27 Dubai schools that publish capacity data and are not yet full. Where you have negotiating leverage on entry timing and, sometimes, fees.
Data caveat: KHDA does not publish capacity figures for every Dubai school — only 56 of 226 schools currently report a verifiable maximum-pupil capacity in the open data. Of those 56, 27 are below 95% full. That's where this page comes from. For the other ~170 schools, use enrollment trajectory as a proxy: see Fastest-growing Dubai schools.
Spare capacity matters for two reasons: you can usually start mid-year, and at the deeper end of the spectrum (under 80% full), some schools negotiate on registration fees, sibling discounts, or even tuition. Always ask.
| # | School | KHDA | Students / Capacity | % Full | Spare seats | Curriculum | Avg Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clarion School L.L.C | 300 / 2,000 | 15% | 1,700 | US | AED 68,380 | |
| 2 | Dubai Heights Academy | 645 / 2,000 | 32% | 1,355 | UK | AED 69,921 | |
| 3 | Global Indian International School L.L.C | 997 / 2,500 | 40% | 1,503 | Indian | AED 32,448 | |
| 4 | Springdales School L.L.C | 1,527 / 3,000 | 51% | 1,473 | UK | AED 32,864 | |
| 5 | Dwight School L.L.C | 658 / 1,200 | 55% | 542 | IB | AED 87,936 | |
| 6 | Dubai English Speaking School | 1,017 / 1,600 | 64% | 583 | UK | AED 67,948 | |
| 7 | South View School L.L.C | 1,315 / 2,000 | 66% | 685 | UK | AED 53,713 | |
| 8 | GEMS Our Own Indian School | 3,687 / 5,500 | 67% | 1,813 | Indian | AED 10,952 | |
| 9 | The City School International Private | 1,017 / 1,500 | 68% | 483 | UK | AED 19,881 | |
| 10 | Lycee Francais International Georges Pompidou School (Dubai Branch) | 2,045 / 3,000 | 68% | 955 | French | AED 43,810 | |
| 11 | The Indian High School | 5,500 / 8,000 | 69% | 2,500 | Indian | AED 7,995 | |
| 12 | GEMS Royal Dubai School - Dubai Branch | 846 / 1,200 | 71% | 354 | UK | AED 51,272 | |
| 13 | GEMS Wellington International School - Dubai Branch | 2,907 / 4,000 | 73% | 1,093 | UK | AED 73,782 | |
| 14 | Delhi Private School L.L.C | 3,840 / 5,000 | 77% | 1,160 | Indian | AED 13,191 | |
| 15 | Brighton College Dubai L.L.C | 1,194 / 1,500 | 80% | 306 | UK | AED 79,773 | |
| 16 | Pristine Private School | 2,057 / 2,500 | 82% | 443 | UK | AED 21,034 | |
| 17 | GEMS World Academy | 2,066 / 2,500 | 83% | 434 | IB | AED 97,277 | |
| 18 | Kings School Dubai L.L.C | 1,157 / 1,400 | 83% | 243 | UK | AED 59,491 | |
| 19 | Al Nibras International Private School | 1,665 / 2,000 | 83% | 335 | US | AED 37,818 | |
| 20 | Sunmarke School L.L.C | 2,085 / 2,500 | 83% | 415 | UK | AED 73,986 | |
| 21 | Dubai British School Jumeirah Park | 2,142 / 2,500 | 86% | 358 | UK | AED 75,598 | |
| 22 | Fairgreen International School L.L.C | 1,042 / 1,200 | 87% | 158 | IB | AED 73,153 | |
| 23 | GEMS Modern Academy | 3,941 / 4,500 | 88% | 559 | Indian | AED 52,429 | |
| 24 | GEMS New Millennium School L.L.C | 2,654 / 3,000 | 88% | 346 | UK | AED 28,350 | |
| 25 | Jumeirah College | 1,463 / 1,600 | 91% | 137 | UK | AED 87,404 | |
| 26 | Dubai College | 1,112 / 1,200 | 93% | 88 | UK | AED 101,098 | |
| 27 | Safa British School | 1,669 / 1,800 | 93% | 131 | UK | AED 60,859 |
No. Several schools on this list are KHDA Outstanding or Very Good and have spare seats simply because they expanded their physical campus faster than enrollment caught up. Newer premium schools commonly run at 60-75% utilization for their first 5-7 years. That's an opportunity for parents — same school, more attention, sometimes more flexible terms.
KHDA's licensing structure requires a maximum-pupil ceiling, but the figure isn't always made public in the inspection report. Many schools choose to report a ceiling that reflects the latest expansion phase rather than current physical limit. We only include schools where the ratio of students to a published capacity figure is verifiable.
Sometimes — especially on registration and uniform/transport bundles, and especially mid-year. Tuition itself is capped by KHDA's fee framework so don't expect a discount on the headline number. But sibling discount tiers, friend referral schemes, and one-off "settling-in" fees are often softer than the website suggests when there are seats to fill.
A school can be 80% full overall and still have a waitlist for specific year groups (especially FS1, Year 7, Year 12). Always ask about the year group you actually need.
