← Back to the rankingDiscover International School
Sofia, Bulgaria · est. 2012 · Private
Illustration · Sofia
Discover International School (in Bulgarian Otkrivatel International School, legally the private secondary school ChSU Otkrivatel) is a private, fee-paying day school in Sofia that combines IB programmes with Montessori education, from a toddler group to grade 12. The school dates its history from 2012; it is licensed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science and since 2017 has held innovative school status. Since September 2023 it has run the IB PYP and MYP, in February 2026 it was authorised for the Diploma Programme, and it describes itself as an IB Continuum World School. Graduates receive the IB diploma and the Bulgarian secondary school diploma. The main language of instruction is English, as the school states directly; primary school is bilingual, in English and Bulgarian. According to the school, 120 students of 23 nationalities attend. The school works under the auspices of Montessori Society Bulgaria, the affiliate of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), and is accredited by the UK STAR Montessori board.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $8 360–8 812 a year
7 400–7 800 EUR
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · Montessori · National programme
Admits from
18 months · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English, Bulgarian
Languages taught
Spanish, German, Italian, Russian
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027 paid in one instalment: Preschool 1 7400 euro, Preschool 2 and grades 1-7 7650 euro, grades 8-10 7400 euro, grades 11-12 (Diploma Programme) 7800 euro. In two instalments from 7800 to 8200 euro, monthly (a first payment and 9 payments) from 8500 to 8950 euro. Discounts: 5% for a 3-year contract, 5% for a second child, 7% for a third child and twins; a limited number of scholarships is available. Fees exclude clubs and sports, ski and green camps, trips, speech therapy, uniforms, bus, digital resources and, in the MYP and DP, IB exams and curriculum resources.
Admissions The school admits students when places are available. Steps: inquiry and visit, application, a Reception Day (assessing the child's knowledge, thinking and social-emotional development) and a family meeting with the pedagogical leadership; the decision is given within one week, and the place is secured with a contract and deposit. Grades 1-4 accept all English levels. Grade 6 requires at least A2 English (online school test and interview), grade 8 at least A2, and the Diploma Programme (grades 11-12) at least B2; tests take place at the Middle and High School Campus. Required documents: reports for the last 3 years, awards, a recommendation, birth certificate and vaccination records. Transfers from non-IB schools are welcome. Students come from 23 nationalities on six continents; the school does not state separate conditions for foreigners.
Stages and year groups Grades Toddlers, Early Years, Preschool 1-2, 1-12. Stages: a toddler group (18-36 months), Early Years (ages 3-5), Preschool 1 and 2, the PYP in grades 1-4, the MYP in grades 5-10 and the Diploma Programme in grades 11-12. All stages follow Bulgarian state standards together with the IB programmes and Montessori (AMI) pedagogy. Diploma Programme subjects: English Language & Literature, Bulgarian Literature or mother tongue, Spanish or German, History, Business Management, Biology, Mathematics Applications & Interpretation, Visual Arts; three subjects at Higher Level. Graduates receive the IB diploma and the Bulgarian secondary school diploma.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes at the school (registered as Discover Private Secondary School). The Bulgarian national programme runs alongside.
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 →Montessori
The pedagogy of Maria Montessori: a child chooses the activity, works at their own pace with special materials, and mixed-age groups are arranged so that older children teach the younger ones. It is used most often in the nursery and primary stages.
What this means for this school. The name Montessori belongs to nobody: any school may call itself a Montessori school, and there is no single body that checks this. There are associations that train teachers and recognise schools, but membership of them is voluntary, and our entry means exactly that the school describes itself this way. This pedagogy has no leaving certificate, so what to look at is what the school finishes with.
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
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
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
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school operates at two addresses in Sofia: ul. Bolgrad 6 and ul. Episkop Protogen 43. It has its own licensed kitchen with a menu planned by a child nutritionist, and a school bus run by a subcontractor for children from age 5. The football team trains at the Slavia sports complex near the school, and swimming takes place at the Spartak complex.
Clubs and activities: Robotics · Photography · Dancing · Digital skills · Handwork · Theatre · Piano · Craftsmanship · Sports math · Writing workshop · Chess club · Swimming · Tennis · Football · Yoga
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: a university degree and an AMI Montessori diploma; IB courses every year
According to the school, all lead teachers at every level hold AMI diplomas and Montessori teaching qualifications in addition to university degrees, and assistants are AMI-trained too; teachers attend IB courses every year and international conferences. The team is international; the MYP and Diploma Programme coordinators are named on the team page.
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 policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Each morning a medical professional checks the children's health, monthly examinations are held, and a nurse is on staff. Middle and high school have school counsellors, and the school calls mental health support a priority.
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 data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 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.
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