IB schools in Dubai: which programmes does each school offer?

Start with the programme your child would enter. Greenfield International School offers the Primary Years and Middle Years programmes, then a choice of the IB Diploma or Career-related Programme. North London Collegiate School Dubai offers Primary Years, Middle Years and the Diploma. JESS Arabian Ranches teaches a British route through GCSEs and offers the IB Diploma in sixth form alongside its own BTEC Plus pathway.

Those differences matter even if you’re looking several years ahead. A family moving with a ten-year-old may want continuity into middle school. A family moving with a sixteen-year-old needs to know whether the intended subjects fit together, what grades are required and whether the school can offer a place. Start with the exact campus and entry grade before comparing the fee.

Compare IB authorisation and equivalent entry stages

Tuition is for 2026–27 and was checked 6 November 2026. The age labels help compare the two naming systems. Admissions teams confirm the placement based on the child’s circumstances. Fees exclude separate charges and do not indicate a place is available. The judgements come from the KHDA school directory and dated inspection results.

What the four IB programmes mean when you’re choosing a school

PYP, the Primary Years Programme, is the one to look for if you want an IB primary education. Ask to see how the class combines inquiry with the reading, writing and maths your child will do every day. If you’re moving schools, take examples of your child’s work and ask how the class builds from what they already know. A conversation about the actual classroom is more useful than comparing programme names on a prospectus.

MYP, the Middle Years Programme, covers the middle-secondary stage. At the schools here that offer it, the first middle years use Grade 6 rather than Year 7. Ask where it ends, what the school expects in the final year and what evidence of achievement your child would leave with if you moved again. A pupil who has studied GCSE courses elsewhere may enter the equivalent age group but need to adjust to different assessments, language options or project deadlines.

The Diploma Programme, or DP, is the post-16 route with six subjects and the Diploma core. The Career-related Programme, or CP, also runs at that stage and combines at least two Diploma courses with a separate core and approved career-related study. Ask the school for the current choices and which combination the timetable can support. The IB’s subject selection guidance explains the difference between the two frameworks. If your child already has a university or course in mind, check its own admission requirements against the exact qualification and subjects.

The IB World School search lets you extend this shortlist by programme. Search the school’s full name and check the address on the result before treating it as a match. An authorised programme still leaves questions about which grades the campus offers, whether your child can enter this year and which subjects are available. Keep those as separate columns when you compare schools. If the school lists a programme it is preparing to offer, ask when the first cohort would start and check the IB register before relying on it.

Greenfield International School for a choice of Diploma or Career-related Programme

The IB register entry for Greenfield identifies the Dubai Investments Park school and lists coordinators for all four programmes. That makes it an example of a school where you can choose a PYP or MYP place now and retain more than one IB option for the final two years. Greenfield’s current school brochure describes the Diploma and Career-related pathways in its senior school.

The 2026–27 fee schedule lists AED 53,980 net for Grades 1–5, AED 58,115 for Grade 6, AED 67,785 for Grades 7–10 and AED 82,865 for Grades 11–12. A Grade 6 family comparing the next stage should note the AED 9,670 difference between the current Grade 6 and Grade 7 figures. The move from Grade 10 to Grade 11 adds AED 15,080 at the same schedule’s rates. Those are differences between grades in one academic year. Ask for the schedule that applies when your child would actually join or progress.

Greenfield also lists a separate AED 525 application fee and a AED 4,000 registration deposit for KG2 and above, credited to first-term tuition. For a Grade 11 entrant, the school lists AED 33,145 as the first-term tuition amount. If the AED 4,000 credit is applied as published, that leaves AED 29,145 of that instalment to pay. Budget separately for any external exam fees the school confirms. A deposit credited to tuition changes when you pay the money, while the application fee is a separate expense.

The Grade 11 pathway admissions policy makes progression subject to entry requirements. For an existing MYP pupil, ask which results count and when the school confirms the choice. For a transfer student, ask what the school will accept as equivalent evidence. For CP, ask for the career-related study, its awarding organisation and the DP subjects that fit around it. Use the school’s admissions availability page to check the intake before paying to apply. Greenfield on Instagram

NLCS Dubai for Primary Years, Middle Years and the Diploma

The IB register entry for NLCS Dubai lists PYP, MYP and DP. The school is in Nad Al Sheba, in Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City. Its admissions overview uses Pre-KG through Grade 12, even though the school is part of a group with a British original campus. If you’re coming from a school that uses Years, confirm the grade on the offer and map it to your child’s current stage.

NLCS’s Diploma page describes sixth form beginning in Grade 11. The choice here is an IB continuum through the Diploma. If you are comparing it with Greenfield for a student who may want career-related study at sixteen, ask what the likely alternatives would be if the full Diploma turns out to be a poor fit. If your child already wants the Diploma, ask about the individual higher-level subjects and when the school sets its options.

The school’s 2026–27 fee page distinguishes the KHDA-approved rates from introductory discounts for new joiners in their first academic year. Grade 6 is AED 127,103 approved, with AED 122,019 shown after the first-year discount. Grade 11 is AED 143,681 approved, with AED 137,934 shown after the discount. If you’re planning for two years at sixth form, ask what applies in the second year. The lower published first-year amount and the approved fee give you two different figures to put into your cash planning.

