Yara International School

A K to 12 CBSE Indian-curriculum school established on 17 May 2003 to serve the Indian diaspora in Riyadh, now with more than 3,000 pupils on its Ad-Dirah campus.

Yara started in 2003 with 79 pupils in a private villa in Ar-Rabwah and moved to its current Ad-Dirah site in 2013, in the former campus of the Female Student Study Centre of Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, next to Qasr Al Hokm metro station. The CBSE programme runs from kindergarten to Grade 12, with the British curriculum offered as a parallel route between 2019 and 2023 before being discontinued. In 2024 Yara became the first Indian school in the Kingdom to receive NABET accreditation from the Quality Council of India.

Parents describe a strong CBSE academic record, well-equipped digital classrooms and labs, an active extracurricular programme and warm class teachers. The student body is heavily Indian, the value proposition is academic outcomes at Indian-school price points rather than premium international facilities, and the school is one of the better-known names in the Riyadh CBSE segment.

• Parents and community reviewers mostly describe a value-focused Indian-curriculum school with strong academics, modern facilities, and active co-curricular life.
• Staff signal is mixed. Some teachers praise timely pay, respect, and professional growth, while others flag workload, limited staff facilities, slow financial growth, and leadership concerns.
• The useful parent-facing signal is positive, but much of the public detail is broad and promotional-sounding, so the staff comments add important caution.