For a relocating family, the usable annual figure is the exact 2026-27 KHDA sheet for the child's named grade, with tuition and mandatory fees kept apart from required supplies and optional services. In three live sheets checked on 2 October 2026, the visible mandatory add-ons ran from no separately listed lines to AED 3,469, while optional services remained outside KHDA's published Total Fees.

KHDA announced on 22 May 2026 that private-school fees would not increase for the 2026-27 academic year. That authority decision does not replace the need to read the exact grade-level fact sheet or establish when an individual sheet was uploaded.

The sheet answers one grade in one academic year

The first four fields to copy are the school identity, academic year, curriculum and grade. KHDA, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, describes the School Fees Fact Sheet as a one-page annual reference covering mandatory and optional fees. Its fee-sheet FAQ, updated 21 June 2022 and accessed 2 October 2026, says every Dubai private school will make a sheet available before the academic year and include it in the School/Parent Contract.

That framework does not create one school-wide annual price. Each live record is tied to a named school and year group. The same school can display different tuition, mandatory lines or service ranges for another grade. A family's evidence record therefore needs the exact URL or QR code, the academic year printed on the sheet and the date it was accessed.

KHDA also says a sheet is valid for one academic year. A 2026-27 sheet is current evidence for 2026-27, not a forward estimate for the following year.

Three live sheets show three different fee records

The comparison below is a bounded document sample, not a ranking of schools. It covers three live 2026-27 KHDA directory sheets, across two curricula and three different grade labels, accessed on 2 October 2026.

All three sheets also display a Board Examination line stating that the examination board's charge carries no extra charge, but no amount is printed on the fetched pages. That remains an unpriced line, not an assumed AED 0. Each sheet also shows an AED 500 new-student application fee, new-student enrolment of up to 10% of tuition, and existing-student re-enrolment of up to 5% of tuition or AED 500, whichever is higher. The enrolment and re-enrolment amounts are described as deductible from first-term fees, so adding them again as a second annual tuition cost would double count them.

For Dubai International Private School - Br, the Grade 10 sheet shows no separate Mandatory Fees rows between tuition and Total Fees. Its required-supplies labels are Uniform, Books, Stationery and School ID Card Replacement. The optional labels are Transport, Extracurricular Activities, Medical, School Trips, Annual Day, Arabic Benchmark Test, School International Trips, Skill development programmes and Special Needs Support.

For Dubai Gem Private School, the Year 8 mandatory labels are Books, Classroom activities and resources, Sports Kit, Additional Education Materials, Activities and Medical. Those six amounts add to AED 3,469, and AED 18,537 plus AED 3,469 reproduces the published AED 22,006 Total Fees.

Its required-supplies labels are Uniform, Stationery and School ID Card Replacement. The optional labels are Transport, Extracurricular Activities, School Trips, Annual Day, Arabic Benchmark Test, Class photograph, Club Activities, Costumes for school events, Educational Local Trip, Educational Overseas Trip, Enrichment Activites, Interschool Competitions, Learning Support Assistants, Music Concert, National Agenda Parameter Tests, Overnight camp, School Local Field Trips, School Magazine, School Photographs, Sibling Club, Skill development programmes, Special Needs Support, Sport Camp, STEM Programme, Student Led Workshops, Summer Camp, Theatre Art, Winter Camp and Spring Camp.

For The Westminster School - DUBAI BRANCH, the Year 2 mandatory labels are Computer, Laboratory, Medical, Activities and Library. The five amounts total AED 550, so AED 11,565 plus AED 550 matches the published AED 12,115 Total Fees.

Its required-supplies labels are Uniform, Books, Stationery, Laptop/Digital Device and School ID Card Replacement. The optional labels are Transport, Extracurricular Activities, Annual Day, Arabic Benchmark Test, Canteen, Class photograph, Competitions, Costumes for school events, Duke of Edinburgh International Award, Educational Local Trip, Educational Overseas Trip, Enrichment Activites, Learning Support Assistants, National Agenda Parameter Tests, Summer Camp, English Language Immersion Program, Arabic Language Immersion Program, Aptitude Test and Customized Student Documentation Services.

