Another approach adopted by Dubai private international schools are designed for the taking of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and the Advanced Level, which is a general certificate of education qualification in the United Kingdom, and  with results recognized worldwide.  The Dubai English Speaking School, Jumeirah Primary School and College, Jebel Ali Primary School, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Horizon School, Dubai Gem Private School, English College Dubai, and St. Mary's Catholic High School all offer either primary or secondary education for children up to the age of 18 based on the GCSE and A-Level syllabi.  Meanwhile, the Emirates International School, Wellington School, and Cambridge International High School are secondary schools that Offer a combination of GCSE, IGCSE, and International Baccalaureate (IB) educational program.

Various Schools being Established in Dubai

There are an increasing number of K-12 schools in Dubai that offers an American syllabus.  The American School of Dubai in Jumeirah and the Dubai American Academy in Al Barsha are the most prominent choices within the expatriate community.  The former provides its graduates an American accredited highschool diploma, while the latter offers both an American accredited highschool diploma and an International Baccalaureate diploma.

Meanwhile, the International School of Choueifat and the Emirates International School offer a combination of British and American educational approaches.

The Dubai English Speaking School (DESS) and Jumeirah English Speaking School are the most widely preferred private primary school in Dubai.  As DESS is the first primary school created in Dubai in 1963 to specifically cater to the children of English expatriates, it already enjoys a reputation built on years of excellent service.  DESS boasts of modern full air-conditioned classrooms, a state-of-the-art ICT suite, an equally up-to-date technology/science room, a gymnasium, and outdoor facilities that include a grass playing field, tennis courts, and a 25-meter swimming pool.

The Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS) is found in the main residential area of Dubai.  Established in 1975, JESS is the most established school for the grades 1 to 6.  As the school follows a British curriculum, most of the teachers are recruited from the United Kingdom and are qualified to teach the UK curriculum.  The school boasts of an extremely high level of educational resource, which is fully utilized to provide its students a broad and balanced education.

The Dubai College in Umm Suqeim is the leading choice for secondary school in Dubai.  Established in 1978, the Dubai College boasts of high education standards as seen with the turnout of their students’ performance.  In addition to academic excellence, the school also excels in the sports of football, rugby, cricket, and netball, in which they have all won championships and title cups for.  It boasts of a rich resource for academic and the encouragement of holistic growth of its students, including computer rooms with broadband internet access, state-of-the art library and science block, two drama studios, and an ample wide athletics area.

However, there are certain restrictions one must be aware of regarding the emirate’s primary and secondary educational system.  For instance, a student is prohibited from changing their school during the course of the academic year.  Approvals for such requests are rare and are subject to the discretion of the Ministry of Education.  Another restriction in the Dubai educational system restricts the enrollment of a student in September should his family only moved into Dubai on or after the first of May for that year.  Students must wait for the beginning of the next school year instead.

Most expatriates prefer to send their children back to their home country or other Western countries for their pursuit of higher education.  Nevertheless, a substantial number of foreign accredited universities have been set-up in Dubai in the last decade.  These tertiary educational institutions are governed by the Ministry of Higher Education, where in it includes the Heriot-Watt University, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, American College of Dubai (ACD), SP Jain Center of Management, American University in Dubai (AUD), Dubai Higher Colleges of Technology, XLRI, Al Ghurair University, SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, SAE Institute, Middlesex University-Dubai, Dublin's Dubai business school, University of Wollongong in Dubai, European University College Brussels, Dubai, Mahatma Gandhi University, British University of Dubai, and the Zayed University. 

Well-established and most prestigious American universities have also set-up their satellite campuses in Dubai.  Among these are the Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center.  The Michigan State University will also set-up operations for graduate and undergraduate courses in the emirate beginning the fall of 2008.

The expansion of the higher education institutes in Dubai is an indication of the government’s commitment in improving and intensifying the city’s higher education system.  In support of these notable institutions are the establishment of the Knowledge Village which is a free trade zone that offers support for training and learning activities, the Dubai International Academic City which is an exclusive cluster for tertiary education institutions, and the Dubai Education Council.