The ranking holds 26 schools with an international accreditation or an authorised programme. International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 11 of them. The British Cambridge route, IGCSE and A-Level, at 14. A year of school costs from €6 200 to €28 050. A swimming pool on site is confirmed at 5.
We do not take reviews from maps and directories: their terms forbid it, and nobody checks the quality there. Everything below comes from the official registers of the accrediting organisations and from the schools' own sites, and every fact carries its source and the date of the check.
| Cheapest | $7 004 a year | Maria International School of Bucharest |
| Median | $21 239 a year | top of the fee range at 14 schools with a published fee |
| Most expensive | $31 689 a year | American International School of Bucharest |
Figures are converted to dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish their fees in their own currency. One-off charges, meals, transport and uniform are not included unless the school says otherwise. Fees for schools in Bucharest are taken from published price lists, not from what third parties say.
25 of the 26 schools in the ranking are private. The other 1 is a state school, set out below. The type of school does not affect the score: private and state schools sit in one list and are scored by the same formula, and only verifiable data moves the number.
1 school with an international accreditation is funded by the state: Greek School of Bucharest "Athena". Admission to these schools is usually competitive, and tuition is free or markedly cheaper than at a private school. In the ranking they stand alongside private schools and are scored on the same nine criteria.
Schools in Bucharest with an IB programme (11): Genesis College, Verita International School, International School of Bucharest, Liceul Teoretic Școala Europeană București, Bucharest-Beirut International School, American International School of Bucharest, Mark Twain International School, Cambridge School of Bucharest, Olga Gudynn International School, Liceul Teoretic Little London, Școala Germană Hermann Oberth. 4 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP. Authorisation is confirmed against the International Baccalaureate register.
The British Cambridge programme - IGCSE and A-Level - is taught at 14 schools in Bucharest: Avenor College, Liceul Teoretic Școala Mea, IOANID School, Verita International School, International School of Bucharest, International British School of Bucharest, King’s Oak British International School, King George British International School, British School of Bucharest, Mark Twain International School, Cambridge School of Bucharest, Questfield International College, Olga Gudynn International School, Liceul Maarif International School of Bucharest.
These schools stand in the suburbs, up to 9 km from the centre of Bucharest. Each card names the school's own town; they are gathered here because a family in Bucharest chooses between them as between districts of one place.
A facility counts only when the school names it outright on its own site: a modern campus is not a swimming pool. Swimming pool: 5 schools · School transport: 16 schools.
Comparing schools on a single feature is useless: the most expensive is not the best, and a famous name says nothing about what is backed by documents. The score is therefore built from nine criteria with different weights - from academic programmes and accreditation to facilities, clubs and fees relative to other schools in the country.
A criterion counts towards the score only when there is verifiable data behind it. That is why every score says how many of the nine criteria were counted: at schools in Bucharest that is 7.5 out of 9 on average. A school with a detailed site and a school with no site cannot earn an equally reliable score, and that is shown rather than hidden.
Ratings and reviews from Google Maps and other map services are not used: their terms forbid aggregation. Only verified reviews left here count. Full methodology →
Published fees run from $7 004 to $31 689 for a school year. The cheapest is Maria International School of Bucharest, the most expensive American International School of Bucharest. The median for the senior stage is $21 239 a year. Fees are converted into dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish them in their own currency.
Avenor College comes first with 80.8 points out of 100, counted from 8 of the 9 criteria. Next come American International School of Bucharest (80.5) and Genesis College (80.0). The score is built from data anyone can check: accreditations found in official registers, programmes, facilities and published fees. A place in the ranking is not for sale.
The ranking holds 26 schools: 25 private and 1 state (Greek School of Bucharest "Athena"). Private and state schools go into the ranking on equal terms.
International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 11 schools: Genesis College, Verita International School, International School of Bucharest, Liceul Teoretic Școala Europeană București, Bucharest-Beirut International School, American International School of Bucharest, Mark Twain International School, Cambridge School of Bucharest, Olga Gudynn International School, Liceul Teoretic Little London, Școala Germană Hermann Oberth. 4 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP.
IGCSE and A-Level are offered by 14 schools: Avenor College, Liceul Teoretic Școala Mea, IOANID School, Verita International School, International School of Bucharest, International British School of Bucharest, King’s Oak British International School, King George British International School, British School of Bucharest, Mark Twain International School, Cambridge School of Bucharest, Questfield International College, Olga Gudynn International School, Liceul Maarif International School of Bucharest.
The earliest intake starts at 18 months old. 24 schools have a preschool section.
The score of every school adds up from nine criteria with different weights: academic programmes, accreditation, facilities, clubs, the fee against other schools in the country, reviews, university destinations, safety and teachers. A criterion counts only when there is data behind it that can be checked, so every score says how many of the nine were counted. Right now that is 7.5 out of 9 on average. We do not use reviews from maps or directories.