← Back to the rankingZlatarski International School of Sofia
Sofia, Bulgaria · est. 1995 · Private
Illustration · Sofia
Zlatarski International School of Sofia is a private school for students aged 11-18 (Grades 5-12) in the Durvenitsa district of Sofia. It was founded in 1995 as an English language secondary school, became the first IB World School in Bulgaria in 2003 and was authorised by Cambridge in 2010. The school combines the Bulgarian national curriculum with international programmes: Cambridge Lower Secondary in Grades 5-7, Cambridge Checkpoint and Pre-IGCSE with 18 hours of English a week in Grade 8, IGCSE in Grades 9-10, and the IB Diploma Programme and/or the national programme in Grades 11-12. Graduates can receive both the Bulgarian diploma za sredno obrazovanie and the IB Diploma; international students can follow only the international pathway. English, the school says, is the main language of instruction. The school calls itself the most experienced IB school in Bulgaria: 20 IB graduating classes and over 800 graduates with IB Diplomas and certificates. 90% of students are from Bulgaria, the rest from about a dozen countries; average class size is 16.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $13 399–20 877 a year
11 860–18 480 EUR
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · Lower Secondary, IGCSE · National programme
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Bulgarian, German, Spanish, Latin
Students per teacher
5 students per teacher
Class size
16 students on average
Registration fee
≈ $226
200 EUR
About the fees Fees for 2026/2027 for international students: Grades 5-7 11860 euro, Grade 8 11960 euro, Grades 9-10 12200 euro, Grades 11-12 from 13810 to 18480 euro depending on the chosen pathway. Students from Bulgarian schools pay less: Grades 5-7 9690 euro, Grade 8 9780 euro, Grades 9-10 11020 euro, Grades 11-12 12720 euro; the school's own students in Grades 9-12 pay from 10020 to 11630 euro. Outside the admissions schedule the fee equals the international student fee. Fees include instruction, all textbooks, insurance, medical care, security, cultural events, extracurricular activities and use of school facilities.
Admissions Admission is selective, based on exam results, past grades and interview. Grades 5-7 require a first-term average above 4.50, a 2-hour exam (language test, literature, mathematics) and a meeting of the student and parents with the admissions committee. Grade 8 requires a first-term Grade 7 average above 4.50, a 2-hour exam (Bulgarian and Maths test, essay, Maths problems) and a committee meeting; after enrolment all students take an English entry test for setting, and from September there is an English course for those who need it. Grade 11 in the IB Diploma requires a first-term Grade 10 average above 5.00, a 4-hour exam (English at Cambridge Advanced level, Mathematics, commentary on an unseen Bulgarian text), a motivation essay in English and a committee meeting. The school explicitly encourages international students; their applications are reviewed case by case on a rolling basis, requiring good grades and demonstrated English, possibly English and Maths tests, and the school's IB entry exam for the IB; students transferring from other IB schools get priority. The registration fee is 200 euro.
Stages and year groups Grades 5-12. Grades 5-7: the Bulgarian national curriculum and Cambridge Lower Secondary (English, Mathematics, Science). Grade 8: 18 hours of English a week, Science, Social Science and Mathematics in the Pre-IGCSE programme, Cambridge Checkpoint; from Grade 8 a second foreign language (German or Spanish) and Latin. Grades 9-10: the national curriculum and Cambridge IGCSE (exams in English, Mathematics, History, Biology, Physics, Chemistry). Grades 11-12: the IB Diploma Programme (six subjects from Bulgarian A1, English A1/A2, History, Economics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, German, Spanish) and/or the national curriculum; graduates sit the matura and receive the Bulgarian diploma za sredno obrazovanie. On its curriculum page the school also names A Levels as an option for Grades 11-12.
Address 49 Kliment Ohridski blvd, Durvenitsa, 1756 Sofia
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · Lower Secondary, IGCSE · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school, and the Cambridge register names it as its centre. Graduates receive both the Bulgarian diploma and the IB Diploma.
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: Lower Secondary (ages 11-14), IGCSE (ages 14-16). 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 →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: 50 students sat the exams, the largest IB class in Bulgaria according to the school; more than 60 grades of 6 or 7 out of 7, about 70% of students achieved excellent English grades, graduates' scores were 33-36. The school record is 44 out of 45 points; 98% of students receive IB Diplomas or certificates. IGCSE 2025: 92% of students achieved A-C in English, 40% an A and six an A*. Over its history more than 600 students have earned IGCSE certificates and more than 340 Checkpoint certificates.
Where leavers go: Oxford University · Cambridge University · London School of Economics (LSE) · Imperial College London · King's College London · University College London (UCL) · Queen Mary, University of London · University of Warwick · University of St Andrews · Princeton University · Caltech · Delft University of Technology and others, 20 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 transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field
Campus: The campus in Durvenitsa has spacious classrooms, a science laboratory, a library, a computer lab, broadband and Wi-Fi, cafeterias, a sports hall and basketball, volleyball and football fields. There is round-the-clock security and limited access to the campus. 20-30% of students use school transport, and city buses and minibuses serve the school. There is no boarding.
Clubs and activities: Drama · Art design · School newspaper · School choir and music band · Computer and Design club · Culture and Civilizations club · Global issues forum · Model United Nations club · Zlatarski's Got Talent · Volleyball · Football · Basketball · Table tennis · Ice skating · Swimming
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers47
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: many teachers hold doctoral degrees and degrees from international universities
The school has 47 teachers and 20 staff; teachers come from Bulgaria, the United Kingdom and the United States, many hold doctoral degrees and were educated at international universities. The school regularly sends teachers abroad for further training.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
✓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
The school has round-the-clock security and limited access to the campus; medical care is included in the tuition fee.
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 data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 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