← Back to the rankingAmerican College Arcus
Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria · est. 2003 · Private
Illustration · Veliko Tarnovo
American College Arcus (in Bulgarian Amerikanski kolezh Arkus; legally the private profiled high school ChPG AK-Arkus EOOD) is a private fee-paying school in central Veliko Tarnovo, on Dragoman Street. In 2002 ARCUS Co. bought the building of one of the town's first schools and rebuilt it; in 2003 the school admitted its first students and was licensed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science. It teaches the Bulgarian state curriculum from grade 5 to grade 12: grades 5-7 have one natural sciences class, and from grade 8 there are Foreign Languages, Mathematics, Software and Hardware Sciences and Natural Sciences profiles plus the vocational tracks Applied Programmer and Machine Technician. The grade 8 preparatory year has 18 hours of English a week. Lessons are in Bulgarian and English: the Bulgarian site says that in grades 9 to 12 subjects other than Bulgarian language and literature are taught in English as well as Bulgarian, while the English site says all subjects except Bulgarian are taught in English. The school was authorised for the IB Diploma Programme in February 2007 and for the MYP in November 2020; the MYP runs in grades 9-10 combined with the national curriculum, and the Diploma Programme is a two-year course for students aged 16 to 19, taken alongside the Bulgarian curriculum or on its own. Graduates receive the Bulgarian diploma za sredno obrazovanie and sit the matura. In 2025/2026 the school had 303 students in 19 classes. Since 2008 it has had a dormitory for students from other towns. The school says over 90% of its 12th graders apply to universities abroad.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 253–7 863 a year
4 650–6 960 EUR
Programmes
IB · MYP, DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Bulgarian, English
Languages taught
German, Spanish, Russian
Registration fee
≈ $113
100 EUR
About the fees Tuition for 2026-2027: 4650 euro per year for students admitted after grade 4 and for those admitted after grade 7 by entrance exam; for students admitted after grade 7 to vacancies via the national exam the school gives 5150 euro on the tuition page and 4800 euro on the admission overview page. In grades 11-12 with the IB Diploma: 6960 euro per year for the national and IB programmes and 6300 euro for IB only. Tuition covers education, school uniform, insurance, medical service and security, and is paid in two instalments (July and the end of the first term). The 20% of admitted students with the best entrance exam results study free while keeping an average of at least 5.25; the Machine Technician track is fully funded by Arcus and Armaco while the student keeps an average of at least 3.50. The contract with parents runs for 5 years.
Admissions The school says it admits students regardless of sex, nationality, ethnicity, social class or religion. After grade 4 it admits one natural sciences class of 24 places by an entrance exam in general knowledge (in 2026 on 9 May, 90 minutes; fee 100 euro). After grade 7 applicants need a first-term grade 7 average of at least 4.50 and sit a three-part exam of 60 minutes each: English, Bulgarian language and literature, and mathematics; 72 students are admitted to the Foreign Languages, Mathematics and Natural Sciences profiles and 20 to the Machine Technician track. Vacancies after grade 7 are filled from the national grade 7 exam with at least 58 points in Bulgarian and mathematics. Grade 11 admission is only to vacancies, with a certificate of completion of the first stage of secondary education. The school treats as international applicants all who studied at an international or foreign school; they contact the Director, take an English test (unless they hold FCE, CAE, CPE or SAT), a Bulgarian language exam with at least 4.50 and subject exams for the profile, and present a document from the Regional Department of Education confirming the completed grade. The school does not separately mention children without Bulgarian, and the Bulgarian exam is required of all international applicants.
Stages and year groups Grades 5-12, 19 classes. Bulgarian state curriculum (profiled high school): grades 5-7 one natural sciences class; grades 8-12 profiles Foreign Languages, Mathematics (in grade 8) and Software and Hardware Sciences (from grade 9), Natural Sciences, and vocational tracks Applied Programmer and Machine Technician (dual training). After grade 10 a certificate of completion of the first stage of secondary education, after grade 12 the matura and the diploma za sredno obrazovanie. IB MYP in grades 9-10 together with the national curriculum (authorised since November 2020); IB Diploma Programme as a two-year course for students aged 16-19 (authorised since February 2007), taken with the Bulgarian curriculum or IB only. DP subjects at the school: Bulgarian literature, English language and literature, English B, German B and ab initio, Russian ab initio, geography, history, biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, visual arts. In 2025/2026 there were 19 classes.
Address ul. Dragoman 16, Veliko Tarnovo
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · MYP, DP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Middle Years and Diploma programmes at the school (registered as American College Arcus Ltd.); they run alongside the Bulgarian national programme for grades 5-12.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible. DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Exam results Matura 2026: graduates' average in English (B2 level) was 5.48 and in Bulgarian language and literature 5.40 on the six-point scale; two graduates received 6.00 (100 points) in Bulgarian language and literature. On the national grade 7 exam the school's students averaged 83.93 points in Bulgarian language and literature and 68.16 in mathematics, the best result in Veliko Tarnovo Province in both subjects (the school does not state the exam year). The school does not publish IB Diploma results.
Where leavers go: London School of Economics (LSE) · Technical University of Munich · University of Edinburgh · King's College London · University of Manchester · University of Glasgow · University of Vienna · University of Groningen · University of British Columbia · Sofia University
The school lists universities for the classes of 2008-2013: the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Canada, and in Bulgaria Sofia University, economics universities and technical universities. The school says over 90% of its 12th graders apply to universities abroad.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
✓Boarding
Campus: The school occupies a late 19th century building in central Veliko Tarnovo, bought in 2002 and rebuilt with an added storey and a conference hall. It has 15 classrooms, physics, biology and chemistry labs, 4 computer labs, a library of more than 12000 volumes (about two thirds of titles in English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese and Hebrew), a gymnasium and fitness centre, a shooting range, an auditorium, a medical office, a canteen with 112 seats run by an outside company, and a buffet. Since 2008 the school has had a dormitory for students from outside Veliko Tarnovo: 27 double rooms and 1 triple room with Wi-Fi, air-conditioning and a fridge, 24-hour security, a residential supervisor and a curfew; meals are not included in the rent.
Clubs and activities: Art & Design · Green Guardians · Faith and Love · Photo Club · Basketball Club · Volleyball Club · Tourism Club
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
✓Number of teachers35
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
The departments page names 35 teachers: Bulgarian language and literature, English language and literature, German, Spanish, mathematics, computer science and IT, history, geography and economics, philosophy, and natural sciences. English lessons are taught by a native speaker paired with a Bulgarian English teacher; in the grade 8 preparatory year English is taught in small groups by level. The school does not publish teachers' degrees or qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
✓CCTV
✓Security staff
✓Access control
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school and dormitory are under 24/7 video surveillance, the school has a security office staffed 24 hours a day and fire detection and evacuation systems; the school has access control rules, a code of ethics, an incident action plan and a drug prevention mechanism for 2026/2027. A medical office works on weekdays. The school psychologist counsels students, parents and teachers on behaviour, conflicts and addiction prevention.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)88 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data90 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data90 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country