (CBSE/ICSE) schools in this guide (AED 15,000). It is one of 22 schools in this guide currently rated Outstanding. As a CBSE school, its academic year runs April to March — plan relocation timing around this.
These comparisons are computed from the verified data in this register, not editorial opinion.
What the inspectors said
Paraphrased from the last full DSIB inspection (2023–24 cycle) and its published record — read the complete report on the official KHDA directory.
Strengths the inspectors named:
- An eleventh consecutive Outstanding rating — the UAE’s only Outstanding Indian-curriculum school.
- Achievement very high across the school, with outstanding learning skills.
- Leadership, self-evaluation, parent partnership and governance all judged Outstanding.
What they asked the school to improve:
- A small dip this cycle in Primary English and Secondary mathematics.
- Wellbeing judged Very Good against the otherwise Outstanding profile.
Inclusion (students of determination): Outstanding — one of the few schools in Dubai rated at the top level for provision and support of students with additional learning needs, with around 220 students of determination and gifted learners supported by the SEN team in a school of 3,860, taught by 239 teachers and 74 teaching assistants. Inspectors record senior leaders committed to inclusive education with an inclusion governor working actively with the department, students of determination formally identified with interventions activated efficiently, and teachers using independent learning plans to design lessons around individual needs. Personal development, understanding of Islamic values and Emirati culture, and social responsibility and innovation skills are Outstanding across all four phases. Two published caveats worth raising directly: not every identified student joins the support programme, which the report attributes to parental reluctance, and inspectors asked the school to ensure inclusion staffing is sufficient for effective monitoring. See the special educational needs guide for the questions to ask on a visit.
Inspector summaries are being added school by school as each report is read — 169 of 169 so far, dated per cycle, never invented. A school without a summary yet is unread, not unjudged.
Visit kit
Questions worth asking on a tour — tuned to this school’s rating and curriculum:
- Who leads inclusion here — and may we meet them before enrolling?
- How much staff turnover did you have last year, and why?
- What are actual class sizes this term — not the maximum?
- How and how often will I hear about my child’s progress?
- How long is the real waiting list for my child’s year group, and how does sibling priority work?
- How do you handle children joining outside the April intake?
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Special educational needs? Read the inclusion guide before you visit.
Other schools in Nad Al Sheba
- GEMS Legacy School — Good, AED 26,000 to 50,000 a year
- Repton School Dubai — Outstanding, AED 57,178 to 102,753 a year
- Kings School Nad Al Sheba — Very Good, AED 43,264 to 96,232 a year
- North London Collegiate School Dubai — Very Good, AED 95,000 to 140,000 a year
Work at this school? Correct or update this record — verified corrections are made promptly and logged publicly.