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Fastest-Growing Schools in Abu Dhabi 2026: Enrolment Trajectory

50 Abu Dhabi schools whose enrolment has compounded at 5%+ per year. The data behind which schools families are voting for with their feet.

50
Growing 5%+ / yr
13
Growing 15%+ / yr
5
Outstanding or Very Good
Home › Best Schools › Fastest-Growing Schools

Fee, Irtiqaa rating, and waitlist anecdotes are how parents normally compare schools. Enrolment growth is a better signal than any of them: it's the actual revealed preference of every Abu Dhabi family that already chose. We pulled 14 years of pupil counts from ADEK returns, computed compound annual growth rates, and ranked the schools that have grown fastest. We exclude schools that started with fewer than 30 pupils (early-stage CAGR is misleading).

#SchoolADEKThenNowCAGRCurriculumAvg Fee
1 Universal Philippine School Weak 49 (2022) 347 (2025) +92.0% / yr Other AED 9,372
2 The Russian School Of Abu Dhabi Not Yet Inspected 86 (2022) 396 (2025) +66.4% / yr Other AED 37,100
3 Italian International School Not Yet Inspected 141 (2022) 567 (2025) +59.0% / yr Other AED 54,527
4 Raha International School - Khalifa Good 279 (2020) 1,883 (2025) +46.5% / yr IB AED 57,537
5 Bhavans Pearl Wisdom School Good 139 (2020) 717 (2025) +38.8% / yr Indian AED 12,057
6 Arzana Private School Weak 68 (2021) 239 (2025) +36.9% / yr US AED 28,021
7 Sunrise International School Acceptable 2,910 (2022) 5,546 (2025) +24.0% / yr Indian AED 10,137
8 International Indian School Good 697 (2020) 1,955 (2025) +22.9% / yr Indian AED 16,408
9 Sharjah American International School Good 432 (2020) 1,153 (2025) +21.7% / yr US AED 35,923
10 Gems World Academy Very Good 425 (2020) 1,130 (2025) +21.6% / yr IB AED 66,641
11 Liwa International School - Mushrif Good 441 (2020) 1,157 (2025) +21.3% / yr US AED 29,745
12 Oasis International School Good 814 (2020) 1,937 (2025) +18.9% / yr Indian AED 9,920
13 Ryan International School Acceptable 542 (2020) 1,222 (2025) +17.7% / yr Indian AED 16,807
14 Shining Star International School Good 1,010 (2020) 1,997 (2025) +14.6% / yr Indian AED 13,259
15 Emirates Future International Academy Good 1,087 (2020) 2,031 (2025) +13.3% / yr Indian AED 12,488
16 Summit International School Good 947 (2020) 1,737 (2025) +12.9% / yr US AED 33,418
17 Aspen Heights British School Good 684 (2020) 1,229 (2025) +12.4% / yr IB AED 62,570
18 Royal American School Good 929 (2020) 1,659 (2025) +12.3% / yr US AED 16,331
19 Universal Private British Acceptable 703 (2020) 992 (2023) +12.2% / yr UK AED 10,934
20 Ajyal International School - Falah Good 1,395 (2020) 2,474 (2025) +12.1% / yr US AED 34,774
21 Emirates Falcon International Private School Good 915 (2020) 1,529 (2025) +10.8% / yr US AED 23,727
22 Wales International School Good 816 (2020) 1,341 (2025) +10.4% / yr UK AED 30,127
23 Al Tharawat National Private School Good 933 (2020) 1,532 (2025) +10.4% / yr MOE AED 10,866
24 German International School Very Good 348 (2020) 547 (2025) +9.5% / yr Other AED 47,092
25 Pinnacle American School Acceptable 126 (2020) 195 (2025) +9.1% / yr US AED 24,220
26 Emirates Education Academy Acceptable 470 (2020) 709 (2025) +8.6% / yr MOE AED 6,626
27 Abu Dhabi International School Very Good 33 (2020) 42 (2023) +8.4% / yr IB AED 47,970
