← Back to the rankingInternational Christian School of Budapest
Diosd, Hungary · est. 1994 · Private
Illustration · Diosd
The International Christian School of Budapest (ICSB) is a private Christian day school teaching in English in Diósd, just beyond Budapest's southern border, from Pre-1st to Grade 12. It was founded in 1994 and is run by the Hungarian non-profit foundation NAKKOM (Nemzetközi Alapítvány). About 280 students from many countries attend, with one class per grade in the Lower School. The programme is college-preparatory, based primarily on US materials and frameworks and integrated with a biblical worldview: Christian Studies courses, weekly chapel and teacher mentoring. AP courses are offered in Grades 11-12. Over 90% of teachers are native English speakers, and all are professing Christians. The language of instruction is English: the school describes itself as English-based and teaches non-English speakers in a separate fee-paying programme. The school prioritises children of full-time Christian ministry families. It reports ACSI and MSA-CESS accreditation.
Key facts
Tuition
$10 700–17 600 a year
Programmes
AP · American programme
Admits from
5 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Hungarian, German, Spanish
Class size
on average 12 students in Pre-1, 14 in Grades 1-3, 16 in Grades 4-5, 22 in Grades 6-8 and 15 to 24 in Grades 9-12 pupils
About the fees Parent Contribution Fee for 2026-2027: Pre-1 10700 dollars, Grades 1-5 16100 dollars, Grades 6-11 17600 dollars, Grade 12 18600 dollars including the 1000 dollar Senior Fee. It covers textbooks and online resources, iPads and laptops during the school day in lower grades, musical theater and team sports in Grades 6-12, curricular field trips and a yearbook. It excludes hot lunch, optional trips and a personal laptop in Upper School. Younger siblings receive a 10% discount, full-time Christian ministry families a 40% Ministry Scholarship; need-based assistance is available. Fees can be paid at once, in two instalments or in ten (plus 1%), in dollars or in forints and euros at the MNB rate.
Admissions The school welcomes students of all races, nationalities, ethnicities and religions, but has more applications than places and prioritises full-time Christian ministry families. Decisions weigh how well the child and family fit the mission, Foundational Statements and educational philosophy, as well as past grades, testing, behaviour and English level. Priority applications are submitted by 1 February with all steps completed by 31 March and decided by mid-April; late applications are considered if seats remain. Required are an online application, a 250 dollar fee, the child's ID, a photo and school records in English or Hungarian (otherwise a certified translation), recommendations from the teacher, the previous principal and a pastor if the family attends church, and family and student questionnaires; then an English assessment for non-native speakers, an academic readiness assessment and a family interview with the principal, all in person, or online proctored by the current school for families abroad. Beginners in English are accepted only through Grade 5, Grades 6-8 require at least high beginner level and Grades 9-12 at least intermediate; the number of English learners per grade is capped. Pre-First accepts children who are over 5 but under 6 by 31 August. The school accepts foreign students: it states directly that it welcomes children of all nationalities.
Stages and year groups Grades Pre-1, 1-12. Lower School: Early Grades are Pre-First (age 5, under Hungarian kindergarten regulations) and Grades 1-5, Middle Grades are 6-8; Upper School covers Grades 9-12. The programme is college-preparatory, mainly on US materials and frameworks; graduates receive the ICSB diploma (26 credits, including 4 years of Christian Studies and 2 years of one foreign language). AP courses in Grades 11-12 depend on student interest and staffing: recently Biology, Precalculus, Calculus, English Language, English Literature, Physics, Psychology, Statistics and Music Theory; students may also sit AP exams without the course. There is no IB or Hungarian programme.
Address Ifjúság út 11, 2049 Diósd
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
ACSI · accreditationMSA · accreditationCollege Board · authorised programmeThe school is jointly accredited by ACSI and MSA (Middle States Association). The College Board AP Course Ledger lists it for the 2025-2026 school year.
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
ACSIAssociation of Christian Schools International
An accreditation of Christian schools: the school spends eighteen months to two years on a self-study, and then peers from other Christian schools visit. Faithfulness to the Christian confession is part of the standards, so this is an accreditation with a condition of belief. It often runs jointly with MSA or Cognia, and such a pair is stronger than ACSI alone.
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 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 →College BoardCollege Board, the AP programme
An American organisation that allows a school to put the letters AP on a pupil's transcript. The permission is granted course by course and tied to a particular teacher, it has to be renewed every year, and College Board reads the course syllabus before granting it.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run advanced AP courses - not the school as a whole, but one by one: by subject and by teacher. Governance, safeguarding and the primary years are not part of that check. Which subjects are actually approved is visible in the ledger. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. Authorisation here runs a year at a time: the register lists the school for the 2025-2026 school year.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →AP
Advanced Placement: American advanced courses for the senior years. The exam for a course is set and marked by the College Board, not by the school. A good result is counted by American universities as a first-year course already passed, which saves a student time and money.
What this means for this school. A school does not get to call a course AP automatically: the College Board reads the course syllabus and approves it separately for every subject and every teacher, and the permission has to be renewed each year. Every approved school in the world is listed in the open AP Course Ledger, and this school's entry there stands as a line in the accreditation block above. How many courses a school is approved for, and in which subjects, the ledger does not show in its general listing. AP has no leaving certificate of its own: it sits on top of the school's main programme rather than being a separate system.
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
Where leavers go: Princeton University · New York University · United States Military Academy at West Point · Michigan State University · Ohio State University · Wheaton College · McGill University · University of Toronto · University of Oxford · University College London (UCL) · University of Queensland · Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) and others, 15 universities in the school's list in all
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio
Clubs and activities: Musical theater · Soccer · Basketball · Volleyball · Track & field · Band · Choir · Ensemble · Yearbook · Graphic Design · National Honor Society · Early Grades Soccer Club
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: over 90% of teachers are native English speakers; all are professing Christians and qualified professionals
Director David Kelley has worked at the school since 2013 and holds an Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership; Lower School Principal Cristiane Santos holds an M.Ed. in Special Education and has 15 years of leadership experience; Upper School Principal Michael Southwell holds an MA in Educational Administration and taught in public schools for 15 years. The school is governed by a Board of Trustees with a strategic plan to 2030.
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 policy
✓Staff training
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school is a member of the Child Safety and Protection Network (CSPN) and has built its recommendations into policies, staff screening, staff and student training and response protocols. There is a Student Protection Policy, a Student Protection Team Lead and a form for raising concerns, including historical ones. The health office is staffed daily, a school doctor visits weekly, and students receive an annual physical exam. The school offers counselling for behavioural, social and emotional difficulties and refers students to outside professionals.
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%)75 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 data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)95 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