Key takeaways
nternational families in Saudi Arabia face a predictable problem. The private international school you planned to use has a waitlist. The fees are steep, and your child's academic year is already running. More families across Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam are turning to accredited virtual schools as a practical answer. Not as a compromise – as a deliberate choice.
Legacy Online School has been operating since 2023 and now serves learners in 30+ countries. The curriculum is American, the accreditation is WASC, and the instruction is live.
- Legacy is a WASC-accredited private online school, not a homeschooling provider or tutoring service
- The full K–12 program runs through the FlexPoint Education Cloud curriculum, the same platform as Florida Virtual School
- 19 Advanced Placement (AP) courses are available, all College Board recognized
- The diploma is recognized by universities across the US and internationally, including Penn State, University of Maryland, and Embry-Riddle
Contents
- 1 Why Families in Jeddah and across Saudi Arabia Choose an Online School
- 2 What Schooling in Saudi Arabia Looks Like for Expats
- 3 The Legacy Online School Curriculum
- 4 Three Learning Plans, One Accredited School
- 5 Academic Excellence: Diploma and University Outcomes
- 6 One Family’s Story
- 7 Cultural and Religious Values
- 8 Top Tips from Our Expert
Disclaimer: Legacy Online School is a US-based accredited private online school. It is not licensed by the Saudi Ministry of Education and does not operate as a Saudi educational institution. Families are responsible for verifying that online schooling arrangements meet any applicable local requirements based on their visa status and residency. This page does not constitute legal or immigration advice.
Why Families in Jeddah and across Saudi Arabia Choose an Online School
Private international schools in KSA serve their purpose. But they’re expensive, geographically fixed, and not always available when you need them. A family arriving mid-year in Jeddah doesn’t get a spot at a full international school by Friday. Legacy enrollment, by contrast, takes 48 hours.
The flexibility matters beyond just speed. Expat families relocate. Some move every two or three years. A school tied to a physical campus in one Saudi city doesn’t travel with you. An accredited virtual school does. The transcript follows the child, not the building.
For families with children who don’t fit the traditional school schedule – competitive athletes, children with specific learning needs, kids who are simply ready to move faster – a rigid school calendar isn’t always the right structure. Self-paced learning and one-on-one instruction create a learning experience that fits the child – without sacrificing academic rigor.
What Schooling in Saudi Arabia Looks Like for Expats
Most expat families in Saudi Arabia have three real options: private international schools (British or American curriculum, $8,000–$25,000+ per year), employer-provided compound schooling (depends entirely on your contract), or accredited home-based options.
According to Expatica’s guide to education in Saudi Arabia, private international school fees in the country can reach well into six figures in Saudi riyals annually, making accredited online schooling an increasingly practical alternative for mobile expat families.
Legacy fits that third category. It’s a home school in the sense that children study from wherever they are – but it’s not homeschooling. There’s a real school structure behind it. Qualified teachers deliver live online classes. Assignments are graded. Report cards are issued. The academic record is continuous and transferable.
The British curriculum has a strong presence in Saudi Arabia through several international schools. But the American curriculum has distinct advantages for families planning to apply to US universities. AP courses are the clearest example. They’re college-level. Universities across the globe recognize them. And Legacy offers 19 of them – from AP Calculus to AP US History to AP Computer Science.
The Legacy Online School Curriculum
The curriculum runs through FlexPoint Education Cloud, developed by Florida Virtual School. It follows the American academic framework from Kindergarten through Grade 12.
For younger learners, the online elementary school program covers Grades K–5. The online middle school runs Grades 6–8. And the online high school – Grades 9–12 – includes the full AP course catalog and college guidance support.
19 AP courses – see the full list. All of them recognized by the College Board. AP scores submit directly to universities. For a child planning to apply to American universities – or universities in Europe and beyond that recognize the American curriculum – this is meaningful.
Dual enrollment with Arizona State University (ASU) and University of South Florida (USF) is also available through Legacy’s partnership program. High schoolers earning college credit before graduation. That’s a different kind of head start.
Three Learning Plans, One Accredited School
Families aren’t all the same. Neither are children. Legacy runs three formats under the same accredited school structure.
Live Group brings up to 15 classmates together in a scheduled live session with a qualified teacher. It’s structured like a school day. Best for children who need routine and real-time interaction.
One-on-One is exactly what it sounds like. One child, one teacher, fully personalized learning – no group constraints, schedule built around your child. This is the right fit for children with specific educational needs or unusual scheduling demands.
Self-Paced removes the fixed calendar entirely. No synchronized sessions. Work gets done when it gets done – teachers grade assignments and return feedback on the student’s timeline. Families with unpredictable schedules tend to prefer this. So do children who simply move faster alone. Fully valid academically. Not a lighter version of anything.
Fees and enrollment details are on the tuition page.
Academic Excellence: Diploma and University Outcomes
The diploma from Legacy is issued by a WASC-accredited institution. Not Cognia. Not a GED. And not a certificate. A fully accredited high school diploma from a school held to the same standard as private schools across California and the western United States.
Universities that have accepted Legacy graduates include Penn State, Florida Gulf Coast University, University of New Haven (with a $30,000 merit scholarship), UNC Wilmington, University of Maryland, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The full verified list is at our school profile.
AP credits accepted by 500+ universities worldwide. That’s the College Board’s own data.
For families thinking about university admissions, college guidance programs are part of what Legacy offers. Students working on university applications get structured support – not a one-time meeting, but ongoing guidance through the process.
One Family’s Story
Omar Khalid moved his family from London to Riyadh in September 2024 for a two-year work contract. His son, Tariq, was 15 and in the middle of his secondary school years. The British international school they’d researched had no vacancies.
They enrolled Tariq in Legacy’s Live Group online high school track within two weeks of arriving. He continued his academic year without interruption, joined the AP US History course in January, and sat the College Board exam in May. When the family plans their next move – likely back to the UK or possibly to the US – Tariq’s transcript goes with him.
“We didn’t lose a year,” Omar said. “That was the main thing.”
Cultural and Religious Values
Legacy’s American curriculum covers world history, sciences, literature, and arts in an academic context. It does not include Islamic studies as part of the standard program. Families who want religious education alongside the academic curriculum typically arrange that separately.
The school operates entirely online, which means there are no campus-based social dynamics to navigate. Classes are international – Saudi Arabian learners sit in the same session as children from Germany, the UAE, Portugal, and the US. That international exposure is part of what the school offers, not a side effect.
Virtual clubs and extracurricular activities are included in all learning plans. Debate, coding, creative writing, and more – scheduled outside core academic hours.
Top Tips from Our Expert
Maya Robinson, College Prep Advisor at Legacy Online School
- Families across Saudi Arabia looking at virtual schooling should confirm accreditation first – WASC is the relevant US standard; without it, the diploma may not be recognized at US universities
- AP courses are the most direct path to US university admissions from a virtual school; 19 available at Legacy means a student can build a genuinely competitive transcript
- The Self-Paced plan suits pupils who are academically ready to move at their own speed – it’s not a lesser option, just a different structure
- College guidance isn’t just for Grade 12; starting the conversation in Grade 10 makes the application process significantly less stressful
- Book a trial class before committing; seeing the live session format firsthand tells you more than any brochure
Disclaimer: Legacy Online School is a US-based WASC-accredited private school. It is not licensed by the Saudi Ministry of Education and does not represent itself as a Saudi educational institution. Families are responsible for confirming that their schooling arrangement complies with applicable Saudi regulations based on their individual residency and visa status. Legacy does not provide legal, immigration, or regulatory advice.
