← Back to the rankingAnglo-American School of Sofia
Sofia, Bulgaria · est. 1967 · Private
Illustration · Sofia
The Anglo-American School of Sofia (AAS) is a private, not-for-profit international day school from Pre-K to grade 12 in Pancharevo in south-east Sofia. It opened in 1967 for children of US and UK embassy staff: fewer than 15 students in a small building in central Sofia. Later it admitted children from foreign businesses and other embassies, then Bulgarian students; in 2006 it moved to its present campus and in 2010 graduated its first high school class. Today it has almost 600 students from about 50-60 countries and aims for two-thirds international and one-third Bulgarian students. The curriculum is American (Common Core, NGSS and other standards) and the language of instruction is English. In grades 11-12 most students take the IB Diploma, and all graduates receive the AAS High School Diploma. The school reports CIS and NEASC accreditation, IB authorisation and membership of CEESA and ECIS. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $13 566–28 943 a year
12 008–25 619 EUR
Programmes
IB · DP · American programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
French, Spanish, German, Bulgarian
Students per teacher
7 students per teacher
About the fees Annual tuition for 2026-2027: Pre-K 12008 euro, K to grade 5 22300 euro, grades 6-8 23983 euro, grades 9-12 25619 euro. On top of tuition there is an annual Capital Fee of 3402 euro, and new students pay an Entrance Capital Fee of 1707 euro and a Registration Fee of 1102 euro. Totals range from 18219 to 31830 euro for new students and from 15410 to 29021 euro for returning students. Invoices are issued per semester: in May due 20 June and in December due 22-26 January.
Admissions The school admits students from age 3 (Pre-K for children who are 3 by 1 September) to grade 12; grade placement follows age on 1 September. When places are short, priority goes to children of US and UK embassy staff, children of US and UK citizens, children of other diplomatic staff, children of other international citizens, then Bulgarian nationals (siblings of students, children of alumni, children from international schools abroad first). Applications are online: photo, passport details of the student and parents, recent school reports officially translated into English, teacher contacts and any learning support records. Placement tests and interviews may be required; the division principal decides. New students in grades 1-12 take the WIDA test, and a score below 4.5 means compulsory English as an Additional Language support (one-time fee 1500 euro); students joining grades 11-12 are expected to have sufficient English. A full academic scholarship is offered to Bulgarian students after grades 7 and 8 who are not yet at the school.
Stages and year groups Grades Pre-K, K, 1-12. Elementary: Pre-K to grade 5 (Pre-K is a combined 3-4 year-old class on a two-year cycle); middle school: grades 6-8; high school: grades 9-12. The curriculum is based on American standards (Common Core, NGSS, C3, AERO, CEFR and others) and culminates in the IB Diploma Programme in grades 11-12 (21 SL and HL courses). All graduates receive the AAS High School Diploma, accredited by NEASC and CIS; of the 60 seniors in 2025-2026, 54 were in the IB Diploma Programme and six on the US diploma or hybrid pathway. Students whose first language is Bulgarian may take Bulgarian literature in the IB.
Address 1 Siyanie Street, Pancharevo, 1137 Sofia
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCIS · accreditationNEASC · accreditationCEESA · part of the associationThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school. It is accredited by CIS (Council of International Schools) and NEASC and is a member of CEESA, the Central and Eastern European Schools Association.
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: DP (ages 16-19). 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 →CISCouncil of International Schools
It accredits international schools and is a paying association at the same time. It examines governance and ownership, the curriculum, teaching, student wellbeing, staff and premises; a team of volunteers from other CIS accredited schools visits the school. Membership and accreditation are different things here, and schools confuse them more often than anything else.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →NEASCNew England Association of Schools and Colleges
An American accreditation working since 1885. For international schools it uses an approach where the visitors look first at live lessons rather than at folders of paperwork: the team works in the school for about a week. It is the only one here whose public directory honestly separates accredited schools from candidates.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →CEESACentral and Eastern European Schools Association
About thirty international schools in the region. It runs conferences, teacher development and competitions between schools: robotics, football, volleyball, debating. An accreditation from CIS, NEASC, MSA, WASC or Cognia is a condition of entry here, not an outcome.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to the association. CEESA runs no inspection of its own, but a school is not admitted without somebody else's accreditation - so the school holds one, and that is what to look at. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →American programme
The American school programme, with the High School Diploma at the end. It usually comes together with AP courses, which the College Board stands behind, and with an American accreditation - MSA, NEASC or Cognia.
What this means for this school. The diploma is written out by the school itself: the American programme has no common leaving exam, and the content of the senior years is set by the school. Outside checking therefore rests on two things here - the accreditation of the school, and the AP exams if the school runs them.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
33 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma 2025-2026: of a cohort of 61, 84% attempted the full diploma, 50 were awarded it, one was not, and two took certificate courses. The pass rate was 98% against 82.6% worldwide, and the average score 33 against 30.88 worldwide. The school's annual average since 2009-2010 ranges from 30 to 38.
Where leavers go: Maastricht University · IE University · Universidad Europea de Madrid · University of Edinburgh · University College London (UCL) · King's College London · Imperial College London · London School of Economics (LSE) · Bocconi University · Politecnico di Milano · Trinity College Dublin · Sciences Po
and others, 15 universities in the school's list in allThe list shows universities attended by graduates of 2023-2025, from the school profile. By location, Class of 2026 acceptances were: rest of Europe 24.6%, the USA, the UK and the Netherlands 14.2% each, Italy and Spain 11.6% each, rest of the world 9%.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio
Clubs and activities: Basketball · Robotics · Art · Gardening · Science Club · Rhythmic Gymnastics · Dance and Musical · Taekwondo · Chess · Ballet · Pottery
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
The school has more than 160 faculty and staff from 12 countries. Middle and high school have 51 teachers, 90% with advanced degrees; most come from the USA (45%), Bulgaria (29%) and the UK (12%). Teachers are recruited through Search Associates and ISS, with about 120 applications per opening on average; all candidates undergo pre-employment checks.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
✓Security staff
✓Access control
✓Nurse or medical room
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The child protection policy and adult code of conduct follow the International Taskforce on Child Protection and the CEESA Child Protection Statement; the school uses safer recruitment and background checks. Visitors come by appointment and show ID at the security gate. Two full-time nurses work in a dedicated health office. Student Support Services bring together counselling, English as an Additional Language and learning support.
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%)84 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 data80 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)95 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data75 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