← Back to the rankingBritish International School of Cracow
Krakow, Poland · est. 1995 · Private
Illustration · Krakow
The British International School of Cracow (BISC) is a private British international school in central Kraków, opened on 1 September 1995 for the expatriate and internationally minded community; it celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2026. It now has 220 students from more than 35 countries, teaching is in English and classes are small (up to 16 in primary). The pathway from age 3 to 19 is in one building: preschool on the British Early Years Foundation Stage, primary Years 1-6 on Cambridge Primary with Checkpoint exams, secondary with Cambridge Lower Secondary in Years 7-9 and IGCSE in Years 10-11 (Cambridge and AQA), then the IB Diploma Programme, which the school has offered since 2006. The school operates under the supervision of the Polish Ministry of Education and the Małopolska Board of Education: students receive the Polish school certificate, Polish citizens can take additional Polish history and geography, and international students learn Polish as a foreign language. The average IB Diploma score of the class of 2026 was 35 against a world average of 30.8; graduates go on to Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, LSE, St Andrews, Edinburgh and the Jagiellonian University. The head is Dr Stanisław Kwieciński, a physicist.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE · National programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Polish, German, Spanish, French
Class size
No more than 16 children per primary group; small classes at all stages.
Registration fee
≈ $775
3 000 PLN
About the fees Fees are monthly, for the full school year from 1 September to 30 June (10 months): preschool 4000 PLN per month, Years 1-11 6000 PLN, IB1 and IB2 6250 PLN; amounts are fixed for the whole school year, and the price list carries no year. Fees include textbooks and materials, psychological and pedagogical support, labs, music and art, clubs led by school staff, a foreign language (German, Spanish or French), Polish, Cambridge Checkpoint exams, the library, swimming with instructors and insurance. Not included: IGCSE exams (Years 1-11) or IB exams (IB1-IB2), trips and lunches.
Admissions The school is non-selective and admits students of all nationalities and religions; EAL support is provided for newcomers to English, international students learn Polish as a foreign language, and Polish families are also welcome. Steps: contact the admissions team and visit the school, complete the online form, then the school checks whether it can meet the child's academic and wellbeing needs and, depending on the year group, invites the child for an age-appropriate assessment, classroom observation or meeting; if a place is available, a formal offer letter follows, then enrolment forms, acceptance of school policies (including behaviour and safeguarding) and payment. The IB Diploma requires at least five A*-C IGCSE grades (or comparable qualifications), C1 academic English as assessed by the EAL department, and for some Higher Level subjects an A or A* at IGCSE or an entry test; those narrowly missing can be admitted conditionally, others are offered IB courses or a preparatory year.
Stages and year groups Grades Foundation, Years 1-11, IB1-IB2. Preschool (Foundation, from age 3) on the Early Years Foundation Stage of the English National Curriculum. Primary Years 1-6 (ages 5-11), Key Stages 1 and 2, on the Cambridge Primary Curriculum, with science following Cambridge Science; Cambridge Checkpoint exams are included in the fees. Secondary: Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) on Cambridge Lower Secondary, all subjects in English, with annual international exams; Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11) IGCSE and GCSE at the end of Year 11, with Cambridge International and AQA exams available. The IB Diploma Programme in IB1-IB2 (ages 16-19) since 2006: group 1 English A Literature, Polish A Literature or a self-taught mother tongue; group 2 English B, French B, German B, Spanish B; group 3 History, Geography, Psychology, Business and Management, Environmental Systems and Societies; group 4 Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics; group 5 Mathematics AA and AI; group 6 Music or Visual Arts. In parallel, the Polish national curriculum and the Polish school certificate. The school is a Cambridge and IB examination centre and is preparing a homeschooling programme for Years 7-13.
Address ul. Smoleńsk 25, 31-108 Kraków
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE · authorised programmeCOBIS · membershipThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Diploma Programme. The Cambridge register names the school as its centre; it teaches Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary, Cambridge IGCSE. The school is a member of COBIS.
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: Primary (ages 5-11), Lower Secondary (ages 11-14), IGCSE (ages 14-16). Primary is the primary stage, ages 5 to 11: English, mathematics and science to Cambridge syllabuses. At the end of the stage a school may run the optional Checkpoint test, which is marked in Cambridge. Lower Secondary is the middle stage, ages 11 to 14, with the same optional Checkpoint test at the end. 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 →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 →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
Average IB score
35 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma 2026: average score 35 (world 30.8), average subject grade 5.53 (world 4.9); top results 44, 43 and 42 points out of 45 (44 is a school record). In each of the last five years at least one graduate scored 40 points or more, and in four of the five years all candidates gained the diploma. The home page states 70% of grades are A*, A and B.
Where leavers go: University of Oxford · University of Cambridge · University College London · London School of Economics (LSE) · University of Bath · University of St Andrews · University of Aberdeen · University of Edinburgh · University of Dundee · University of Glasgow · Heriot-Watt University · Jagiellonian University
The school lists universities its graduates have attended, including universities in New York State, and supports applications through UCAS and other systems, with career aptitude tests and interview preparation.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio
Clubs and activities: Music Club · Chess Club · Basketball Team · Swimming · Judo · Robotics · German and Spanish · Model United Nations · Drama · Student Council
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: The head is an IB Diploma graduate with an MSc in Physics from the Jagiellonian University and a PhD in Medical Physics; the Head of IB holds a PhD in theoretical physics from Cambridge University; the Head of Primary holds a PGCE from Warwick University; teachers include native English speakers, PhD holders, teachers with UK QTS and IB PYP experience. IB teachers regularly attend IB workshops and conferences.
The about page introduces 20 people by name: the head, the deputy head, the heads of primary, secondary and IB, the school counsellor, primary and early years teachers, teachers of science, PE, French, German, Spanish, art and drama, and a teaching assistant.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
✓Access control
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school publishes policies on child protection (including a version for students), anti-bullying and anti-cyberbullying, behaviour, positive handling of pupils, intimate care, security and access to the premises, arrival and departure, risk assessment, and health and safety; policies are reviewed annually by the management and the advisory board. Staff are checked against the sex offenders register and criminal records before employment. The school has a school psychologist, a counsellor and a SEN coordinator.
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%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median78 "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 7 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