To see how the discount affects a two-year budget, use the published Grade 11 and Grade 12 figures as a scenario. A new Grade 11 entrant at AED 137,934 followed by a year at the listed approved AED 143,681 would total AED 281,615 in tuition, assuming the approved rate stayed the same and no further discount applied. Ask the school for the second-year price and any eligibility conditions. The scenario is useful when a first-year offer looks affordable but the family’s allowance resets at the same level every year.

The school’s admissions policy describes assessment, interviews and school reports for older entrants. Ask which parts apply to your child’s grade and what the school needs if they’re moving from an MYP school overseas. If language study has been part of your child’s existing programme, bring the course level as well as the language name. Then check the placement and ask whether that language can continue alongside their other subjects. NLCS Dubai on Instagram

JESS Arabian Ranches for GCSEs followed by the IB Diploma

The IB register entry for JESS is for its Diploma offering. The relevant campus for secondary and sixth form is Arabian Ranches. The JESS secondary curriculum describes GCSE choices after Year 9 and sixth form in Years 12 and 13. If you are comparing an age-11 place with Greenfield or NLCS, you are choosing a different route to the final qualification. Ask whether your child would prefer to follow GCSE subjects first or move into the MYP at that age.

The sixth-form page describes a choice of IB Diploma and BTEC Plus. BTEC Plus is the school’s separate pathway. It should be compared on its own course content and admission requirements, since the IB register authorises JESS for the Diploma. If a career-related route matters, compare the JESS handbook with the actual CP offer at Greenfield and ask what certificate and subjects each pathway leads to.

JESS’s 2026–27 fee page lists AED 91,923 for Years 7–11, AED 104,544 for Years 12–13, and a separate AED 500 application fee. The published first sixth-form instalment is AED 34,848. For August 2027 entry, ask for the fee schedule attached to your offer. If you are coming through a debenture category, ask what it means for your application and payment schedule before treating the tuition figure as the full cash requirement.

At the time checked, JESS is accepting external Year 12 applications for 2027–28. Its page sets different grade expectations for the Diploma and BTEC, with consistently 7 or above at GCSE or equivalent for Diploma applicants and 5 or above for BTEC applicants. Ask for subject-specific requirements and conditions on the offer. The general admissions page gives narrower availability for other year groups, and JESS says it does not take applications for Years 11 or 13. The JESS school account shared an Arabian Ranches Year 1 classroom activity. It shows an example from the primary phase of this campus, where the school follows its British pathway.

What to compare when you have two plausible offers

For a primary place, ask both schools what your child would do in a typical week, then check how they track progress. If you expect to move between countries, ask what the school sends to the next school and whether there are restrictions on leaving partway through a year. For a secondary transfer, provide current subjects, school reports and any project work that would need to carry over. Ask which languages and maths courses the school can place your child in.

For a sixteen-year-old, put the intended subjects in writing and ask each school to confirm that they fit together. A school may list all six subjects individually and still be unable to timetable the combination. If your child needs a particular higher-level maths or science course for university, put that first in the enquiry. If you’re comparing the CP with another applied pathway, ask which career-related qualification the student earns and whether the universities they’re considering accept it for the course.

Compare the payment schedule on the same basis. Put tuition, credited deposits, application fees and recurring extras on separate lines. Ask about the school bus for your address, devices or books, and the exam charges for your child’s route. Where there’s a first-year discount, put the later year beside it. For an entry decision, the school’s confirmation that it has a place in the right programme and can timetable the right subjects should come before a payment.

Ask for the programme coordinator’s name if your child is joining in the middle of a course. Admissions can tell you whether there is a place, while the coordinator can look at the coursework and show where the class has reached. For a move between two IB schools, bring the actual subject levels, any completed internal assessment work and the exam session your child was working towards. The common programme name makes the first conversation easier. Whether the move works still depends on course timing and what the receiving school can support.

Frequently asked questions

Does an IB World School always offer the IB in primary?

No. The IB authorises programmes individually. JESS is an example of a school that offers the Diploma after a British route, while Greenfield and NLCS Dubai also offer PYP and MYP.

Is BTEC Plus the same as the IB Career-related Programme?

They are different pathways. JESS lists BTEC Plus separately from its IB Diploma. The IB CP includes a career-related study, at least two Diploma courses and the CP core. Ask for the school’s exact qualification and subject combination.

Do you need the MYP to enter the Diploma?

The schools’ external admissions routes show that a student can apply with other qualifications. The school decides whether the evidence and subject grades meet its entry requirements. JESS publishes GCSE or equivalent expectations for external Year 12 applicants.

Is Grade 11 the same as Year 11?

In these examples, Grade 11 at Greenfield and NLCS Dubai is the first post-16 year, comparable to Year 12 at JESS. Match the stage of the course as well as the number on the school report. Ask admissions to confirm the placement before you compare tuition or submit documents.