← Back to the rankingThe British International School Budapest
Budapest, Hungary · est. 1992 · Private
Illustration · Budapest
The British International School Budapest (BISB) is a private, fee-paying British day school in the Buda Hills for children aged 3 to 18. It opened with 18 students in 1992, joined Nord Anglia Education in 2002 and introduced the IB Diploma that year; it has had its own campus since 2004 and opened a secondary campus in 2016. It now has more than 1050 students from more than 60 countries. Early Years follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (ages 3-5), Primary and Years 7-9 follow the English National Curriculum, Years 10-11 take IGCSEs and Years 12-13 the IB Diploma Programme. All lessons are taught in English, as the school states directly. Native Hungarian speakers can join an optional Hungarian Programme based on the Hungarian National Core Curriculum (NAT): three lessons a week, and in the IB Hungarian Language A leads to a bilingual IB Diploma equivalent to the advanced-level Hungarian literature exam (emelt szintű érettségi). The school collaborates with The Juilliard School, MIT, UNICEF and IMG Academy, and students take part in the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award; ISI inspection reports are published on the website, the latest from April 2026.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $16 485–34 753 a year
5.4–11.3 million HUF
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · IGCSE · Pearson Edexcel
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Hungarian, French, German, Spanish, Chinese
Students per teacher
one teacher to 9 students in Early Years, Secondary and the IB Diploma, one to 11 in Primary
Class size
on average 15 in Early Years and Years 7-11, 20 in Primary, 10 in the IB Diploma
Registration fee
≈ $538
175 000 HUF
Deposit
≈ $1 076
350 000 HUF
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027, HUF per year: EY1 5360000, EY2 6960000, Year 1-2 8050000, Year 3-4 9530000, Year 5-6 9760000, Year 7-9 9950000, Year 10 10500000, Year 11 10750000, Year 12 11100000, Year 13 11300000. Fees can be paid in three termly instalments; paying the full year by the invoice due date gives a 4% discount (from 5145600 to 10848000 HUF), not available to students starting after 30 September. Fees include textbooks and materials, most co-curricular activities and secondary exams. Lunch is extra: 520000 HUF per year. Sibling discount: 2% for the second and third child, 10% for the fourth and subsequent children.
Admissions The school admits children aged 3 to 18 all year round, spaces permitting; there is no deadline. Families first enquire and tour the school (in person or online), then submit an online application with the child's passport copy, school reports for the last two years in English, immunisation record and a reference from the current school. The Application Assessment Fee is 175000 HUF. Assessment depends on age: Early Years to Year 2 spend time in class (Early Years children must be out of nappies); Years 3-9 take an online cognitive ability test and, if English is not their first language, an English assessment; Year 10 the same plus a discussion of IGCSE choices; Year 12 a cognitive test, maths and English tests and possibly an interview with the Head of Secondary about IB subjects. All lessons are taught in English, so sufficient fluency is expected, and the English as an Additional Language programme supports others. The school calls itself fully inclusive but warns that learning support capacity is limited. Students come from more than 60 nationalities.
Stages and year groups Grades EY1-EY2, Year 1-13. Early Years Foundation Stage (EY1-EY2, ages 3-5); English National Curriculum in Primary (Year 1-6, ages 5-11) and Key Stage 3 (Year 7-9); IGCSEs in Key Stage 4 (Year 10-11, ages 14-16); IB Diploma Programme in Year 12-13 (ages 16-18). The school does not offer the IB PYP, MYP or A-Levels. Native Hungarian speakers can take the optional Hungarian Programme based on the NAT, usually up to Year 9; in the IB Hungarian Language A counts as the advanced-level literature emelt szintű érettségi and leads to a bilingual IB Diploma.
Address Kiscelli köz 17, 1037 Budapest
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · IGCSE · authorised programmePearson · authorised programmeBSO · accreditationCOBIS · membershipNord Anglia Education · school is part of the networkThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school, and the Cambridge and Pearson registers name it as their centre. It is inspected under the British Schools Overseas scheme, most recently in April 2026, and is a member of COBIS. The school is part of the Nord Anglia Education group.
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 →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). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate.
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 →BSOBritish government inspection of schools overseas
A scheme of the UK Department for Education: a school abroad is inspected against the standards for independent schools in England, including safeguarding and the standards for boarding. The inspections are done by independent inspectorates approved by the department, and the inspectorates themselves are monitored annually by Ofsted. The reports are published in full on the government website.
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 →COBISCouncil of British International Schools
An association of British schools abroad with a quality inspection of its own. It has nine membership categories, and the word "accredited" appears in seven of them, although COBIS does its own inspection in one: in the rest it recognises an accreditation granted by somebody else.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to this organisation but has not been through its accreditation. The difference matters: membership is usually paid for and has no external inspection behind it. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Nord Anglia Educationschool network
A group of international schools of the full cycle, day and boarding. The numbers on its site diverge: the "About Nord Anglia" page speaks of 89 schools in 37 countries, the "Our schools" and "Our global network" pages - of 90, the "All schools" page - of "90+"; pupils are more than 100,000 everywhere. Whether the group owns the schools, manages them under contract or gives its methodology under licence is not said on its pages. The year of foundation and the country of registration are not named there.
What this means for this school. The network owns or operates the school. Its accreditation and programme authorisation the school obtains separately, in its own name.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
34.3 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma 2026: 100% pass rate, average score 34.3, 18% of students scored 40 points or more. IGCSE 2026: 89 students sat the exams and 63% achieved at least one top grade (9 or 8). 2025 results from the school brochure: IB Diploma average 34.4 against a global 30.5 and a 98% pass rate against a global 81.3%; IGCSE 48% A*-A grades against a UK average of 21.8% and 90% A*-C against 67.1%. The school says all 2025 graduates received an offer from their first-choice university.
Where leavers go: University of Cambridge · University of Oxford · ETH Zurich · Imperial College London · Nanyang Technological University · London School of Economics (LSE) · University College London (UCL) · King's College London · University of Warwick · Durham University · New York University · University of Toronto and others, 15 universities in the school's list in all
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground
Clubs and activities: Lego robotics · Aikido · 3D gaming · Warhammer · Debating · Yoga · Football · Basketball · Dance · Gymnastics · Percussion orchestra · School musical · Duke of Edinburgh's International Award
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: UK qualified teacher status (QTS) or equivalent, experience in British and international schools; many hold Master's degrees
The school says all teachers hold UK qualified teacher status or equivalent and have experience in British and international schools, many with Master's degrees and network qualifications; teachers keep training on the Nord Anglia University platform. All teachers take specialist training with the Anna Freud Centre. Secondary students have 30 lessons a week of 55 minutes each.
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 room
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
✓Anti-bullying policy
The website publishes a Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy (updated in September 2026), an Anti-Bullying Policy, a Wellbeing and Positive Mental Health Policy and a First Aid and Medical Provision Policy. The school has an in-house pastoral care team with counsellors and safeguarding experts; all teachers train with the Anna Freud Centre. The medical policy describes a medical room and nurses, and on-site examinations and vaccinations are carried out by a school-employed paediatrician.
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%)100 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data85 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