In Dubai Sports City, a new school built with a Dh367 million investment is redefining premium education. At GEMS School of Research and Innovation (SRI), students build miniature Teslas, code self-driving cars, and learn from AI avatars. With annual fees surpassing Dh200,000 for senior grades, it is now Dubai’s most expensive school and among the priciest in the world.
A New Model for Education
Spanning 47,600 square metres, the campus was developed with an investment 30 per cent higher than previous premium school projects. School leaders insist the cost reflects unprecedented access to university-grade labs, industrial robotics, and a research ecosystem rarely seen at the K-12 level.
During a tour of the campus, Baz Nijjar, Vice President of Education Technology at GEMS Education, highlighted a 360-degree immersive room projecting an underwater world. “This is about immersing them in the learning environment,” he said. “They’re more willing to learn if they see and feel what the storyline is. It creates curiosity.”
Industry-Level Technology and Partnerships
The school’s innovation centre provides what it calls an “industry-level learning ecosystem”. Even the youngest students build mini Teslas to understand computational thinking, starting with AI pet robots and simple sequencing cards before progressing to advanced robotics. This hands-on approach to digital innovation aligns with broader city-wide initiatives to foster technical skills from a young age.
“We’ve got various levels of robotics,” Nijjar explained, citing partnerships with Boston Dynamics, Kawasaki, and KUKA Robotics. “Normally, you would have to go to a university or an industry lab to access this, but we bring them here.” Industry specialists, from AI researchers to engineers, work directly with students daily.
Using a platform from EON Reality, students can generate virtual learning environments and interact with AI avatars that guide their lessons.
Justifying the Investment
When asked about the high fees, Nijjar was direct. He explained that while other top schools may specialise in a few areas, SRI has invested heavily across all disciplines, from facilities and equipment to partnerships with universities and industry. The goal is not to replicate traditional premium schools but to surpass them. “Why not have industry-level, university-level? Why not challenge the traditional curriculum to go beyond?” he asked.
SRI follows the British curriculum but integrates a research-first model, allowing students to accelerate their learning or pursue specialised pathways in sports, arts, or technology.
Campus Facilities and Programmes
The campus facilities are built to a professional standard. Sports amenities include a 400-metre competition track, a FIFA-standard pitch, and an Olympic-sized FINA-certified swimming pool. The performing arts wing features a 600-seat auditorium, a Black Box Theatre, and an all-Steinway Premier Music Academy.
Specialised zones include an F1 and Karting Engineering Lab, a professional-grade media suite, and a FoodTec Lab with hydroponics and 3D food printing. The campus also generates 30 per cent of its power from solar energy, integrating sustainability into its teaching.
Personalised Learning and Community
A key innovation is the “360 profile”, a system that maps each student’s academic, cognitive, and behavioural growth by merging performance data with aptitude testing. This data informs a personalised SRI Diploma Pathway, which strengthens university applications.
Principal and CEO James Monaghan emphasised that the school has recruited top-tier staff, with most teachers coming from the UK private school system. Despite its technological focus, the school also encourages parental involvement through a dedicated café and weekly ‘Family First Fridays’ information sessions.
With around 500 students in its first year, SRI is poised for growth as its upper-year groups and secondary innovation hubs open through 2025. The school offers a comprehensive environment where a seven-year-old can begin coding a self-driving car and a teenager can work with industrial robots, all while building a research-backed profile for their future.
