← Back to the rankingBudapest British International School
Budapest, Hungary · est. 2015 · Private
Illustration · Budapest
Budapest British International School (BBIS) is a private, fee-paying international day school in District XII of Budapest in the Buda Hills for children aged 3 to 18. It was founded by Petra Szalai, herself an IB Diploma graduate: the building was bought and renovated in 2014, about 50 students in Years 1 to 4 started in 2015, and the Secondary building opened in 2021. Today it has more than 400 students from 35 to 40-plus countries. BBIS calls itself Budapest's first school with all three IB programmes: the PYP from Early Childhood to PYP 5 (authorised in January 2025), the MYP for ages 11-16 and the Diploma Programme for ages 16-18 (authorised in 2022); the first IB Diploma class graduated in 2024. The language of instruction is English: the school describes itself as an international school with English as the language of instruction, and its Early Childhood programme as English immersion. The school keeps a British ethos, is an Accredited Member of COBIS and belongs to the British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary. A Board of Trustees formed in 2017 advises the school.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $15 771–32 954 a year
13 960–29 170 EUR
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Hungarian, Spanish, German
Students per teacher
one adult to 5 children in Primary and to 7 in Secondary
Registration fee
≈ $508
450 EUR
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027 paid in three instalments on time, euro per year: Early Childhood 1-2 13960, Early Childhood 3 17310, PYP 1 20400, PYP 2-5 22930, MYP 1-3 25400, MYP 4-5 26880, DP 1-2 29170; late instalments cost more. Paying the full year by 29 May 2026 costs less: from 12690 to 26510 euro. Exams are not included for MYP 4-5 and the DP. Sibling discount: 2% for the second child, 3% for the third, 4% for the fourth and so on. Payments must be made in euro; the school does not issue invoices in HUF. Lunch is included for Primary and charged separately for Secondary.
Admissions The school has rolling admissions all year round, spaces permitting; otherwise applicants join a waiting list, and places are offered by suitability, not first come, first served. The 450 euro application fee is paid first, then assessments are scheduled. Early Childhood applicants have an informal readiness and English assessment and must be toilet-trained; Primary applicants have a trial day in class and, where needed, reading, phonics, writing and maths assessments. Secondary applicants take the CAT4 cognitive test and, if English is an additional language, an EAL assessment, then a trial day. A reference from the previous school and verified school reports for the last two years in English are required; there may be an interview with the leadership team. English is assessed for all applicants from Early Childhood 3 upward: most students are supported by the fee-based English as an Additional Language programme, but the school may decline an applicant not yet ready to access the curriculum. Entry into the final year of the Diploma Programme is not normally permitted except from another IB World School. Students with additional needs are admitted if the school can meet them, and extra support is charged. The school says it welcomes students from diverse backgrounds, currently from 35 to 40-plus countries.
Stages and year groups Grades Early Childhood 1-3, PYP 1-5, MYP 1-5, DP 1-2. IB PYP for Early Childhood 1-3 and PYP 1-5 (ages 3-11); IB MYP for MYP 1-5 (ages 11-16); IB Diploma Programme for DP 1-2 (ages 16-18). UK equivalents: Early Childhood 1 is Nursery, PYP 1 is Year 2, MYP 1 is Year 7, DP 2 is Year 13. The school does not offer IGCSE, A-Levels or the Hungarian programme with érettségi; native Hungarian speakers have three Hungarian lessons a week based on the Hungarian national curriculum, others a weekly introduction to Hungarian language and culture.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeCOBIS · accreditationMSA · candidateThe IB register lists the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes at the school. It is an accredited member of COBIS and is listed as a candidate in the MSA (Middle States Association) directory.
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: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible. 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 →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 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 →MSAMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools
One of the oldest American accreditations, working since 1887 in more than a hundred countries and linked to the Office of Overseas Schools of the US State Department. It judges the school as an institution across twelve areas, including finances, governance, premises and student support.
What the badge means for this school. The school is a candidate for accreditation by this organisation: the route has been started but not completed. Candidacy speaks of an application made and a file accepted for consideration, not of the outcome of an inspection, and the organisations themselves usually require schools to say that it does not guarantee accreditation. The candidacy 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
31.08 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma since 2024: 92% pass rate against a world average of 80%, average score 31.08 against a world average of 30.58, highest score 43 points. First graduating cohort in 2024: 100% pass, average 32.0 points, highest score 38, 33% above 35 points. All students opting for university gained places.
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
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Playground
Clubs and activities: 3D Design · Gymnastics · Mini ninjas · Football · Drama Club · Rock band · Academic Writing · BBIS Lions Football · Model UN · K-Pop Club · Marketing Club · Choir · Science Club · Creative Writing · Homework Club · Hungarian
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
The school describes small classes and gives adult-to-child ratios: 1:5 in Primary and 1:7 in Secondary, 1:9 or better in Early Childhood. Most clubs are run by teaching staff. The Principal, Jonathan Spinks, also heads the Primary school; the school has a dedicated counsellor and safeguarding leads. Vacancies are advertised through TES Schrole.
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 policynot stated on the website
The school publishes a Safeguarding Policy, a Low-Level Concerns Policy and a Whistleblowing Policy. Access to the site is only through a turnstile with access cards; parents and visitors wear lanyards, visitors sign in at reception during the school day and stay with a staff member, and photos and videos are not allowed. The Zsolna utca gate is open only when a member of staff is on duty. The Primary Counsellor is also the Designated Safeguarding Lead; the curriculum includes PSHE, and the school uses counselling and reconciliation strategies.
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%)95 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 data75 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 "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