← Back to homeAntwerp International School
Antwerp, Belgium · est. 1967 · Private
Illustration · Antwerp
Antwerp International School (AIS) is a non-profit international day school founded in 1967 in the green suburb of Ekeren, seven kilometres north of Antwerp. According to the school profile for the 2025-2026 academic year, 375 students of 50 nationalities attend; the website mentions 47 nationalities. AIS describes itself as the first school in Belgium to offer all three International Baccalaureate programmes: the PYP for children aged 3 to 12, the MYP and the Diploma Programme in Grades 11-12. "English is the language of instruction at AIS", the school states; EAL teachers support newcomers, and each new student is paired with a buddy in the same grade who speaks the same language. Dutch is taught from the youngest group, French from Grade 6 and Spanish ab initio is added in the DP; mother tongue classes are offered in English, Dutch, German and French. The student-teacher ratio is 7.1:1 and 90 staff work at the school. In 2025, 98% of students obtained the IB Diploma with an average score of 33. Classes run from 8:25 to 15:30, half-day preschool ends at 13:00.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $15 342–44 658 a year
13 580–39 530 EUR
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Dutch, French, Spanish, German
Registration fee
≈ $1 130
1 000 EUR
About the fees Annual tuition for the 2026-2027 academic year: Starter and Pre-School half day 13580 euros, full day 18320, Pre-Kindergarten 21640, Kindergarten 30710, Grades 1-4 33600, Grade 5 34310, Grades 6-8 37580, Grades 9-12 39530 euros. Fees are invoiced in two parts: 70% on 1 July and 30% on 1 December, payable within 30 days. Fees include most of the costs of class field trips and some of the costs of the IB programme.
Admissions AIS offers an English-language education for international families and those living in the greater Antwerp region. "Students affiliated with international corporations/expats are given guaranteed places subject to standard admissions criteria. Students from local families are admitted on a first-come first-serve basis." Admissions are rolling throughout the year, with waiting lists when classes are full. After the documents are reviewed, children may be invited for assessment: all applicants provide writing samples, a non-verbal reasoning assessment may be required, Secondary applicants sit maths and English assessments and non-English speakers may sit an additional EAL assessment. Grade placement is based on age, ability and previous education. A limited number of places in each grade is available for students with mild or moderate learning needs, reviewed individually. The AIS Seeks Talent scholarship programme admits a maximum of 50 talented students whose families find it a challenge to pay the usual fees.
Stages and year groups Grades Starter, Pre-School, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Grades 1-12. Early years groups Starter, Pre-School, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, then Grades 1-12. International Baccalaureate programmes: the Primary Years Programme for ages 3 to 12, the Middle Years Programme for ages 11-16 and the Diploma Programme in Grades 11-12. DP subjects are arranged in six blocks: English, Dutch, French and German as Language A or B, Spanish ab initio, Economics, Geography, History, Business Management, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Sports Science, ESS, two Mathematics courses, Visual Arts and Theatre; a tutored language is possible. Some graduates earn the bilingual IB Diploma. The FAQ also mentions graduates with a High School diploma: they may be asked to sit entrance exams for Benelux universities, which require the IB Diploma.
Address Veltwijcklaan 180, 2180 Antwerp
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeNEASC · accreditationThe IB register lists three programmes at the school: the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes. It has been accredited by NEASC since 1981, with the latest review in 2022. It withdrew from CIS accreditation itself and kept its CIS membership.
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: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. 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 →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 →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
33 (world average 30.88)
Exam results In 2025, 98% of IB Diploma candidates passed, with an average score of 33 and a top score of 44; all MYP students passed in 2025, the top MYP score was 50 out of 56. The school profile for 2025-2026 gives different figures: average score 32.24, top score 44 out of 45, bilingual diploma 25%, pass rate 100% in 2021 and 2022, 98% in 2023, 94% in 2024 and 97% in 2025.
Where leavers go: University of Oxford · Imperial College London · London School of Economics and Political Science · University College London · King's College London · University of Edinburgh · University of St Andrew's · University of Warwick · Bocconi University · KU Leuven · University of Antwerp · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
and others, 24 universities in the school's list in allThe school profile lists universities that admitted AIS graduates over the past five years: in North America, among others, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, New York University, McGill University and the University of Toronto; in the UK the University of Oxford, Imperial College London, LSE, UCL and King's College London; in Europe Bocconi University, KU Leuven, TU Delft, the University of Amsterdam and Maastricht University; there are also placements in Japan, Korea and Australia. The most popular destinations, according to the school, are the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States and Canada. A Career and University Counselling Office supports applications, and a University Fair is held every spring.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio · Makerspace
Clubs and activities: Griffin After School Adventures · Griffin Athletics · Football · Volleyball · Cross Country · Basketball · Swimming · Tennis · Track & Field · Softball · Golf · The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award · Robotics · Honour Choir · Model United Nations · Stage Crew · Arts Café · Summer Music Academy · Art Academy · DADA (Design & Digital Arts Showcase) · London Arts Trip
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 reports a 7.1:1 student-teacher ratio and 90 staff and faculty members. Head of School since 2015 Andreas Koini chairs NECIS and is a member of the NEASC Commission for International Education; Secondary School Principal David Towe is a Principal Examiner for the IB and leads IB teacher workshops. Learning Specialists support students with learning differences, EAL teachers support non-native English speakers.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
✓CCTV
·Security staffnot stated on the website
✓Access control
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
AIS has a closed campus: all access gates are locked after students have entered at 8:30. Security cameras are located at strategic points. All visitors report to Reception and receive a visitor's badge.
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%)95 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 data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 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