← Back to the rankingHeritage International School
Chisinau, Moldova · est. 2017 · Private
Illustration · Chisinau
Heritage International School is a private all-through international school in Chișinău, from preparatory classes for preschoolers to the final Class 12. The idea dates from 2008, when founders Natalia Ciornaia and Sinan Bora conceived it; the cornerstones were laid in 2016 and the school welcomed its first students in September 2017. A year later it became the first Cambridge School in Moldova; in 2021 it became the first school in Moldova to join COBIS (Council of British International Schools), and in summer 2026, according to the school, it completed full COBIS accreditation for a day school, covering safeguarding, safer recruitment, student welfare, facilities, governance, teaching and extra-curricular life. Since 2023 the school has been an accredited UCAS Centre for graduates applying to UK universities. There are two pathways: the Bilingual Pathway, where pupils in Classes 1-9 learn in Romanian or Russian to Moldovan standards with daily English, and the English-only Cambridge pathway leading to IGCSE and to AS and A Level in the Lyceum; the Lyceum's medium of instruction is exclusively English. Since summer 2025 the school has been led by Director Casey M. Barnes from Ireland. The school runs the Heritage Scholarships programme and the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award (Bronze level, from age 14).
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $6 214–15 251 a year
5 500–13 500 EUR
Programmes
Cambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE, A-Level · National programme
Languages of instruction
English, Romanian, Russian
Registration fee
≈ $56
50 EUR
About the fees Tuition is annual, in euros, for the 2026-2027 school year (first instalment due June 15, 2026), in two tiers. For dependents of foreign nationals, non-residents and temporary residents: School Starter 5500 euros, National Pathway (grades 1-9) 12000, Cambridge Pathway grades 1-10 12000 and grades 11-12 13500 euros a year. For children of Moldovan citizens: 5500, 7000, 7000 and 7700 euros. 'Tuition fees can be paid by any payment method in MDL' at the OTP Bank SA commercial sell rate on the payment day, in two instalments of 50% due June 15 and December 15; 'A 4% discount applies for full payment of the tuition fee made in a single installment before June 15.' The family discount is 10% for the second child and 15% for the third (on the youngest, while all attend at the same time). 'The tuition fee shall increase by 50 euros for each week following June 15, 2026' until payment is made.
Admissions The school admits both Moldovan citizens and foreigners, with different fees: Tier 1 is for pupils whose parents or legal representatives are Moldovan citizens, Tier 2 for dependents of foreign nationals, non-residents and temporary residents. Foreign pupils also need an immunization card, medical insurance and a copy of each parent's entry visa stamp. 'Pupils could be admitted all through the school year'; admissions for 2026-2027 are open. School Starter and Class 1 have no placement test (Class 1 applicants have an English assessment and meet the school counselor); Classes 2-10 take placement tests: for the Bilingual Pathway English, Russian or Romanian and Mathematics, for the Cambridge pathway English and Mathematics, with a minimum pass mark of 70% in each. 'Students who come from a different language background with no English will not be denied admission': they take only the Mathematics test and receive support in the Intensive English Unit. Sixth form (AS and A Level) applicants sit entrance exams in English and their chosen subjects and have an interview; full entry requires 5 C grades at IGCSE. Heritage Scholarships (up to 100% of tuition) are open only to citizens of the Republic of Moldova.
Stages and year groups Grades School Starter, 1-12. School Starter - preparatory classes for preschoolers from 08:30 to 16:00, based on the national curriculum and the International Primary Curriculum, with Romanian and Russian literacy and an introduction to English. Bilingual Pathway: Primary School, Classes 1-4, from age seven, on the International Primary Curriculum blended with the Moldovan primary curriculum; 'Children are placed according to their language of instruction (English, Romanian or Russian)' with daily English support; Gymnasium, Classes 5-9, following 'the standards recommended by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Moldova', with Science, Mathematics and English to Cambridge International standards. Cambridge (English-only) pathway: Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary, then two years of IGCSE (a minimum of 5 subjects, usually 8-11, including English and Mathematics) and the Lyceum with Cambridge International AS Level at the end of Class 11 and A Level at the end of Class 12; 'In the Heritage Lyceum, our medium of instruction is exclusively English.' A Level subjects: Art and Design, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, English General Paper (AS only), English Language, English Literature, Geography, German Language and Literature, History, Law, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, Sociology, Travel and Tourism. Parents of Cambridge-pathway pupils agree in writing that the child will not sit national exams in Classes 4 and 9 or the bacalaureat in Class 12, and the school states 'this decision is irreversible.' The school does not describe a national lyceum with the bacalaureat: its Lyceum is Cambridge AS and A Level only.
Address bd. Dacia 45/A, MD-2062 Chișinău
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmeCOBIS · accreditationThe Cambridge register names the school as a Cambridge centre. The COBIS register lists it as an accredited member; according to the school, it completed full COBIS accreditation in summer 2026, having been a member since 2021.
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: Primary (ages 5-11), Lower Secondary (ages 11-14), IGCSE (ages 14-16), A-Level (ages 16-18). 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. Lower Secondary is the middle stage, ages 11 to 14, with the same optional Checkpoint test at the end. 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 →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 →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
Where leavers go: University of Glasgow · University of Nottingham · St Mary's University · City University London
The school names these UK universities for its 2023 and 2024 graduates. 'Some of them chose to study in universities in Moldova, while others went to other countries': Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, the USA, Canada, France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Hungary.
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
·Cateringnot stated on the website
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: English Club · Art Club · Chess Club · Duke of Edinburgh's International Award (Bronze level)
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: Director Casey M. Barnes holds an MSc in Educational Leadership and an MA in Teaching of English; Academic Director Inga Chiosa holds the NPQSL (UCL) and is a Cambridge International PDQ Programme Leader. Most teachers graduated from Moldovan universities, including Moldova State University and the Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University.
The school's leadership has 10 members: Director, Academic Director, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Finance Officer, the Heads of Secondary, Lyceum, Primary and Pastoral and Student Support Services, the HR Manager and the Enrichment and Community Partnership Manager. The first of four pages of Gymnasium and Lyceum teachers lists 16 teachers: English, Romanian, Russian, Mathematics and Physics, Science, Humanities, History, Physical Education, Music and Global Perspectives. Support staff include a librarian, four learning assistants and a Lyceum warden.
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 roomnot stated on the website
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy is approved by the Full Governing Body and reviewed every year. The Designated Safeguarding Leads are the School Counselor and the Head of Pastoral, with deputies including the Heads of Primary, Secondary and Lyceum and a psychologist-designated Child Protection officer. All staff receive safeguarding training at induction, updated at least annually: all staff Level 1, Heads of Schools Level 2, DSLs Level 3. Every concern is recorded on a Concern Form and passed to the DSL. Full COBIS accreditation covers safeguarding and safer recruitment.
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 data70 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 data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data70 "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