Virtual School in Saudi Arabia: Tabuk, Jubail, Yanbu, Al Ahsa and the Final School Years

By Brendaliz Chelangat, Head of Academics · October 2026 · 10 min read

Saudi Arabia’s international schools are concentrated in three places: Riyadh, Jeddah and the Dhahran, Al Khobar and Dammam triangle in the Eastern Province. The country is much larger than that. Families live and work in Tabuk Province and the north-west, in the industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu, in Al Ahsa, in Abha and in Qassim. Some are on project contracts; many are Saudi families who want an English-taught international qualification for university. This guide covers how live online teaching fits for them, the rules that apply, and the last two school years, when the university question decides what a child should be studying.

A large country with three school hubs

In Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province, families can usually find a British, American or IB school, even if the wait for a place is long. Elsewhere the choice narrows sharply. A family in Tabuk, Hail or Abha may have a good private school nearby but no IGCSE Physics teacher, no AP Calculus and no A Level Further Mathematics. The alternatives have been boarding, a move to one of the big cities, or a parent and children living apart during the week. A live subject class changes that. The same clock helps: Saudi Arabia is on UTC+3, exactly the same as Nairobi, so a 16:00 class in Tabuk is 16:00 for our teachers. There is no time difference to plan around, all year.

The north-west and the giga-projects

NEOM and the Red Sea developments have brought engineers, architects, hospitality specialists and their families to Tabuk Province, a long way from established schools: Riyadh is around 1,200 kilometres away and Jeddah around 850. International schools in the region are being developed, but families arriving now often need something that works immediately. Our teaching is live, small-group and recorded, so a connection problem on a construction site or a family trip does not mean a lost lesson. The curriculum and exam board then continue unchanged when the contract ends and the family moves on, whether that is to Riyadh, Dubai, London or the next project somewhere else. Families who later move to a Riyadh or Jeddah school take the same record with them.

Jubail, Yanbu and the shift-pattern parent

The Royal Commission cities of Jubail on the Gulf and Yanbu on the Red Sea are built around refining and petrochemicals, with SABIC, Saudi Aramco and their partners among the largest employers. Many parents work rotations or shifts. The schools in both cities serve their communities well, but small year groups mean the upper secondary subject list is limited. The pattern that works best is the local school as the base, with two or three IGCSE or A Level subjects taken with us in the afternoon, Sunday to Thursday. For older students aiming at engineering, AS and A Level Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics are the subjects most often missing locally.

Saudi families: alongside the national pathway

Saudi families who want an international qualification use it alongside the Ministry of Education’s national pathway, not in place of it. The school keeps Arabic, Islamic studies and the national record. We add English, Mathematics and the sciences at IGCSE, then AS and A Level, for students aiming at English-taught programmes in the Kingdom or abroad. In Al Ahsa, Qassim and the south-west this is often the only realistic way to reach a specialist teacher in those subjects. Lessons are taught by qualified teachers in small live groups, and every lesson is recorded. A student in Abha or Buraidah joins the same group as one in Jeddah or Nairobi, and the teacher marks their work to the same standard.

The final two years and the university question

By the last two school years the target should decide the subjects. For Saudi universities such as King Saud University, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and King Abdulaziz University, results usually need Ministry of Education equivalency, and many programmes also look at national admission tests run by the Education and Training Evaluation Commission. Each university publishes its own requirements, so check them, and ask whether private-candidate results are accepted, before subjects are fixed. For UCAS, North American or other universities abroad, Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel A Levels are read directly. Private candidates sit exams through the British Council in Riyadh, Jeddah or Al Khobar; centres are confirmed per family, per session, and families from Tabuk or the south should plan the journey early.

The rules, and when the local school is right

Saudi Arabia does not have a formal homeschool registration framework comparable to the UK or the USA. The Ministry of Education regulates physical schools, and its mandate does not formally cover online delivery for non-Saudi expatriate families, who in practice study under home-country curriculum documentation, which we provide. Smartious claims no approval from the Saudi Ministry of Education. Confirm your own position with the Ministry before relying on online study full-time. And the local school is often the right answer: if your child is settled, the subjects are there and the target is a Saudi university through the national route, stay. We are most useful where a subject, a teacher or a school place is genuinely missing.

Saudi Arabia’s international schools are in three places, and its families are in many more. A live subject teacher on the same clock as the Kingdom closes much of that distance, usually alongside the local school, and the final two years are where the university target should shape every subject choice. If you are in Tabuk, Jubail, Yanbu, Al Ahsa or anywhere beyond the main cities, book an assessment and we will start with your child’s school and their target.

Frequently asked questions

What time are live classes in Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia is on Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3), the same as Nairobi, so a 9:00 lesson is 9:00 in Riyadh, Tabuk and Jubail. Classes run Sunday to Thursday and every lesson is recorded.

Can my child stay at their Saudi school and add subjects?

Yes. For Saudi families, international subjects run alongside the national school, and for many expatriate families outside the big three cities that is also the best arrangement.

Where would a student from Tabuk or Yanbu sit exams?

Private-candidate entries go through the British Council in Riyadh, Jeddah or Al Khobar. Centres are confirmed per family, per session, so plan the journey early.

Will Saudi universities accept IGCSE and A Level?

Usually through Ministry of Education equivalency and each university’s own rules, which can include national tests. Check with the university before choosing subjects.

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