Same Cambridge qualification. A fraction of the Horizon fee.

DIS is a fully online British curriculum school. Students sit Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level exams via approved Cambridge exam centres such as the British Council Dubai. DIS is not a Cambridge registered centre, but the exam papers, marking, and certification are identical to those sat at any registered campus. The qualification issued is a Cambridge certificate in the student's name, recognised globally.

DIS students in the UAE sit their Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level exams at the British Council Dubai and other approved Cambridge exam centres in the country. The DIS admissions team assists families in registering with the appropriate centre well ahead of the examination series. Entry requirements and registration deadlines are managed in coordination with the exam centre, not through DIS directly.

Yes. Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level qualifications are awarded by Cambridge Assessment International Education, not by the school. The certificate does not state the delivery model. UCAS, Russell Group universities, and the Common App all accept Cambridge results on the same basis, regardless of whether the student studied at a campus or through a fully online provider like DIS. Families with specific university destination concerns are welcome to contact us.

DIS employs more than 100 postgraduate-qualified teachers, all GCC-based. Instructors hold PGCE, QTS-equivalent, or Cambridge-trained credentials and teach within their specialist subject areas. All teachers are subject specialists, not generalist tutors. They set assignments, provide written feedback, issue predicted grades, and are reachable via the DIS LMS messaging system between scheduled sessions.

DIS runs live, timetabled classes on a fixed Monday-to-Friday schedule, Gulf Standard Time. Classes are not pre-recorded videos. Students log in at a scheduled time, appear on camera, interact with the teacher, and can ask questions in real time. A register is taken. Lessons follow the Cambridge syllabus in sequence. Recordings may be available for revision, but the primary format is a live classroom with 4 to 6 students and a qualified teacher.

Yes. DIS accepts mid-year enrolments. The admissions team assesses where a student is in the Cambridge syllabus and places them in the appropriate year group and subject sequence. This is particularly relevant for expat families arriving in the UAE partway through the academic year, when most physical campuses have closed admissions. Contact the team to confirm subject availability and start date.

Horizon English School publishes annual fees in the range of AED 55,000 to AED 68,000 depending on year group, under KHDA regulation. DIS charges AED 500 per month for IGCSE-level enrolment, which equates to AED 6,000 per year, with all Cambridge subjects included. At A-Level, the monthly fee is AED 800, or AED 9,600 per year. There are no per-subject premiums, no registration surcharges, and no transport or uniform costs.

The AED 500 per month fee covers all Cambridge IGCSE subjects available through DIS — students are not charged per subject. The fee includes access to live online classes, the DIS proprietary learning management system, instructor messaging, a resource library, assignment tracking, and the parent dashboard. There are no additional costs for subject materials or platform access. The only separate cost is the exam centre registration fee, paid directly to the exam centre.

All DIS live classes run on a Monday-to-Friday, Gulf Standard Time timetable. UAE families do not need to adjust for time-zone differences. The school week aligns with the UAE working week, and the daily timetable reflects typical senior-school hours. Students in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, or elsewhere in the UAE attend the same live sessions at the same local time.

Students need a reliable internet connection, a laptop or desktop computer with a camera and microphone, and access to the DIS LMS through a standard web browser. No proprietary hardware is required. The admissions team provides a full technical checklist on enrolment. Most UAE households with a standard home broadband connection meet the requirements without any additional setup.

Cambridge IGCSE Sciences include a practical component that is assessed through a combination of coursework and a written Practical Paper (or Alternative to Practical paper). DIS students typically sit the Alternative to Practical paper, which is available through approved Cambridge exam centres. The DIS science teachers prepare students specifically for this format. Families should confirm the paper options available at their chosen exam centre when registering.

Yes. A DIS student can transfer to a physical school at any point. Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level credentials, predicted grades, and school references are all portable. DIS issues the same documentation a brick-and-mortar school would provide for a UCAS application or a transfer application. If a family relocates or decides to return to a campus environment, the academic record transfers without any gap in qualification pathway.