Moving to Riyadh with children: schools and curricula

Examples of international schools in Riyadh

From each school's own website, checked October 2026. A starting point, not a ranking.

International, private national or state school?

International schools teach a foreign curriculum, usually British, American or IB, in English. They are licensed by the Ministry of Education and add the subjects the Ministry requires, which typically means Arabic and Islamic studies for Muslim students and Saudi social studies. Private national schools teach the Saudi curriculum, often with extra English or an international track. State schools teach the Saudi curriculum in Arabic.

Places in state schools for non-Saudi children are limited. The Ministry sets the share of non-Saudi students at 15% across the three stages under Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 5/3/1409 AH, applied by district, and non-Saudi children with valid residency are placed in seats left after Saudi students are registered. Children of GCC citizens, children of Saudi mothers and some other groups are exempt from the quota.

Documents the Ministry asks for

For state schools, from the Ministry's admission conditions for students from abroad. Documents must be attested by the education authority in the issuing country, its foreign ministry and the Saudi embassy or cultural attaché. International schools set their own admission documents but usually ask for the same attested records.

Getting certificates right before you travel

The single most useful thing to do before moving is to have your child's recent certificates attested in the country that issued them. The Ministry's equivalency rules require the school to be accredited by its education authority, the study to be in regular attendance with a clear progression, documents to be authenticated by the issuing education ministry, the foreign ministry and the Saudi embassy or cultural attaché, and certified translations for anything not in Arabic or English. Names must match passports and iqamas exactly.

For grades below the final year of secondary school, equivalency is handled by the regional education departments, which place the student in the appropriate grade. A child who has had a gap in schooling needs an official statement or a guardian's declaration covering the gap.

The school year and week

Saudi schools run Sunday to Thursday. The Cabinet approved a return to two semesters for 1447 and 1448 AH, so 2026-27 has two terms in Ministry schools. Private and international schools may move the start of the year by up to two weeks either side of the Ministry calendar and set their own breaks within it, so check each school's calendar. Our Saudi school calendar page lists the 1448 dates.

Questions to ask a Riyadh school

• Which curriculum and exam boards do you follow, and for which year groups?
• Which accreditations do you hold (for example NEASC, CIS or a British inspection), and when is the next visit?
• How are Arabic, Islamic studies and Saudi social studies timetabled, and do non-Arabic speakers get a separate Arabic track?
• What documents and attestations do you need, and by when?
• Is there an entrance assessment, and what support do new arrivals get?

How one-to-one lessons help after the move

Moving countries usually means a new syllabus, a new exam board or a new teaching language for at least one subject. A tutor can check the gap between your child's last school and the new one and close it topic by topic: IGCSE maths for a child from an American school, US-style English writing for a child from a British one, or Saudi curriculum maths and science for a child joining a national school.

LiveTutor lessons are one to one, 60 minutes, online, after school in Riyadh time. Arabic-speaking tutors are available for some subjects, ask when you book.