Cities / Abu Dhabi / GEMS American Academy Abu Dhabi
GEMS American Academy Abu Dhabi
GEMS American-curriculum school in Khalifa City offering both AP and IB DP, KG1-Grade 12.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K-KG2 | 3 | AED 57,850 |
| Grade 1-12 | 6 | AED 80,610 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Registration Fee (5% of annual tuition - new students) | AED 2,893 | |
| Re-enrolment Fee (5% of annual tuition) | AED 2,893 |
Reviews
Big, established GEMS campus in Khalifa City with a broad American and IB offer through to grade 12. The ADEK rating is Very Good, with curriculum, pastoral care, and leadership pulled up to Outstanding. The pitch parents respond to is breadth: AP, IB, American diploma, and a hybrid track, plus a fully-staffed activities programme included in fees. The standard complaints are cost, the Khalifa City commute, and a sense that the facilities are more impressive on a tour than they are in daily use.
Positives
- Curriculum breadth. One of the wider high-school menus in Abu Dhabi: American diploma, AP, IB Diploma, and a hybrid path. IB averages in the low 30s with a 45 and a 42 in the 2025 cohort, and the first AP year produced 50% of exams at 3 or above.
- Pastoral care and inclusion. Six full-time counsellors, a structured inclusion department, and ELL built in. ADEK rates protection, care, and support Outstanding. Parents describe staff as approachable and the school as warm rather than transactional.
- Early years and kindergarten. KG is the strongest phase by a clear margin. Inspectors call out outstanding teaching and foundational skills, and parents echo the picture for the youngest children.
- Activities included in fees. Staff-run after-school programme spanning sport, arts, and academics, all inside tuition. With premium fees that is a real point of difference against schools where every club is an add-on.
Considerations
- Cost and value. Premium pricing at AED 58,000 to 80,600. Surveyed parents are unusually negative on value, and extras add up: uniforms, lunches, transport, supplies, and trips all sit outside the headline number.
- Khalifa City commute. Sited well outside the central island. Families from downtown Abu Dhabi report 25 to 45 minutes each way depending on traffic, which shapes the practical experience as much as the academic one.
- English-medium consistency across phases. Inspectors flag uneven results in English-medium subjects across phases, partly linked to a growing ELL intake. Reading comprehension and extended writing in English and Arabic are named as areas to lift.
- Scale and growth. Around 1,850 to 2,000 pupils across pre-KG to grade 12 with average classes of 24. Some parents describe the school as busy and crowded as numbers climb, and feel facilities like the planetarium and music tech lab get less use than the marketing implies.
Leadership
Dr. Ethan Hildreth
A seasoned and distinguished educator and school leader, he boasts over three decades of diverse experience and firmly believes that the goal of education is daily growth for the purpose of helping our families, communities, and world. Dr. Hildreth has worked with schools in the United States, Netherlands, Russia, India, China and the UAE. He was the superintendent of one of the largest school districts in the US, looking after over 40,000 students across 50 schools, and has experience as principal at all levels including elementary, middle and high school, as well as serving as a college instructor and high school Advanced Placement teacher.
Accreditations
- Council of International Schools 01
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges 02
Academic results
- IB Diploma 2024 average 38 points
- SAT average 655
- PISA Mathematical Literacy 548
Location
16th Street - Madinat Khalifa A - مدينة خليفة - جنوب شرق 1 - أبو ظبي - United Arab Emirates