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Fastest-Growing Schools in Abu Dhabi 2026: Enrolment Trajectory

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

65
Growing 5%+ / yr
17
Growing 15%+ / yr
15
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 Beaconhouse Private School Acceptable 109 (2020) 476 (2025) +34.3% / yr UK AED 26,668
8 Ain Al Khaleej Private School Good 256 (2020) 853 (2025) +27.2% / yr MOE AED 10,361
9 Sunrise International School Acceptable 2,910 (2022) 5,546 (2025) +24.0% / yr Indian AED 10,137
10 International Indian School Good 697 (2020) 1,955 (2025) +22.9% / yr Indian AED 16,408
11 Gems World Academy Very Good 425 (2020) 1,167 (2025) +22.4% / yr UK AED 66,641
12 Sharjah American International School Very Good 432 (2020) 1,153 (2025) +21.7% / yr US AED 35,923
13 Liwa International School - Mushrif Good 441 (2020) 1,157 (2025) +21.3% / yr US AED 29,745
14 Al Yahar Private School And Kg Acceptable 365 (2021) 744 (2025) +19.5% / yr MOE AED 7,474
15 Oasis International School Good 814 (2020) 1,937 (2025) +18.9% / yr Indian AED 9,920
16 Ryan International School Acceptable 542 (2020) 1,222 (2025) +17.7% / yr Indian AED 16,807
17 Al Marfa International School Acceptable 246 (2020) 496 (2025) +15.1% / yr MOE AED 6,286
18 Shining Star International School Good 1,010 (2020) 1,997 (2025) +14.6% / yr Indian AED 13,259
19 Emirates Future International Academy Good 1,087 (2020) 2,031 (2025) +13.3% / yr Indian AED 12,488
20 Aspen Heights British School Good 684 (2020) 1,263 (2025) +13.0% / yr UK AED 50,415
21 Summit International School Very Good 947 (2020) 1,737 (2025) +12.9% / yr US AED 33,418
22 Al Rabeeh Academy Very Good 656 (2020) 1,186 (2025) +12.6% / yr UK AED 43,727
23 Royal American School Good 929 (2020) 1,659 (2025) +12.3% / yr US AED 16,331
24 Ajyal International School - Falah Good 1,395 (2020) 2,474 (2025) +12.1% / yr US AED 34,774
25 Repton School Abu Dhabi Outstanding 981 (2020) 1,726 (2025) +12.0% / yr UK AED 75,974
26 Cranleigh School Abu Dhabi Outstanding 1,369 (2020) 2,294 (2025) +10.9% / yr UK AED 88,400
27 Emirates Falcon International Private School Very Good 915 (2020) 1,529 (2025) +10.8% / yr US AED 23,727
28 Reach British School Good 1,296 (2020) 2,147 (2025) +10.6% / yr UK AED 36,956
29 Wales International School Good 816 (2020) 1,341 (2025) +10.4% / yr UK AED 30,127
30 Al Tharawat National Private School Acceptable 933 (2020) 1,532 (2025) +10.4% / yr MOE AED 10,866
31 German International School Very Good 348 (2020) 547 (2025) +9.5% / yr Other AED 47,092
32 Al Basma British School Very Good 1,312 (2020) 2,058 (2025) +9.4% / yr UK AED 34,041
33 Pinnacle American School Acceptable 126 (2020) 195 (2025) +9.1% / yr US AED 24,220
34 Emirates Private School - Muwaiji Good 975 (2020) 1,485 (2025) +8.8% / yr MOE AED 10,539
35 Emirates Education Academy Acceptable 470 (2020) 709 (2025) +8.6% / yr MOE AED 6,626
36 Al Murooj Scientific Private School Acceptable 579 (2020) 841 (2025) +7.8% / yr UK AED 23,384
37 Al Tafawwuq Al Ilmi Private School Acceptable 393 (2020) 565 (2025) +7.5% / yr MOE AED 6,719
38 Global Indian International School Good 1,841 (2020) 2,642 (2025) +7.5% / yr Indian AED 12,693
39 The British International Ad Outstanding 1,740 (2020) 2,496 (2025) +7.5% / yr UK AED 68,607
40 Al Ain English Speaking School Very Good 1,559 (2020) 2,235 (2025) +7.5% / yr UK AED 37,077
41 Crescent International Private School Acceptable 241 (2020) 344 (2025) +7.4% / yr UK AED 15,273
42 Garden City British School Good 396 (2020) 564 (2025) +7.3% / yr UK AED 26,919
43 Creative British School Acceptable 779 (2020) 1,104 (2025) +7.2% / yr UK AED 18,969
44 Al Awael Private School Acceptable 311 (2020) 437 (2025) +7.0% / yr MOE AED 8,076
45 Excel International School Good 352 (2022) 425 (2025) +6.5% / yr UK AED 23,954
46 Abdulla Bin Al Zubair Private School Acceptable 231 (2020) 316 (2025) +6.5% / yr UK AED 35,350
47 American Community School Outstanding 1,118 (2020) 1,522 (2025) +6.4% / yr US AED 75,992
48 United Private School - Yahar Good 586 (2020) 795 (2025) +6.3% / yr US AED 23,758
49 International Jubilee Private School Good 729 (2020) 986 (2025) +6.2% / yr US AED 25,039
50 Amity International School Very Good 1,146 (2020) 1,550 (2025) +6.2% / yr UK AED 57,565
51 New Indian Model School Good 486 (2020) 657 (2025) +6.2% / yr Indian AED 6,338
52 Bait Al Maqdes International Private School Good 1,086 (2020) 1,468 (2025) +6.2% / yr MOE AED 7,963
53 Dunes International School Good 1,168 (2020) 1,565 (2025) +6.0% / yr Indian AED 17,555
54 Rowad Al Dhafra Private School Acceptable 562 (2020) 753 (2025) +6.0% / yr MOE AED 9,740
55 Universal Private School Acceptable 909 (2020) 1,216 (2025) +6.0% / yr MOE AED 10,934
56 Belvedere British School Very Good 697 (2020) 931 (2025) +6.0% / yr UK AED 29,239
57 Al Muneera Private School Good 542 (2020) 723 (2025) +5.9% / yr MOE AED 18,611
58 Al Saad Indian School Very Good 638 (2020) 846 (2025) +5.8% / yr Indian AED 12,245
59 Diyafah International School Good 913 (2020) 1,209 (2025) +5.8% / yr UK AED 36,499
60 Ashabal Al Quds Secondary Private School Good 1,466 (2020) 1,937 (2025) +5.7% / yr MOE AED 11,755
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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%.