
Al Fanar School

Al Fanar School

Al Fanar School is a nature-based British-curriculum primary school in Nad Al Sheba 4, Dubai, founded by Emirati entrepreneur Nadia Zaal (of Al Barari and the Steiner-inspired Zaya Early Learning Centre) and opened in September 2025. It teaches the National Curriculum for England enriched by a holistic, biophilic pedagogy grounded in neuroscience and child development: outdoor and nature-based learning, low-tech classrooms, seasonal rhythms, and learning in immersive blocks rather than isolated subjects, around a "head, heart and hands" ethos. The landmark Emkaan-designed campus is laid out as a koi-fish spiral with sunlit circular domes, classrooms opening onto shaded gardens and courtyards, a treehouse classroom, an outdoor kitchen and a chicken coop. It is intentionally small, opening with two classes per year group from Nursery to Year 6 and phasing toward a full Nursery to Year 13 pathway. As a 2025 opening it has not yet been inspected by KHDA (DSIB).
Fees read from the school's published 2026-27 fee schedule. Last checked 25 July 2026. How Talem verifies →
Fees for 2026/2027, per year group. Excludes registration, uniform, and transport.
Al Fanar School publishes a single annual fee per year group for 2026-27, headed "AY 26-27 Fees", from AED 65,000 for Nursery to AED 78,334 in Year 6. There is no discounted or second column anywhere on its site, and the word discount does not appear on its fees, admissions or parent pages. Nursery is priced as an ordinary year group at one annual figure rather than by attendance pattern, and the school describes it as ages 2 to 3. A non-refundable application fee of AED 500 applies, although the same page also states it is refundable if a family chooses not to proceed after a tour or if no place can be offered, and that it can be transferred to the next academic year; the school contradicts itself there, so confirm before relying on either. A deposit secures a place but its amount is not published, and the school publishes no payment terms, no tuition refund policy and no statement of what tuition includes or excludes.
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KHDA inspection rating
Source: Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB)
Play-based, nature-led early years built on the UK EYFS framework, honouring childhood as a powerful time of learning in its own right. Home-like spaces with soft lighting and enclosed, sensory-rich play areas.
Follows the National Curriculum for England, taught through immersive cross-curricular blocks rather than isolated subjects, so mathematics, art, history and science flow together. A low-tech, high-presence approach introduces digital tools gradually in the upper primary years.
Bright, well-resourced classrooms supporting the school's Head, Heart, Hands approach.
Dedicated spaces for science and hands-on creative learning.
Garden beds and outdoor learning areas for hands-on, inquiry-based study; the gardens themselves are used to teach.
Spaces for working with clay and handwork, plus room for expressive movement.
Open courtyards for exploration, physical games, play and quiet reflection.
Shaded gardens and open green spaces integrated into daily learning.
An elevated treehouse classroom that develops balance and spatial awareness.
Shaded outdoor learning and play areas across the dome-based campus.
Principal
Principal of Al Fanar School (listed on the school's official welcome page).
Co-Head of Education
Assistant Head Teacher
Head of Operations & Academics
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Nad Al Sheba 4, 10th Street, Dubai, United Arab Emirates