The spelling above follows each live record, including the label “Enrichment Activites”. That preserves what the source displays without silently standardising it.

Read the sheet without double counting

The clean worksheet has three cost layers, because KHDA's own document separates them. “Mandatory” describes the fee classification. “Required education supplies” describes necessary materials that may be available from the school or another supplier. “Optional services” covers elected services and activities that generally sit outside curriculum delivery.

1. Lock the record

   Copy the school name exactly as displayed, the 2026-2027 academic year, the curriculum and the child's named grade. Save the live URL or QR code and your access date.

2. Reproduce Total Fees

   Start with tuition, apply any displayed discount, then add only the rows inside the Mandatory Fees section. The result should match the sheet's Total Fees.

3. Build a required-supplies range

   Add each minimum and maximum from the Required Education Supplies section. Keep this range beside, not inside, KHDA Total Fees.

4. Select optional services

   Copy only the services the household expects to use, such as transport or a club. Do not add every maximum to create an annual mandatory figure.

5. Separate payment timing

   Record application, enrolment and re-enrolment cash when it is due. Where the sheet says an amount is deductible from first-term fees, do not count it again as a second annual charge.

6. Mark unknowns

   Where a line is absent, write “not listed, confirm with school”. Where the sheet prints a range beginning at zero, keep that printed range rather than claiming every family pays nothing.

For a same-grade comparison across a longer shortlist, the Dubai school fee-sheet worksheet shows how to repeat this method without mixing year groups. The broader Dubai schools guide for relocating families keeps that fee evidence beside curriculum, school stage and area context.

The 22 May fee freeze is a separate dated decision

KHDA announced on 22 May 2026 that there would be no increase in private-school fees for the 2026-27 academic year. That is the date of the authority's decision.

It is not evidence that every 2026-27 fact sheet was uploaded on 22 May. The three directory pages in this sample expose the academic year and their current fee fields, but they do not expose a publication timestamp in the page text fetched on 2 October 2026. The safe record is therefore “academic year 2026-2027, accessed 2 October 2026”, not an invented upload date.

The decision also does not merge every required supply or optional service into tuition. Each school's live sheet remains the source for its visible labels and ranges.

The sheet still leaves household-specific questions

A published range is a boundary in the record, not a forecast of one family's bill. Transport depends on whether the service is used and on the route offered. Uniform or device spending depends on what is required and whether an outside supplier is available. Support-service lines may apply only to a student who uses that service.

KHDA's FAQ says questions should first go to the school. For a relocating family, the useful follow-up is precise: ask which listed items apply to the confirmed grade, which supplier choices are available, and which optional service quote matches the intended home location.

An absent transport line would remain “not listed” until the school confirms the service. It would not become an assumed AED 0. The same rule applies to any other missing field.

Frequently asked questions, checked 2 October 2026

What is included in KHDA Total Fees?+

In these three live sheets, Total Fees equals tuition after any displayed discount plus the rows under Mandatory Fees. Required Education Supplies and Optional Services appear separately and were not added to that total.

Are mandatory fees and required education supplies the same?+

No. KHDA's FAQ says mandatory fees are approved and regulated, while required educational supplies are necessary materials, tools and resources that may be available from the school or external suppliers.

Are Dubai private-school fees frozen for 2026-27?+

Yes. KHDA announced on 22 May 2026 that there would be no increase in private-school fees for the 2026-27 academic year. That decision date is separate from the access date or any unexposed upload date of a school-specific fact sheet.

Does a zero lower bound mean a family will pay nothing?+

No. It records the lower end printed on that fee line. The applicable amount still depends on the item or service and the family's confirmed school arrangement.