Same Cambridge curriculum as Abu Dhabi's premium British schools, at AED 80,000/yr AED 9,600 per year.

Yes. The Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level qualifications are issued by Cambridge International, not by the school. Whether a student sits those exams through Brighton College Abu Dhabi, Cranleigh, or as a DIS student at an authorised exam centre, the certificate and the qualification grade are identical. DIS is not a Cambridge registered centre; students sit exams via approved centres such as the British Council Dubai. The syllabus content DIS teaches is the same Cambridge syllabus taught at any British school in the emirate.

DIS students sit Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level examinations at authorised Cambridge exam centres. The British Council Dubai is the primary centre used. Abu Dhabi families typically travel to Dubai for the exam session, which lasts a few weeks per year. DIS provides full guidance on the registration process, subject entries, and exam timetable well in advance of each session.

Abu Dhabi British schools charge between AED 28,000 and AED 95,000 per year in senior-school tuition, before transport, uniform, registration, and exam fees are added. DIS charges AED 500 per month for Cambridge IGCSE, covering all subjects, and AED 800 per month for Cambridge A-Level. That is AED 6,000 per year at IGCSE level and AED 9,600 per year at A-Level. Most Abu Dhabi families switching to DIS save between AED 40,000 and AED 80,000 per year.

All DIS teachers are postgraduate-qualified and based in the GCC. The team comprises over 100 instructors who teach exclusively in their subject specialism. Class sizes run at 4-6 students per live session, which means each teacher gives substantially more individual attention than is possible in a 25-pupil classroom at a typical Abu Dhabi British school. DIS does not use pre-recorded lessons as a substitute for live instruction.

Socialisation outside school is not uniquely a DIS challenge. Many Abu Dhabi families build social lives through community sport clubs, mosque groups, neighbourhood activities, and organised study groups. DIS students often have more time for these activities because they recover the 90-plus minutes that a daily school run takes. Within DIS, small class sizes of 4-6 mean students know each other well and interact directly with teachers and peers in every live lesson.

Yes. Because the DIS school day typically ends by early afternoon and involves no commute, students have considerably more time available for after-school sport, music, art, and other activities than peers attending a full-day campus school. Families in Abu Dhabi report using this time for club football, swimming academies, martial arts, and community programmes. DIS does not organise on-campus extracurriculars, so families choose activities that genuinely suit their child.

DIS runs live lessons Monday to Friday on Gulf Standard Time. A typical day for an Abu Dhabi student starts at 8:15 and includes four to five live subject sessions of 45-60 minutes each, with breaks. Students access their timetable, join lessons, message teachers, submit assignments, and access the resource library through the DIS proprietary learning management system. There are no recorded-only lessons. The school week mirrors a standard British school calendar.

Yes. DIS is well suited to families with multiple children at different year groups because all students use the same platform and the same Monday-to-Friday Gulf Standard Time timetable. Parents manage one login system, one billing account, and one communication channel. Siblings in Year 9 and Year 12 study simultaneously without conflicting pickup times or separate school runs.

Students need a reliable broadband connection, a laptop or desktop computer, a webcam, and a headset or microphone. A tablet can work for some lessons but a laptop is recommended for writing-intensive subjects. DIS lessons run through the school's proprietary LMS, which is browser-based and does not require specialist software installation. Most Abu Dhabi households already have the equipment needed.

Yes. Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level are among the most widely recognised pre-university qualifications globally, and UK universities accept them regardless of whether the student attended a campus school or studied online. The qualification on the certificate is issued by Cambridge International and does not name the teaching school. DIS students applying to UK universities submit the same Cambridge results as students from any British school in Abu Dhabi.

DIS covers all Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level subjects as part of the monthly fee. There is no additional per-subject charge and no restricted subject list. Students can take the full combination of sciences, humanities, languages, and mathematics that their university pathway requires. The AED 500 per month IGCSE fee and AED 800 per month A-Level fee cover the complete subject load.

DIS live classes run at a maximum of 4-6 students per session, which means teachers identify gaps quickly and address them directly. Students have access to their teacher via the platform messaging system between lessons. The proprietary LMS tracks assignment completion and flags students who are falling behind. Parents can see the timetable and lesson schedule in real time. The structure is intentionally closer to private tutoring than to a large-classroom model.