← Back to the rankingInternational School of Budapest
Budapest, Hungary · est. 1996 · Private
Illustration · Budapest
The International School of Budapest (ISB) is a private, fee-paying international day school in District 11 of Budapest for students aged 5 to 18: preparatory, primary and secondary school. It was founded in 1996 and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026. It is run by the Nemzetközi Oktatási Központ Alapítvány foundation and registered in Hungary as an international and Hungarian-English bilingual primary and secondary school. From Preparatory to grade 8 there are two pathways: the International Programme, taught in English on the UK curriculum as prescribed by Cambridge, and the Hungarian-English Bilingual Programme on the Hungarian curriculum for bilingual schools; students of both share mixed homerooms. After grade 8 study is international only: Cambridge IGCSE in grades 9-10, then the IB Diploma Programme in grades 11-12; students not taking the full IB Diploma receive an American-style High School Diploma through Cognia accreditation. The official Hungarian certificate is issued up to grade 8. There are around 320 students, with a target of about 450. The student teacher ratio is 7:1 and average teacher tenure is six years. Uniform is mandatory.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $15 125–22 076 a year
4.9–7.2 million HUF
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE · National programme
Languages of instruction
English, Hungarian
Languages taught
German, Spanish
Class size
on average 14-20 students, 18-20 according to another school page; primary English groups of 8-12, EAL groups of up to 10 pupils
Registration fee
≈ $123
40 000 HUF
Deposit
≈ $1 692
550 000 HUF
About the fees Tuition contribution for 2026-2027, lump sum: International programme - Preparatory 4917900 forints, grades 1-4 5723000, grades 5-8 5994600, grades 9-10 6790000, grades 11-12 (IB) 7178000; Bilingual programme - Preparatory 4326200, grades 1-4 4704500, grades 5-8 4976100. Paid in 2 instalments the amounts are higher: from 4460000 to 7400000 forints; the 3% lump sum discount applies if paid by 1 July 2026. Sibling discounts: 5% for the second child, 10% for the third, 15% for the fourth. The card shows the International programme lump sum.
Admissions The school accepts applications throughout the year in all grades provided there are free places, and states that its programmes are designed for international, expat and Hungarian families alike. Enrolment requires taking part in the Assessment Day programme; applicants choose the International (English) or Bilingual (Hungarian-English) programme; for grades 11-12 the application form notes that restrictions apply. Students whose English is below grade level must join the paid EAL programme (4 or 8 lessons per week) until they reach their classmates' level; EAL begins in grade 2. The admission fee is 35000 forints until 30 June and 40000 forints afterwards.
Stages and year groups Preparatory (from age 5) and grades 1-8 have two pathways: International (Cambridge Primary and Cambridge Lower Secondary, official Cambridge assessments at the end of grades 5 and 8, taught in English, Hungarian as a foreign language, a modern foreign language from grade 6) and Bilingual (Hungarian curriculum for bilingual schools, Hungarian language and literature and mathematics in Hungarian, English as a first language, science, music, art and PE in English; official Hungarian report up to grade 8). Grades 9-10: Cambridge IGCSE with examinations at the end of grade 10. Grades 11-12: IB Diploma Programme; the alternative is the American-style High School Diploma through Cognia, combining 4-5 IB subjects with internal ISB courses. The school does not mention the Hungarian érettségi.
Address Budafoki út 97-103, 1117 Budapest (XI. kerület)
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE · authorised programmeCognia · accreditationThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school, and the Cambridge register names it as its centre. It is accredited by Cognia. Up to grade 8 a Hungarian bilingual line runs alongside the international one.
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: DP (ages 16-19). 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 →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). 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.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →CogniaCognia, formerly AdvancED
The widest-reaching American accreditation: some forty thousand schools in over a hundred countries. It accredits both individual schools and whole school systems. It also sells a paid membership with no inspection behind it, and that membership is often passed off as accreditation.
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
Exam results IB Diploma, May 2025: pass rate 90% against a world average of 81%, average grade per subject 5.12 against a world average of 4.9, highest score in the cohort 38 out of 45; the highest score in the school's history is 41 out of 45. Cambridge IGCSE: according to the school, pass rates of up to 89% in some years and over 50% of grades at 7 or above in some cohorts. On Hungarian National Competency Assessments (OKM) results in mathematics and reading are above the national average; in English grade 6 scored around 1850 against about 1700 nationally, and grade 8 1950-2000 against about 1800.
Where leavers go: Semmelweis University · Corvinus University of Budapest · University of Szeged · International Business School Budapest · University of Leuven · University of Amsterdam · McDaniel College Budapest · Bournemouth University · University of Gloucestershire · Delft University of Technology · RWTH Aachen
According to the school's data on the 2022 IB class, 95% went on to post-secondary studies in the USA, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, 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
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Playground
Clubs and activities: Woodwork Club · Science Club · Primary Choir Club · StArs Club - Speech and Theater Arts Club · Spanish Language Club · Chess club · Reading Club · Art Club · Robotics & programming club · Ceramics Club · Piano club · Homework Club · Cricket · Football · Swimming · Tennis club · Taekwondo · Dance Club · English Booster · German Booster · Spanish Booster · Math Booster · Geography Club · Model United Nations · Postcrossing 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: leaders and teachers hold British PGCE and QTS, Cambridge DELTA and master's degrees; Hungarian teachers hold degrees from Hungarian universities
The Principal is Karin Wouters from the Netherlands, with over 30 years in education in Australia, the UK and the Netherlands. International teachers with native English work alongside Hungarian teachers. Average teacher tenure at the school is six years, many have stayed more than ten. The student teacher ratio is 7:1.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
✓CCTV
✓Security staff
✓Access control
✓Nurse or medical room
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Entry to the campus is through a manned main gate; security cameras monitor the building, the playground and the approaches during the day; students and parents enter the building with access cards, and parents do not go to classrooms without an appointment. The school doctor and nurse are available once a week, and the School Secretary is a certified first aid responder. Teachers supervise breaks on a duty schedule; primary has a Wellbeing Lead and secondary a Pastoral Leader.
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%)84 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 data80 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)95 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