Admissions guide · checked October 2026
Dubai International Academy (DIA) Emirates Hills: CAT4 and admissions
DIA Emirates Hills uses digital CAT4 testing for applicants from Year 3 upwards.
What the school asks for
- Year 3 and above: CAT4 digital testing, conducted on an online platform, covering verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning. [1]
- KG2 to Year 2: a personal assessment in English, which may use number work and non-verbal clues. KG1: a parent questionnaire, with no personal assessment. [1]
- A face-to-face interview may also be held where appropriate. [1]
How the process works
- Apply online. Applications are accepted all year; if there are no places, applicants join a waiting list. [1]
- Applicants are invited for assessment subject to available seats. The assessment can be on campus, online under a qualified teacher's supervision, or abroad, and has a non-refundable fee of AED 525. [1]
- For Dubai-based applicants, the school's stated targets are test results within 3 working days and the outcome within 5 working days of the test. [1]
What this means for preparation
DIA describes itself as an IB continuum school offering all four IB programmes. Since CAT4 is the main assessment from Year 3, short regular practice across all four areas is the best preparation, especially the spatial questions, which are often the least familiar.
Practise for the year your child is joining
Free CAT4-style practice with fresh questions every time. Start with the free 20-minute test to see which question types need attention.
The eight CAT4 question types
Figure classification · Figure matrices · Verbal classification · Verbal analogies · Number analogies · Number series · Figure analysis · Figure recognition
Sources
Edzuno is independent and is not affiliated with Dubai International Academy (DIA) Emirates Hills. This page summarises the sources above as of October 2026. Admissions requirements change, so please confirm the current process with the school's admissions team before applying.