28 Al Murooj Scientific Private School Acceptable 579 (2020) 841 (2025) +7.8% / yr UK AED 23,384
29 Al Tafawwuq Al Ilmi Private School Acceptable 393 (2020) 565 (2025) +7.5% / yr MOE AED 6,719
30 Global Indian International School Good 1,841 (2020) 2,642 (2025) +7.5% / yr Indian AED 12,693
31 Crescent International Private School Acceptable 241 (2020) 344 (2025) +7.4% / yr UK AED 15,273
32 Garden City British School Good 396 (2020) 564 (2025) +7.3% / yr UK AED 26,919
33 Al Awael Private School Acceptable 311 (2020) 437 (2025) +7.0% / yr MOE AED 8,076
34 The British International Ad Outstanding 1,627 (2020) 2,249 (2025) +6.7% / yr IB AED 76,950
35 Excel International School Acceptable 352 (2022) 425 (2025) +6.5% / yr UK AED 23,954
36 Abdulla Bin Al Zubair Private School Acceptable 231 (2020) 316 (2025) +6.5% / yr UK AED 35,350
37 American Community School Outstanding 1,118 (2020) 1,522 (2025) +6.4% / yr US AED 75,992
38 United Private School - Yahar Good 586 (2020) 795 (2025) +6.3% / yr US AED 23,758
39 International Jubilee Private School Good 729 (2020) 986 (2025) +6.2% / yr US AED 25,039
40 New Indian Model School Good 486 (2020) 657 (2025) +6.2% / yr Indian AED 6,338
41 Bait Al Maqdes International Private School Good 1,086 (2020) 1,468 (2025) +6.2% / yr MOE AED 7,963
42 Dunes International School Good 1,168 (2020) 1,565 (2025) +6.0% / yr Indian AED 17,555
43 Al Muneera Private School Good 542 (2020) 723 (2025) +5.9% / yr MOE AED 18,611
44 Al Saad Indian School Good 638 (2020) 846 (2025) +5.8% / yr Indian AED 12,245
45 Ashabal Al Quds Secondary Private School Good 1,466 (2020) 1,937 (2025) +5.7% / yr MOE AED 11,755
46 Abc Private School Good 2,161 (2020) 2,806 (2025) +5.4% / yr UK AED 22,422
47 Al Yasat Private School Good 1,106 (2020) 1,432 (2025) +5.3% / yr US AED 43,119
48 Al Ain American Private School Good 695 (2020) 894 (2025) +5.2% / yr US AED 23,101
49 Al Khalil International Private School Good 877 (2020) 1,127 (2025) +5.1% / yr MOE AED 9,261
50 Yas Academy School Acceptable 559 (2020) 718 (2025) +5.1% / yr MOE AED 9,839
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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is enrolment growth a better signal than Irtiqaa rating?

It's not better — it's complementary. ADEK tells you what inspectors think; enrolment trajectory tells you what parents are actually doing. A school growing 20% per year for three years has earned demand the hard way: every additional family is a family that compared options and chose this school. Combine both.

Doesn't a new school always grow fast?

Yes — that's why we exclude schools that started with fewer than 30 pupils in the earliest year. We also use the longest available window (typically 6+ years) so the CAGR reflects sustained growth, not a one-year founding boom.

What about shrinking schools?

Several Abu Dhabi schools have shrunk meaningfully — usually older, lower-fee schools that have lost ground to newer competitors. Each school's individual page shows its full enrolment history. Shrinking is not automatically bad (some schools are deliberately trimming intake), but combined with a static or falling Irtiqaa rating it's a yellow flag.

How is CAGR calculated?

Compound Annual Growth Rate: (end / start) ^ (1 / years) − 1. So a school that went from 200 students to 800 students over 6 years has a CAGR of (800/200)^(1/6) − 1 = 26%.