← Back to the rankingInternational School of the Stockholm Region (ISSR)
Stockholm, Sweden · State
Illustration · Stockholm
The International School of the Stockholm Region (ISSR) is a free, publicly funded English-speaking school founded and run by the City of Stockholm in response to the demand for international education. It became an IB World School in 1999 and since 2016 has offered the full IB continuum: the PYP from Grade 0 to grade 5, the MYP from grade 6 to grade 10 and the Diploma Programme in grades 11-12; it now also runs a Career-related Programme for future professional dancers with the Royal Swedish Ballet School. The working language of the school is English. More than 600 students from more than 70 countries attend. Primary and middle school are open only to families with a temporary work contract in Sweden, while from grade 10 local students are also admitted competitively. The school is housed in the historic building of the former Södermalm girls' secondary school, and during renovations until summer 2028 in Johanneshov. The upper school is a certified United Nations school in partnership with UNA Sweden, and students take part in Model United Nations.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP, CP
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Swedish, French, Spanish
Class size
around 28 students in grade 10, 15 to 25 in grades 11-12 pupils
About the fees Tuition is free: the school states that it is run by the City of Stockholm and has no fees. The exception is members of diplomatic missions who are not EU/EEA or Swiss citizens: they pay tuition for grades 10-12, the amount is not published. Lunch is free; an SL transport card is provided if the student lives further than 6 km from school.
Admissions The PYP and MYP (Grade 0 to grade 9) are open only to families with a temporary work contract; intake is ongoing up to grade 10. The upper school (grades 10-12) is open to both local and international families, with priority for families with a temporary contract; Diploma Programme intake closes in September and there is no waiting list. Applicants from Swedish schools need a meritvärde: the intake score over the last three years was between 290 and 340; they must also pass English and Mathematics tests unless they have grade A in both in grade 9 (or 7 in Mathematics and 6 in English in the MYP). For the Career-related Programme (dance) applications are accepted from October to January, with a dance audition and proof of English; late applications are accepted only from EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. Applications are online only.
Stages and year groups Grades 0-12. IB programmes, all in English: the Primary Years Programme (PK/Grade 0 from age 6 to P5, age 11), the Middle Years Programme (M6-M10; grade 10 is a preparatory year before the DP with a personal project and external IB eAssessments), the Diploma Programme (DP1-DP2, grades 11-12, six subjects and the three core components, final external exams). The Career-related Programme is a two-year programme for ages 16-19: at least two DP subjects, the CP core and career-related study in classical ballet or contemporary dance at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. According to the school, the MYP is aligned with the Swedish national curriculum. The PYP and MYP are governed by the ordinance on international schools (SKOLSF 2015:801), the upper school by the ordinance on international upper secondary education in Stockholm and Gothenburg (SKOLSF 2002:7).
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP, CP · authorised programmeThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years, Middle Years, Diploma and Career-related programmes.
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), CP (ages 16-19, with a vocational slant). 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. CP is the final stage with a vocational slant, ages 16 to 19: some of the DP subjects plus an applied qualification. It is meant for those heading into a trade or an applied degree rather than an academic one.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →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 hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Playground
Campus: The permanent building on Bohusgatan in Södermalm, near Skanstull metro station, was built in 1945 to a design by the architects Nils Ahrbom and Helge Zimdahl and is architecturally protected; the school has been there since 2012. It has a library with a quiet study room, an auditorium, several science laboratories, a gymnasium, a soccer field, a student café and a safe off-street green playground. During major renovations, from August 2026 to June 2028, the school has relocated to the Kärrtorp gymnasium building in Johanneshov. Lunch is free every day, with vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. Students from grade 10 get a Chromebook. It is a day school.
Clubs and activities: Soccer · Basketball · Volleyball · Badminton · Table tennis · Cricket · Choir · Band · Chess · Model United Nations · WIN club · CAS clubs
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
Grade 10 has around 28 students per class, the Diploma Programme between around 15 and 25 depending on the subject. Sports clubs are run by professional coaches. The school describes its faculty as international.
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 policy
The student health and welfare team: a school nurse, a school counsellor, a learning support coordinator and a special needs teacher. The Equal Opportunity Group challenges discrimination, harassment and inequality. There is an Advisory support and wellbeing programme and a peer-helper programme. The City's schools work together with social services, the county council and the police in Stockholm.
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 data70 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data85 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