The ranking holds 55 schools with an international accreditation or an authorised programme. International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 39 of them. The British Cambridge route, IGCSE and A-Level, at 10. A year of school costs from €1 890 to €24 530. A swimming pool on site is confirmed at 10.
6 schools publish a monthly fee rather than a yearly one and do not say how many payments they charge over a school year. We count such a year as ten payments: that is the number charged by the schools that do state it, and that is how long the school year runs in most countries of the ranking.
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 | $2 135 a year | Colegio Estudiantes Las Tablas |
| Median | $12 303 a year | top of the fee range at 24 schools with a published fee |
| Most expensive | $27 712 a year | Brewster Madrid - Chamberí Campus |
| Free | 3 schools | IES Cervantes, IES San Juan Bautista, IES Ramiro de Maeztu |
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 Madrid are taken from published price lists, not from what third parties say.
49 of the 55 schools in the ranking are private. The other 6 are state schools, 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.
3 schools in Madrid teach an international programme with no tuition fee: IES Cervantes, IES San Juan Bautista, IES Ramiro de Maeztu. On value for money such schools get the top score, because they sit outside the price range altogether.
6 schools with an international accreditation are funded by the state: IES Cervantes, IES San Juan Bautista, IES Príncipe Felipe, IES Ramiro de Maeztu, IES Avenida de los Toreros, IES San Isidro. 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 Madrid with an IB programme (39): Internacional Aravaca, Arcángel International School, Colegio Arturo Soria, Colegio Santa María de los Rosales, Colegio Ramón y Cajal, Colegio Valdefuentes, Colegio CEU San Pablo Claudio Coello, Hastings School, St. Anne's School, The English Montessori School, Colegio CEU San Pablo Sanchinarro, St. George Madrid, Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Recuerdo, Colegio Santa María del Camino, IES Cervantes, The Global College, Liceo Europeo, Colegio Mater Salvatoris, Colegio El Valle Sanchinarro, Colegio Madrid - Fundación Santa María, Colegio Brains Arturo Soria, IES San Juan Bautista, Colegio Alameda de Osuna - Alameda International School, Stella Maris College & Prep School, Colegio Patrocinio de San José, Lighthouse American School, SEK International School Santa Isabel, Richmond Park School, Brains International School Conde de Orgaz, IES Príncipe Felipe, Greenleaves Montessori International School, Brewster Madrid - Chamberí Campus, Colegio San Patricio, Colegio CEU San Pablo Montepríncipe, IES Ramiro de Maeztu, Colegio Sagrado Corazón Chamartín, IES Avenida de los Toreros, Escuela Ideo, IES San Isidro. 8 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 10 schools in Madrid: Highlands School El Encinar, Hastings School, St. Anne's School, The English Montessori School, St. George Madrid, International School of Madrid, Dallington School, Holy Mary British Catholic School, Colegio Estudiantes Las Tablas, Maxwell School.
A facility counts only when the school names it outright on its own site: a modern campus is not a swimming pool. Swimming pool: 10 schools · Boarding: 1 school · School transport: 24 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 Madrid 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, Yandex Maps and 2GIS are not used: their terms forbid aggregation. Only verified reviews left here count. Full methodology →
Published fees run from $2 135 to $27 712 for a school year. The cheapest is Colegio Estudiantes Las Tablas, the most expensive Brewster Madrid - Chamberí Campus. The median for the senior stage is $12 303 a year. Tuition is free at 3 schools: IES Cervantes, IES San Juan Bautista, IES Ramiro de Maeztu. Fees are converted into dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish them in their own currency. 6 schools publish a monthly fee rather than a yearly one and do not say how many payments they charge over a school year. We count such a year as ten payments: that is the number charged by the schools that do state it, and that is how long the school year runs in most countries of the ranking.
Internacional Aravaca comes first with 82.1 points out of 100, counted from 8 of the 9 criteria. Next come Highlands School El Encinar (77.4) and Arcángel International School (77.2). 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 55 schools: 49 private and 6 state (IES Cervantes, IES San Juan Bautista, IES Príncipe Felipe, IES Ramiro de Maeztu, IES Avenida de los Toreros, IES San Isidro). Private and state schools go into the ranking on equal terms.
International Baccalaureate programmes are taught at 39 schools: Internacional Aravaca, Arcángel International School, Colegio Arturo Soria, Colegio Santa María de los Rosales, Colegio Ramón y Cajal, Colegio Valdefuentes, Colegio CEU San Pablo Claudio Coello, Hastings School, St. Anne's School, The English Montessori School, Colegio CEU San Pablo Sanchinarro, St. George Madrid, Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Recuerdo, Colegio Santa María del Camino, IES Cervantes, The Global College, Liceo Europeo, Colegio Mater Salvatoris, Colegio El Valle Sanchinarro, Colegio Madrid - Fundación Santa María, Colegio Brains Arturo Soria, IES San Juan Bautista, Colegio Alameda de Osuna - Alameda International School, Stella Maris College & Prep School, Colegio Patrocinio de San José, Lighthouse American School, SEK International School Santa Isabel, Richmond Park School, Brains International School Conde de Orgaz, IES Príncipe Felipe, Greenleaves Montessori International School, Brewster Madrid - Chamberí Campus, Colegio San Patricio, Colegio CEU San Pablo Montepríncipe, IES Ramiro de Maeztu, Colegio Sagrado Corazón Chamartín, IES Avenida de los Toreros, Escuela Ideo, IES San Isidro. 8 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP.
IGCSE and A-Level are offered by 10 schools: Highlands School El Encinar, Hastings School, St. Anne's School, The English Montessori School, St. George Madrid, International School of Madrid, Dallington School, Holy Mary British Catholic School, Colegio Estudiantes Las Tablas, Maxwell School.
The earliest intake starts at a few months old. 27 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.