← Back to the rankingBritish International School Classic
Plovdiv, Bulgaria · est. 1997 · Private
Illustration · Plovdiv
British International School Classic (BISC) is a private school in Plovdiv from pre-school to grade 12 that combines the Bulgarian state curriculum with the British curriculum and the IB Diploma Programme. The primary school was founded in 1997 and the high school in 2000; since 2011 the school has been an accredited member of COBIS, since 2013 an education and exam centre for the British curriculum, and since 2019 the first IB World School in South Bulgaria, offering the Diploma Programme in grades 11-12. Grades 1-7 are taught bilingually in Bulgarian and English; in the high school (grades 8-12, languages and mathematics with IT profiles) history, geography, psychology, biology, mathematics and IT are taught only in English. Students receive Bulgarian education documents, including the diploma za sredno obrazovanie after the matura, as well as an International GCSE certificate after grade 10, and can continue to International A Level. Grades 1-7 have a full day from 8:30 to 16:30; high school lessons run from 8:00 to 14:00, followed by consultations with teachers. Over its history the school has had 1479 graduates. The school runs an exam centre (International GCSE and A Level, English language exams, TOEFL iBT).
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 310–7 908 a year
4 700–7 000 EUR
Programmes
IB · DP · Pearson Edexcel · IGCSE, A-Level · National programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Bulgarian, English
Languages taught
German, Spanish, Italian
Class size
up to 8 children in a pre-school group, 10-12 students in grades 1-7, up to 12 students in grades 8-12 pupils
About the fees Standard annual fees for the 2026-2027 school year: pre-school 4700 euro, Bulgarian and British curriculum (grades 1-12) 5700 euro, IB programme 7000 euro. Fees are paid in two instalments by bank transfer as set in the contract; late payment incurs interest of 5% of the annual fee. Transport and lunch are paid monthly in advance. Additional costs may include textbooks for the Bulgarian and British curricula, security services, school uniform, extra learning materials, drug testing for students over 14, and fees of British and other examination bodies for exams, certificates and diplomas.
Admissions To apply for grades 1, 5 and 8 or to transfer into grades 2-4, 5-7 and 9-11, parents submit an application with the previous school report or certificate, the birth certificate and a residence permit. All new students take the three-hour Classic test (English, mathematics, science and logic) before the school year; grades 2-7 and 9-11 admit students with an annual grade above 5.00 (very good) and/or a test score above 70 points. Entry to IB Year 1 (grade 11) requires a grade of at least 5.00 and passes in IGCSE English Language and IGCSE Mathematics, or an excellent result in the IB entrance exam. To continue at the school, students need an annual grade of at least 5.00 and a certified English exam. Students from abroad are enrolled after recognition of completed grades: in grades 1-6 by application with documents in sworn translation, in grades 8-12 with a certificate from the Regional Department of Education in Plovdiv. If knowledge needs aligning between systems, the school assigns individual tutoring (1000 euro per subject per year). Applications for the 2026-2027 school year were accepted until 8 September 2026; some places in grades 1 and 8 are free under the state programme.
Stages and year groups Grades pre-school groups, 1-12. Wonderland pre-school centre: two groups of up to 8 children (ages 3-4 and 5-6), British and Bulgarian curricular areas, half day or full day, ending with a certificate of completed pre-school education. Grades 1-7: the Bulgarian State Educational Standard combined with the English National Curriculum Key Stages; after grade 6, exams in English, mathematics and science under the British curriculum; a second foreign language from grade 5 (German, Spanish or Italian). Grades 8-12: the Bulgarian standard (languages and mathematics with IT profiles, entry after grade 7) with the diploma za sredno obrazovanie and matura, alongside Pearson Edexcel International GCSE (certificate after grade 10) and International A Level. Grades 11-12: IB Diploma Programme (since 2019); subjects listed on the website are Bulgarian language and literature, English language and literature, mathematics, history, biology and art, plus TOK, CAS and the Extended Essay.
Address 37 Tsar Boris III Obedinitel str., entrance E, 4000 Plovdiv
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmePearson · IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school, and the Pearson register names it as its centre: it teaches International GCSE and International A Level courses. The Bulgarian national programme with the matriculation exams runs alongside.
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 →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. 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 →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
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
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
·Librarynot stated on the website
·Cateringnot stated on the website
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school is at 37 Tsar Boris III Obedinitel Street (entrance E) in Plovdiv. The website does not describe the building or facilities; the school offers transport and lunch for separate monthly fees and lists security services among additional costs. There is no boarding.
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: internationally recognised teacher certification (according to the school)
The staff page lists 23 people: the school's founder, the IB programme director (also an English teacher), the deputy director and teachers of Bulgarian, English, German, Spanish and Italian, mathematics and physics, history and geography, philosophy, science, art and design, physical education and pre-school; some teachers teach IB subjects. The school mentions internationally recognised certification of its teachers; in 2018 the team completed a Pearson Edexcel workshop.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
✓Security staff
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
In its documents section the school publishes rules and procedures for dealing with bullying and violence, a code of ethics and rules for organising student trips; security services are paid by parents as an extra. Drug testing is provided for students over 14.
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%)89 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 "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