Al Faris International School Riyadh

A full IB continuum school in At Taawun, one of a small number of Riyadh schools authorised for PYP, MYP and the Diploma, sitting in the upper-mid fee tier.

Al Faris was founded in 2004, gained IB Diploma authorisation in 2016 and PYP and MYP in 2017, and is COGNIA-accredited. Around 2,400 students span ages 3 to 18, with fees roughly SAR 42,000 to SAR 50,000. The head is Sahar Al Marzouki.

Opinion among parents is sharply split. The supportive camp credits dedicated teachers, easy day-to-day communication and visible academic progress. The critical camp argues the IB programme is implemented in a way that sits awkwardly with the IB ethos, citing strict gender separation, harsh grade boundaries and a heavy-handed discipline style, and several question whether the senior school feels more like an American diploma operation than a true IB Diploma school. Administration and registration come up as a separate friction point.

• Reviews are polarised. One parent rated the school Fantastic and praised easy teacher communication and the IB programme. Two others gave it Average or Terrible ratings.
• One parent said the school is "not exactly a school. Definitely not by realistic Western standards" and described the IB diploma implementation as distorted from genuine IB practice. Another challenged whether it is operating as a real IB school in delivery, despite full PYP, MYP and DP authorisation.
• A 2025 review reported a campus move that left the new site without labs, playgrounds, on-campus internet, or uniforms at the start of term, with limited admin transparency.
• IB results sit above global average (35-point school average in early diploma cohorts).
• Independent reviewers flag no English-language support for non-fluent students, a gap that affects a 40-percent non-Saudi cohort.
• Recurring complaints involve gender segregation policies, strict discipline, and harsh grading boundaries.