← Back to the rankingQSI International School of Pápa
Papa, Hungary · est. 2012 · Private
Illustration · Papa
QSI International School of Pápa is a private international day school in Pápa, opened in August 2012 as part of the international QSI school network; the first school year ended with 61 students. The school says it now has just over 80 students from 19 nations. It teaches from preschool groups for ages 3 and 4 to four years of high school (Secondary I-IV) following an American programme in English; the school calls itself fully English speaking. Children are placed in classes by age and in mathematics and reading by achievement level; teaching is based on mastery learning. High school students earn one of three QSI diplomas, including the Academic Diploma with Honors with two AP courses; about 30 AP courses are available on site and online. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association since 2018.
Key facts
Programmes
AP · American programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
French, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese
Admissions Applications are accepted throughout the year subject to space: online registration, then a school visit with a campus tour and a meeting with the Director. Under its policy the school exists to give expatriates a quality English medium, North American education, and local citizens who want their children educated in English are also accepted. From preschool to the 13-year-old class (US grade 8) no English is required; secondary students take an English assessment, and limited English may lengthen the path to the diploma. Admission includes mathematics and literacy testing (MAP, a writing sample), a review of past transcripts and a graduation plan. Children are placed by age on 1 November. There is no direct learning support for special needs: if a child needs help beyond general classroom accommodations, the school may not be the right placement.
Stages and year groups Preschool groups for ages 3 and 4 use the Frog Street programme. Elementary classes are named by age (5-year-old class, 6-year-old class and so on to the 13-year-old class): reading, writing, mathematics, science, cultural studies, art, library, music, physical education, technology and languages other than English. High school Secondary I-IV (from age 14): progression by credits earned (50, 100, 150), eight courses in the schedule and SAT preparation. QSI diplomas: the Academic Diploma (240 credits), the Academic Diploma with Honors (the same plus two AP courses or two IB higher level courses) and the General Diploma (220 credits). AP courses run on site and online through the network's virtual school: from AP Biology and AP Calculus to AP Research and AP Seminar.
Address Komáromi utca 12, 8500 Pápa
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
MSA · accreditationCollege Board · authorised programmeQuality Schools International · school is part of the networkThe school is accredited by MSA (Middle States Association), with Active status in its directory. The College Board AP Course Ledger lists it for the 2025-2026 school year. It is a Quality Schools International network school.
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
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.
Quality Schools Internationalschool network
Quality Schools International is a not-for-profit organisation of international schools, created in 1991 by its founders Duane Root and James Gilson to work with expatriate families in new countries; the organisation's first school was Tirana International School in Albania. It counts its history from 1971, when Sanaa International School opened in Sanaa in Yemen and began with four pupils. Governance runs through a board of directors of its own and a central office in Malta, where a president and a vice-president work along with departments for personnel, finance, school operations, curriculum and technology; six regional supervisors oversee the schools assigned to them. The numbers on the site differ and we give them all: the home page speaks both of 35 schools with more than 6,500 pupils of 125 nationalities and of 37 schools in 30 countries on five continents, while the history page speaks of 35 schools in 29 countries; the list of schools has 36 on-site schools plus a virtual one. Teaching is in English, the stages run from pre-school to upper secondary school, the model of mastering the material is by outcome, and the upper secondary school has AP programmes and the IB diploma.
What this means for this school. The network owns or operates the school. Its accreditation and programme authorisation the school obtains separately, in its own name.
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 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
Also on site: Playground
Campus: A closed, guarded campus: students may not leave before 15:30 without parental permission, and visitors check in at the office. There are playgrounds, a cafeteria and a library; older students take health and fitness courses. There is no boarding.
Clubs and activities: Student Council · Model United Nations
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers12
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
What the listings show: all teachers are certified professionals
The school employs a Director, 12 full-time teachers and 4 paraprofessionals, plus office staff, guards and IT support. All teachers are certified and come from North America, Europe, Australia and elsewhere. Teachers are trained in mastery learning; a counselor helps high school students with course choice and university applications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
✓Security staff
✓Access control
·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
The campus is closed and guarded; students may not leave before 15:30 without parent and office permission, and visitors and parents check in at the office. The school follows its Child Protection Policy and the QSI statement and the CEESA principles, including regular onsite training and safe recruitment; all employees must report suspected abuse. Child protection and social-emotional lessons are taught at all ages.
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 data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data64 Value for money (6%) scored at the median71 "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 7 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