The International School Utrecht (ISU) is a state-subsidised Dutch International School for students aged 4 to 18 and a full IB Continuum school: the Primary Years Programme in KG to grade 5, the Middle Years Programme in grades 6-10 and the Diploma Programme in grades 11-12. All classes are taught in English, except Dutch and Spanish language acquisition. The school is accredited by the IB and CIS and monitored by the Dutch Inspectorate of Education; it was successfully reaccredited in 2026. In 2026, 98 candidates sat the IB Diploma and 91 passed (93%), with an average of 32 points, a highest score of 44 and 23 bilingual diplomas; graduates mostly go on to Dutch universities. The school spends its last year in the temporary building in Papendorp and moves to a new campus at Utrecht Science Park from 2027-2028. More than a third of students are Indian and about a fifth Dutch.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 773–8 326 a year
5 110–7 370 EUR
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Dutch, Spanish
Registration fee
≈ $282
250 EUR
About the fees Annual fees for 2026-2027: KG to grade 5 5110 EUR, MYP (grades 6-10) 6410 EUR, Diploma Programme (grades 11 and 12) 7370 EUR; grade 12 adds an 800 EUR DP examination fee. Fees cover all educational costs and whole-grade day trips; overnight trips, external tuition, self-taught languages, clubs, home language lessons, Pamoja courses and MYP e-Assessments are extra. Students arriving during the year pay less: 90% from October, down to 20% in May and June. Families with three or more children get 30% off from the third child. Instalments carry a 10 EUR charge.
Admissions ISU caters for internationally mobile families living in the Netherlands for a temporary period who need international education. Under Dutch law on international schools it admits a student with non-Dutch (or also non-Dutch) nationality whose parent works in the Netherlands for a limited time; a Dutch student who has lived and gone to school abroad for at least two years because a parent was stationed abroad; a Dutch student whose parent will be stationed abroad within two years for at least two years. Students from the Dutch system with a HAVO diploma or promotion to VWO 5 may apply for the Diploma Programme with sufficient English. Applications go through the admissions portal with school reports and language information; the school checks that its provision matches the child's needs. During the year new students start only on fixed dates (monthly in 2026-2027). Children without English are supported by the English Language Acquisition programme; from grade 9, sufficient English to access the curriculum is required and may be assessed.
Stages and year groups Grades KG, Grade 1-12. IB Continuum: the Primary Years Programme from Kindergarten (age 4) to grade 5, the Middle Years Programme in grades 6-10 (grade 10 includes compulsory e-Assessments: the Personal Project and the Interdisciplinary Assessment, with the full MYP Certificate optional), the Diploma Programme in grades 11-12, including bilingual IB diplomas. Teaching is in English; Dutch language acquisition in primary and secondary, Spanish in secondary. The school does not mention Cambridge International courses.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeCIS · accreditationThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes. The school is accredited by CIS.
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 →CISCouncil of International Schools
It accredits international schools and is a paying association at the same time. It examines governance and ownership, the curriculum, teaching, student wellbeing, staff and premises; a team of volunteers from other CIS accredited schools visits the school. Membership and accreditation are different things here, and schools confuse them more often than anything 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 →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
32 (world average 30.88)
Exam results IB Diploma 2026: 98 candidates, 91 diplomas (93% against 83% worldwide), average score 32, highest 44, 23 bilingual diplomas. 2025: 77 candidates, 75 diplomas in the May session (97%), 100% including the November session, average 32.2, highest 45, 17 bilingual diplomas. 2024: 63 of 63 (100%), average 31.6, highest 43, 18 bilingual diplomas.
Where leavers go: Utrecht University · University of Amsterdam (UvA) · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam · Delft University of Technology · Eindhoven University of Technology · Erasmus University Rotterdam · University of Groningen · Maastricht University · Tilburg University · Radboud University Nijmegen · Wageningen University & Research · University College Utrecht
and others, 18 universities in the school's list in allThe school publishes each year where and what its graduates went on to study; most of the class of 2026 went to Dutch universities, including the technical universities of Delft and Eindhoven.
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 transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The 2026-2027 school year is the last in the temporary building at Van Deventerlaan 1 in Papendorp; from 2027-2028 the school moves to a purpose-built campus on Cambridgelaan at Utrecht Science Park with indoor and outdoor sports facilities, a theatre, science labs, visual arts and design spaces, music studios and green spaces; a partner nursery will open there too. At present the primary and secondary schools each have a library with books in many languages and an online catalogue. Secondary students bring a packed lunch or order a salad or sandwich from an external catering company set up in the school. After-school care for ages 4-11 is run in the school building by partner Kind & Co Ludens. There is no school bus. Students from grade 6 work on their own MacBook.
Clubs and activities: Home Language Clubs · ISU Music Academy · Chess · Crochet · Drama · Football · Guruscool Abacus · Netball · Photo Club · Microsoft Office
Teaching staff
The school publishes neither the number of its teachers nor their qualifications.
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
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
All staff receive annual safeguarding and child protection training; there is a dedicated safeguarding lead and an inclusion team. On employment all staff and trainees provide a police clearance certificate for working in education (VOG or foreign equivalent), and references are checked. Where needed the school reports suspected abuse to the police and Dutch child protection organisations.
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 data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 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
Utrecht, Netherlands · State