What parents can expect from doris in 2026 (and why this matters for schools)

Finding the right international school can feel overwhelming, especially for families doing it for the first time and trying to make the best possible decision against a hard deadline. New systems, unfamiliar terminology, thousands of options, and a decision that feels far too important to get wrong.

doris exists to make that process less stressful, confusing and time consuming for overwhelmed parents. While this core purpose will never change, the scope of what we’re building is growing quickly and deliberately.

Here’s what parents can expect from doris in 2026, and why each of these things makes life better for schools too.

1. A truly global starting point for school discovery

When doris started, we decided to focus on connecting parents with schools in South East Asia. Countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong seemed like natural fits: they are some of the most vibrant and most popular relocation destinations in the world, making them places where better discovery could have the biggest impact for parents and deliver real, immediate value for schools too.

In 2026, that's about to change.

Parents looking for international schools around the world will also be able to access a better discovery experience. We’re expanding our reach to include new countries across East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and beyond, with the ambition of eventually covering international schools worldwide.

By early 2026, we'll make around 9,000 schools to be discoverable on doris, giving parents a much broader and more representative view of their options, wherever they’re moving or planning ahead.

For parents, this means one consistent, trusted place to research schools anywhere in the world.

For schools, it means global visibility. Schools outside South East Asia can now be discovered by relocating and local families much earlier in their journey, and those interested in partnering with us can gain a meaningful head start in their own competitive markets.

(Want to be one of the first schools live in your country? Let us know by getting in touch here)

2. Local language support

3. A platform shaped by parents who’ve been through it

One of the hardest things about improving school discovery is understanding what parents actually struggle with, rather than what we assume they struggle with.

That’s why we’ve created a parent advisory board: a group of parents who have already been through the international school search and know exactly how confusing, stressful and time-consuming it can be.

In 2026, parents can expect doris to reflect that lived experience more and more. From how information is presented, to the questions we help answer, to the moments where guidance really matters, parent feedback will continue to shape the product.

For schools, this means the families reaching out are better informed, more realistic, and clearer about what they’re looking for, because the discovery journey has been designed around real parent pain points.

4. Parent champions

This brings us to one of the updates we're most excited about: in 2026, prospective parents will be able to directly chat with a selected group of parent champions - parents of children who are already studying at the school they're interesting in. 

It'll be a game-changer for both prospective families and schools who are looking to build trust and stronger connections with them, and a great way to stand out from the crowd. 

This will be a feature exclusively available to partner schools. 

5. Even easier, more intuitive search (with some help from AI)

Many parents come to doris feeling unsure where to start. They may be relocating, navigating a new education system, or searching for the first time.

In 2026, doris will continue to prioritise making search simpler and less (dare we say it?) soul-crushing. Parents can expect an experience that helps them understand their needs, narrow options confidently, and return again and again as their thinking evolves.

This is where AI comes into play: it will increasingly help doris recognise when a parent is ready to move forward, based on how they’re using the platform. For example, when it makes sense, doris will gently prompt next steps, such as asking the user whether they’d like to get in touch with a school they’ve been returning to.

6. Better education for first-time searchers

A large number of parents searching for international schools on doris are doing so for the first time. They’re often confronted with terminology they may have barely encountered before:

What’s the difference between the IB and the British curriculum, and what does it mean in practice?
How do school fees actually work?
What should they prioritise for kids at different ages?

For schools, these questions and terms are part of a shared language. But for parents new to international schooling, they can feel like a wall of essential information landing all at once, on top of an already daunting list of things to understand in order to make a move work for their family.

In 2026, parents can expect doris to do more to explain these fundamentals clearly and neutrally - not to push them in any particular direction, but to help them understand what a successful outcome looks like and make more confident decisions.

For schools, being discovered by better-informed parents means fewer misunderstandings, fewer mismatched expectations, and more productive engagement from the very first conversation. In short: less work required to connect with the right families.

7. A continued commitment to impartiality and trust

This isn’t new, but it’s perhaps the most important point of all: parents can expect doris to remain impartial and parents-first.

We know trust is fragile in school discovery. Parents are wary and frustrated by paid rankings, hidden prioritisation and biased recommendations, and the desire to change this is what led us to build doris in the first place.

In 2026, schools will continue to be shown to families based on relevance and fit, not on who paid the most. Parents will always be able to understand why certain schools appear in their search results, and trust the process as a result.

That trust benefits schools too. When parents arrive having had a fair, unbiased discovery experience, that confidence carries into how they perceive the schools they engage with. And trust is exactly what families are looking for when choosing a school for their children.