← Back to the rankingCopenhagen International School
Copenhagen, Denmark · est. 1963 · Private
Illustration · Copenhagen
Copenhagen International School (CIS) is a private, fee-paying international day school in Nordhavn, Copenhagen, for children from 2 years 10 months to 18 years. It dates from 1963, when a few expat families worked with the US embassy to offer English-language classes to 12 students; it took its present name in 1968, and in 1969 it was one of the founding schools to offer International Baccalaureate examinations on an experimental basis. A CIS student earned the first IB Diploma in 1972. In 1993 the school merged with the junior school and moved to Hellerup, and in 2017 it moved to the new building in Nordhavn. The school offers all three IB programmes, the PYP, MYP and Diploma Programme, and awards a NEASC-accredited US High School Diploma. The language of instruction is English, as written in the school constitution; Danish is part of the curriculum. About 800 students from 80 countries attend: 21% Danish, 16% American, 7% British. The constitution describes the school as an independent, self-governing institution funded by public grants and family fees.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $23 427–32 496 a year
155 000–215 000 DKK
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · American programme
Admits from
2.83 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Danish, French, German, Spanish
Registration fee
≈ $453
3 000 DKK
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027: Pre-Kindergarten (ages 2-4) 194000 DKK, Kindergarten to grade 5 155000 DKK, grades 6-10 178000 DKK, grades 11-12 215000 DKK per year. Fees cover instruction, books and materials; support for special learning needs may cost extra. Payment is in one instalment by 1 April 2026, in four instalments of 25% or in eight instalments. Pre-Kindergarten families with a Danish CPR number may receive the municipal privat børnepasning subsidy through their municipality. Part of the Kindergarten to grade 3 tuition is invoiced separately as SFO to secure a state subsidy; it is not an extra fee.
Admissions Admission is open all year subject to space, with no deadlines; applications are now open for the 2027-2028 school year. The school states that admission is open to all students regardless of citizenship and other characteristics, but no single nationality may exceed 25% of students. Steps: a tour, an online application with documents and a 3000 DKK fee, a review by the division principals (considering English proficiency and support needs), then confirmation of the place with a registration fee. Required are a photo, passport copy, report cards (translated into English) and a confidential teacher questionnaire. Up to grade 4 English is preferred but not required; grade 5 requires basic English (A2 level), assessed at interview; applicants to grades 6-12 who have not studied five years in an English-medium school take an English test. Placement tests in Danish, French, German, Spanish and Mathematics may follow admission. Grade 12 entry is possible only if the student has already taken grade 11 IB courses matching those CIS offers. Students with learning needs are admitted on the basis of documentation if the school can provide the support. When space is limited, priorities apply: returning students, scholarship students and siblings, then families of diplomatic missions, international organisations and companies in Copenhagen, and children of alumni.
Stages and year groups Grades Pre-K, K, 1-12. Early Years: Pre-K for children aged 2 years 10 months, 3 and 4, Kindergarten for five-year-olds and grade 1 for six-year-olds (age on 31 August). IB PYP in primary (Pre-K to grade 5), IB MYP in grades 6-10, IB Diploma Programme in grades 11-12; all students work toward a US High School Diploma, and most in grades 11-12 take the full IB Diploma. The school prepares students for the Danish FP9 exam in Danish, after which they can continue with Danish A in the Diploma Programme or move to a Danish gymnasium; non-native Danish students take Danish as Language B until grade 10 as required by Danish law.
Address Levantkaj 4-14, 2150 Nordhavn, København
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeNEASC · accreditationThe IB register lists the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes at the school. It is accredited by NEASC and also awards its own American high school diploma.
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 →NEASCNew England Association of Schools and Colleges
An American accreditation working since 1885. For international schools it uses an approach where the visitors look first at live lessons rather than at folders of paperwork: the team works in the school for about a week. It is the only one here whose public directory honestly separates accredited schools from candidates.
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 →American programme
The American school programme, with the High School Diploma at the end. It usually comes together with AP courses, which the College Board stands behind, and with an American accreditation - MSA, NEASC or Cognia.
What this means for this school. The diploma is written out by the school itself: the American programme has no common leaving exam, and the content of the senior years is set by the school. Outside checking therefore rests on two things here - the accreditation of the school, and the AP exams if the school runs them.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
34 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma 2026: 82 full candidates and 8 course candidates, 77 diplomas, pass rate 94% against a global 82.6%, mean score 34 against a global 30.9, highest score 43 points. In 2025: 89 candidates, 85 diplomas, 95.5%, mean score 33, highest 44 points. The school has an open-access policy for the full diploma: 73 students of the Class of 2027 are IB Diploma candidates.
Where leavers go: Imperial College London · University College London · King's College London · University of Edinburgh · University of Manchester · University of Toronto · McGill University · Delft University of Technology · École Polytechnique · Copenhagen Business School · KTH Royal Institute of Technology · Waseda University
and others, 15 universities in the school's list in allThe school profile for 2026-2027 lists graduate acceptances at universities in the UK, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and the US; three future planning counsellors work with students in grades 9-12.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio
Clubs and activities: Gymnastics · Mini Tennis Club · Parkour · Dance · Hip-Hop · Martial Arts · STEM Club · LEGO Club · Watercolour Studio · Drawing Studio · Musical Adventures · Yarn Club · Conscious Cooking · Mother Tongue Programme · Football · Volleyball · Swimming · Track & Field / Cross-Country · Basketball
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 sizenot stated
What the listings show: reference checks, criminal background checks from countries of residence for the previous ten years, Danish Børneattest, mandatory child protection course
The school has about 180 staff. When hiring it checks professional references, criminal background checks from all countries of residence for the previous ten years and the Danish Børneattest; child protection training is mandatory for all staff and a condition of employment. Three future planning counsellors work with students in grades 9-12.
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
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school has its own Learner Safeguarding Protocol. The Designated Safeguarding Leads are the Director of Student Support and the school health nurse; the Safeguarding Team also includes the Director, division principals and grade level counsellors. The online child protection course is mandatory for all staff, volunteers and contractors, and training is documented annually. The school teaches students to speak up about any concern and publishes Anti-Bullying Guidelines.
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%)97 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 data75 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