Raffles World Academy
Very Good Umm Suqeim, Dubai · IB
- KHDA rating
- Very Good
High quality across the board with minor areas to improve — often better value than Outstanding. Ratings are from the last full inspection cycle (2023–24).
- Annual fees
- AED 48,000 to 88,000 a year
Varies by year group; confirm current fees with the school. 2026–27 fees are frozen by KHDA directive.
- Curriculum
- IB
- Established
- Founded 2008
- School transport
- Bus service available
- Location
- Umm Suqeim, Dubai
District-level pin for Umm Suqeim — 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 in line with the median for IB schools in this guide (AED 63,000). It is one of 46 schools in this guide currently rated Very Good.
Worth comparing: Raffles International School (AED 34,055 to 86,815 a year) — a lower-fee option in the same area; Jumeira Baccalaureate School (AED 43,325 to 91,840 a year) — a lower-fee school with the same Very Good rating and curriculum.
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:
- Very Good in 2023–24 — a fifth consecutive cycle at that level since the step up in 2017–18, after six years at Good.
- Governance and parent partnership both rated Outstanding — the two highest sub-ratings in the leadership domain.
- Management, staffing, facilities and resources rated Outstanding, with a 500-seat auditorium noted in the report as a recent improvement, alongside pools, courts and substantial arts provision.
- Rare institutional continuity: the same principal since 2016, programme coordinators in post since 2010 and 2014, and several senior leaders with six years or more at the school.
- A full IB continuum with Career-related and Diploma routes, a mother-tongue programme in five languages and eight further languages taught; BTEC students noted by inspectors as achieving at a high standard.
What they asked the school to improve:
- Diploma averages have slipped from their peak: 35 points in 2021 against 32 in 2023, with the share scoring 40 or more falling from 29% to 6% — pass rates stay high, but ask the school directly about the top end.
- Five cycles at Very Good: the platform is stable, and the step to Outstanding has not yet come.
Inclusion (students of determination): Very Good — inspectors record that ‘the strong school governance and leadership promotes high-quality inclusive provision’, resulting in well-organised inclusive learning, with effective identification and intervention strategies. The Inclusion Support Team also runs an Enrichment Club for Grades 1 to 5, and highly able secondary students are mentored by staff under the Head of Inclusion. One admissions detail every SEN family should know: the final decision is taken jointly by the Principal, the Leader of Provision for Inclusion and other leaders, who assess whether the school can meet the child’s needs and may offer a full place, a partial place in partnership with a specialist provider, or none. Siblings of students of determination are given admissions priority. 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?
Saved only on this device — never uploaded, never shared.
Special educational needs? Read the inclusion guide before you visit.
Other schools in Umm Suqeim
- Kings School Dubai — Outstanding, AED 47,179 to 71,801 a year
- Jumeirah College — Outstanding, AED 78,946 to 98,681 a year
- Raffles International School — Very Good, AED 34,055 to 86,815 a year
Work at this school? Correct or update this record — verified corrections are made promptly and logged publicly.