← Back to homeSúkromné bilingválne gymnázium BESST
Trnava, Slovakia · est. 2014 · Private
Illustration · Trnava
Súkromné bilingválne gymnázium BESST is a private bilingual grammar school in Trnava, the upper level of the BESST complex, which also runs a kindergarten and a primary school. The complex dates back to 2009; the grammar school opened on 1 September 2014 and has held Cambridge International School status from day one; its founder runs Cambridge exam centre SK018. Study takes five years in Slovak and English: biology, physics, mathematics, computer science, global perspectives, business and accounting are taught in English, and English in all years is taught by native speakers. All students sit Cambridge IGCSE at the end of year 2; after year 3 students may move to the international class with AS and A Level exams. The language of instruction is stated in the school's official network listing: "s vyučovacím jazykom slovenským a anglickým".
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 536 a year
490 EUR a month
The year is counted as ten payments: the school does not say how many payments it takes.
Programmes
Cambridge · IGCSE, A-Level · Pearson Edexcel · National programme
Languages of instruction
Slovak, English
Class size
small classes; in several subjects classes are split into ability groups
Registration fee
≈ $508
450 EUR
About the fees Tuition from 1 September 2026 is 490 EUR per month, paid for 12 months in three instalments. Siblings at BESST schools get 25% off for the second child and 50% for the third and further children.
Admissions Admission to year 1 of the five-year bilingual programme follows year 8 or 9 of primary school and is by exam: written tests in English (A2 level), Slovak language and literature and mathematics, 100 points each; at least 40 points are required in Slovak and in mathematics. Extra points come from olympiads and sport (up to 60) and primary school grades (up to 80); a motivation letter of at least 120 words in Slovak or English is attached. For 2026-2027 the school planned to admit 42 students, with three places reserved for the founder. The school says nothing about foreign applicants; the Slovak exam is compulsory for all.
Stages and year groups Five-year bilingual programme 7902 J 74 taught in Slovak and English, ending with the Slovak maturita. In year 2 everyone sits Cambridge IGCSE (English, mathematics, biology, physics). After year 3 students may join the international class: Cambridge AS in three subjects plus the Slovak maturita in year 4, A2 in year 5, together an A Level. In the bilingual stream Slovak is examined in year 4, English at C1 and two more subjects in year 5. There are currently 11 classes, two of them international (IV.M and V.M).
Address Limbová 3, 917 02 Trnava
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmePearson · authorised programmeThe Cambridge and Pearson registers name the school as an exam centre. It is a private bilingual grammar school: alongside the Slovak curriculum students take IGCSE and A Level.
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
CambridgeCambridge International Education
Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.
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: IGCSE (ages 14-16), A-Level (ages 16-18). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate. A-Level is the senior years, and their results are what British and many other universities admit on.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →PearsonPearson Edexcel, a British exam board
It gives a school approved centre status: that means Pearson exams can be sat in the school itself. What is checked is the premises, the equipment, the secure storage of papers and the presence of trained invigilators.
What the badge means for this school. The school can run Pearson exams on its own premises. The status says nothing about teaching, about results or about the school itself: any school able to run an exam securely holds it. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. Which Pearson qualifications this school is approved for is not stated here.
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 In 2024-2025, 38 students each sat IGCSE in English, mathematics, biology and physics. English: 2 A*, 11 A, 9 B, 9 C; mathematics: 3 A*, 6 A, 8 B, 7 C; physics: 1 A*, 5 A, 5 B, 12 C. 7 students sat AS exams in eight subjects and 6 students sat A2 in nine subjects.
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 hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: Computers, interactive whiteboards and iPads, a library and an on-site canteen.
Clubs and activities: Duke of Edinburgh's International Award · Študentská únia · Akadémia veľkých diel · Mentoring · Erasmus+
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
English in all years is taught by native speakers. There is a deputy head for the Cambridge International School programme. Teachers include a finalist of the Slovak top teachers ranking and others featured in the press.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school has an anti-bullying prevention programme and an internal directive, a school psychologist, an anonymous trust box in the library or via EduPage, and regular anonymous bullying surveys.
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%)85 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 data70 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data73 "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