← Back to the rankingBritish International School of Stockholm
Danderyd, Sweden · est. 1980 · Private
Illustration · Danderyd
The British International School of Stockholm (BISS) is a non-profit all-through British international school for ages 3 to 18. It was founded in 1980 as the British Primary School in Villa Borgen in Danderyd; in 2014 a secondary section opened and the school took its current name, the first IGCSE cohort was in 2016, IB Diploma authorisation came in 2019 and the first IB cohort graduated in 2021. About 380 students from more than 50 countries attend. The pathway: early years on the British EYFS, primary on the English National Curriculum with English and mathematics on Cambridge Primary and the thematic IPC, then Years 7-9, Cambridge IGCSE in Years 10-11 and the IB Diploma in Years 12-13. Teaching is in English; all students learn Swedish, as a first or additional language, on the Swedish curriculum. The school operates outside the Swedish public system and charges fees, but receives skolpeng for students with a Swedish personal number, who pay less.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $13 160–17 946 a year
132 000–180 000 SEK
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · Primary, IGCSE
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Swedish, French, Spanish
Students per teacher
8 students per teacher
Class size
no more than 22-24 students per class; usually 15-24 in Years 7-9, 10-15 in Years 10-11, smaller in Years 12-13 pupils
Registration fee
≈ $299
3 000 SEK
About the fees Fees for the 2026-2027 school year for children registered with a Swedish municipality and holding a Swedish personal number (for whom the school receives skolpeng): Nursery and Reception 179000 SEK per year; Years 1-4 132000 SEK; Year 5 134000; Year 6 139500; Years 7-8 144000; Year 9 154000; Years 10-11 172000; Years 12-13 180000 SEK. For children without a personal number or an approved subsidy fees are substantially higher; the school does not publish these amounts; Year 1 without subsidy is 179000 SEK. Fees are paid in two instalments, per term. The third child gets a 5% discount, the fourth and subsequent children 10%. After-school care, clubs and residential trips are charged separately.
Admissions The school was set up primarily for expatriate and internationally minded families. Under Swedish law a student must fall into one of these categories: living in Sweden for a limited time; schooled abroad for an extended period and wishing to finish their education in Sweden in English; expected to leave Sweden for an extended period; speaking English daily with a guardian with enough knowledge to follow teaching. There are no entrance exams; admission is non-selective and year-round, subject to places. An online application, school reports, passport copies, a reference from the current school and any specialist reports are needed. English is not required for younger students: the school provides EAL support; English proficiency is required for IGCSE and IB applicants. New IB Diploma students sit a CAT4 test (a score of at least 100 is required); internal students need at least five A* to C IGCSE grades including English, mathematics and a science. Year group is set by age on 31 August. When oversubscribed, priority goes to siblings, returning former students, children of expatriate families living in Sweden for a limited time, then others; date of application decides ties. Families can apply before receiving a Swedish personal number.
Stages and year groups Grades Nursery, Reception, Year 1-13. British system: Nursery and Reception (ages 3-5) on the EYFS; primary Years 1-6 (ages 5-11) on the English National Curriculum, with English and mathematics on Cambridge Primary and other subjects on the International Primary Curriculum (IPC); Years 7-9 on a British curriculum; Years 10-11 Cambridge IGCSE, usually 8 or 9 subjects plus Swedish, about 10 exams, with mathematics, English language, English literature, coordinated science, Swedish and PE compulsory; only enrolled students sit Cambridge exams; students are also prepared for the Swedish national tests. Years 12-13 IB Diploma Programme (full diploma or individual IB courses); A-Levels are not offered. Swedish as a first and additional language follows the Skolverket curriculum; no other subjects follow the Swedish curriculum.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · Primary, IGCSE · authorised programmeCOBIS · membershipThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Diploma Programme. Its core is the British curriculum: Cambridge Primary in English and mathematics in Years 1-6 and Cambridge IGCSE in Years 10-11. The school is an accredited 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), 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. 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 →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
33 (world average 30.88)
Exam results 2024-2025 school year data: 93% A* to C grades in IGCSE exams, 100% IB Diploma pass rate, average IB score 33, highest score 44 out of 45.
Where leavers go: University of St Andrews · University of Exeter · KTH Royal Institute of Technology · Lund University · Stockholm University · Linköping University · University of Bath · University of Leeds · University of Leicester · University of Sussex · University of Hertfordshire · St Mary's University
and others, 15 universities in the school's list in allAbout 40% of IB graduates continue in the UK; others enrol at Swedish universities, in the Netherlands, and in Milan, Valencia, Toronto, Newfoundland, Brazil and Beijing. More than half choose STEM subjects. Careers guidance starts in Year 9, and a college counsellor works with students in Years 12-13.
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 transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: Curling Club · Table Tennis · Cheerleading · Karate · Water colour painting · Art Club · Lego and mosaics · AI for kids · Chess club · Kahoot Club · Book publishing club · Cub Scouts · Drama Club · Choir · Coding Club · Musical instrument lessons · Dutch School · German
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: teachers with British and IB school experience, regularly trained by the IB and Cambridge
The school states a ratio of 8 students per teacher and class sizes of up to 22-24; teachers come from international schools with British and IB experience, and primary has specialist teachers for music, PE, languages and computing.
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 trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Both campuses have safeguarding and pastoral teams: school nurses, counsellors, safeguarding leads and form tutors, led by a senior leader. The school publishes a child protection policy. Behaviour is based on restorative practice; there is the Peer Education Project on mental health for secondary and a PSHE course.
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 data70 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data55 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