← Back to the rankingBritish School of Bucharest
Voluntari, Romania · est. 2000 · Private
Illustration · Voluntari
The British School of Bucharest (BSB) is a private, fee-paying British day school in Voluntari, on the northern edge of Bucharest, for children aged 2 to 18. The school has been open since 2000 and is run by the Crawford House Foundation. It teaches the National Curriculum for England from Early Years to Year 13: students take IGCSE and GCSE in Years 10-11 and AS and A-Level in Years 12-13, with the Pearson Edexcel and Cambridge International awarding bodies. The language of instruction is English: the school says Primary is taught entirely in English and that English is the language of communication at BSB; teachers are native English speakers. More than 700 students from 65 nations attend, and the school ensures no nationality forms a majority. The Independent Schools Inspectorate rated the school excellent in all areas three times in a row, in 2018, 2022 and 2025, and confirmed it meets the Standards for British Schools Overseas. BSB is a full international member of HMC, a COBIS Accredited Member and one of the first certified COBIS Training Schools, and is accredited by the Romanian agency ARACIP. Secondary offers 21 specialised subjects and about 140 co-curricular activities a week.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $8 833–27 885 a year
7 819–24 683 EUR
Programmes
Cambridge · IGCSE, A-Level · Pearson Edexcel
Admits from
2 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Spanish, French, German, Chinese
Class size
no more than 20 students per class in primary and secondary
Registration fee
≈ $311
275 EUR
About the fees Annual fees for 2026/2027: Pre-Nursery full day (08:30-15:00) 7819 euro, half day (08:30-12:30) 3948 euro; Nursery to Year 6 21294 euro; Years 7-13 24683 euro. A reservation deposit of 5789 euro is added and counts towards the fees. Fees include some after-school activities and local trips, snacks, insurance, lunch for Pre-Nursery to Reception, uniform sets for Nursery and Reception, a Chromebook or iPad in Years 7-11 on request and EAL lessons for the first 12 months. Lunch from Year 1, the school bus, uniform, one-to-one support, extended EAL, SEN lessons, the educational psychologist and examination fees in Years 10-13 are charged separately. The school may raise fees with 90 days' notice.
Admissions The school states that entry is open to any member of the community and from anywhere in the world; when places run out, children join a waiting list, with priority for siblings. Age is counted on 31 August: 2 for Pre-Nursery, 3 for Nursery, 4 for Reception, 5 for Year 1, 11 for Year 7. Pre-Nursery to Reception have no admissions tests; Years 1-2 take a short writing evaluation, Years 2-6 a CAT4 cognitive ability test, Years 7-11 Mathematics, English and CAT4, Years 12-13 tests in their A-Level subjects and CAT4; then an interview with an academic head, and parents if needed. Up to Year 7 children can start with little or no English, from Year 8 at least beginner level is needed (support is available), from Year 12 students should be fluent or close to fluency. Entry to Year 12 requires at least five IGCSE or GCSE passes at C (4) or above or equivalent. A child needing additional support may be refused unless the family agrees to it. Required documents include the child's passport or birth certificate, parents' IDs, previous school reports and the vaccination certificate. The Admissions Committee meets weekly; an offered place must be confirmed within 48 hours.
Stages and year groups Grades Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Reception, 1-13 (Year 1 - Year 13). British stages: Early Years Foundation Stage (Pre-Nursery from age 2, Nursery, Reception), Primary - Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2) and Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6), Secondary - Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9), Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11, IGCSE and GCSE) and Sixth Form (Years 12-13, AS and A-Level, including International A Level). Exams are set by Pearson Edexcel and Cambridge International. Also offered: Extended Project Qualification, LAMDA, Sports Leaders and the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award. The school does not offer the Romanian national curriculum or the IB.
Address Strada Erou Iancu Nicolae 42, 077190 Voluntari, jud. Ilfov
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmePearson · authorised programmeBSO · accreditationCOBIS · membershipHMC · part of the allianceThe Cambridge and Pearson registers name the school as their centre; it teaches IGCSE and A Level courses with both exam boards. It is inspected under the British Schools Overseas scheme and is a member of COBIS and HMC.
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 →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 →HMCConference of heads of British independent schools
It is a head who becomes a member of this conference, not a school: membership is offered to the head, and in some categories the logo is marked as personal. A badge on a school's website means its head belongs to the conference. For full international membership there is a check - two people, two days - but no live external inspection is required.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to this network. That is not a quality inspection: a network is something a school joins, while an accreditation is something a school goes through. 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
Exam results A-Level 2024-2025: 38% of grades at A*-A, 69% at A*-B, 100% pass rate. IGCSE: 49% A*-A, 75% A*-B, 99% pass rate. The 2025 ISI report notes IGCSE results over three years above the average for similar BSO schools and A-Level results well above the world average for three years. In 2025, 42 graduates received 152 offers from 196 applications.
Where leavers go: Imperial College London · Durham University · University College London (UCL) · University of Nottingham · Central Saint Martins · London School of Economics (LSE) · University of St Andrews · University of Cambridge · University of Oxford · Bocconi University · Esade Business School · Delft University of Technology and others, 17 universities in the school's list in all
Facilities from the school's official website
✓Swimming pool
✓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 · Makerspace
Clubs and activities: Duke of Edinburgh's International Award · So You Think You Can Cook · Performing Arts · Extended Project Qualification · Debating · Entrepreneurship Hub · Primary BSB University · Model United Nations · eSports · LAMDA · Sports Leadership · Creative Arts & DT · Project Zephyr
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: native English-speaking teachers, graduates of British universities including Oxford and Cambridge; many hold or are pursuing postgraduate degrees and doctorates
The school says its teachers are native English speakers and graduates of leading universities, including Oxford and Cambridge; many have completed or are pursuing postgraduate degrees and doctorates. As a certified COBIS Training School it runs a two-year Early Career Teacher programme and is authorised to provide teacher training. Staff include University Guidance Counsellors, EAL teachers and special educational needs specialists.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
✓CCTV
·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 training
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school publishes child protection and safeguarding, anti-bullying, online safety, safer recruitment, video surveillance, medical and first aid, earthquake and fire policies. In 2022 it received DEKRA Trusted Facility certification as the first safe school in Romania and was shortlisted for the Safeguarding Award at the International School Awards. The campus has security, medical rooms, a psychologist and a school counsellor.
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 data85 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)95 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data90 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