The school year just ended last week, which means we’re entering that crucial phase where parents are scrambling to find the best international school for the 2018-2019 academic year. And it’s not easy.
It’s a fundamental reality of being an expat: One of the biggest challenges for English-speaking expat families – even for well-paid corporate nomads – is finding satisfactory, English-language international schools.
Such schools cater to expat students, with curricula tied to the host nation in question, or an international education organization such as Edexcel, Cambridge International Examinations, and International Baccalaureate; if you’re curious about the International Baccalaureate program, we have a primer for your convenience.
Wherever you’re headed, do not wait to get there before starting the application process with your preferred international school, which can be lengthy.
A new school year is soon upon us, so we’ve prepared a list of English-language international school openings and expansions in Europe for the 2018-2019 academic year. If you are in charge of a new school or of one undergoing expansion, please let either one of us know:
Albania
Central and Eastern Europe are coming into their own after years sorting themselves out following the collapse of the Iron Curtain, and that includes English-language international schools. There’s a new school opening in September in the capital of Tirana, to be called Kings Tirana.
Established through a partnership with the capital and local entrepreneur network Sapaud, Kings Tirana will offer an Albanian/British curriculum for students two years old through 13. The school aims to open the door to the world for Albania by equipping students “with the awareness, knowledge and skills they need to thrive in an ever more international environment.” The school is part of the Kings Education network, which operates schools in the United Kingdom and the United States.
- Fees (2018-19 academic year): N/A; contact school for information
- Requirements: N/A; contact school for information
- Application Deadline: N/A; contact school for information
- Contact: Via contact form
- Website: www.kingseducation.com/landing-pages/kings-tirana-en
Germany
Meanwhile, a different King is establishing its kingdom in Frankfurt this fall, when King’s College Frankfurt opens its doors to 600 students between the ages of three and 18, eventually. The new school will be located 20 kilometers north of Frankfurt in the town of Friedrichsdorf, where the plan is to grow the school “organically” by admitting students between three and nine years of age in August 2018.
From there, the students will move up through year levels until the final year group, Year 13 (18 years of age), is open. King’s College Frankfurt is part of the British-based King’s Group, and will teach students with the English National Curriculum.
- Fees (2018-19 academic year): 8,000 euros – 18,000 euros annual tuition, depending on year group; 1,500 euros non-refundable enrollment fee; €1,500 re-enrollment fee (included in bill for third term of academic year)
- Requirements: Varies on age of candidate; full criteria can found here
- Application Deadline: Applications accepted year-round
- Contact: [email protected]
- Website: kcfrankfurt.de
Luxembourg
Three international schools are set to open in 2018-19 academic year, two of which will offer English-language education: Lycée Lënster in Junglinster and Ecole Internationale Mondorf-les-Bains in Mondorf. The schools, which will use the European School curriculum, were enshrined into law by Luxembourg’s parliament in a 55-3 vote in early June 2018.
Lycée Lënster will have room for 660 primary school students, while EIMLB will not only have room for 600 primary students, but 100 secondary students, too.
Ecole Internationale Mondorf-les-Bains
- Fees (2018-19 academic year): N/A; contact school for information
- Requirements: Complete and email pre-registration form with documentation
- Application Deadline: N/A; contact school for information
- Contact: [email protected]
- Website: portal.education.lu/eimlb
Ecole Internationale Mondorf-les-Bains
- Fees (2018-19 academic year): N/A; contact school for information
- Requirements: Complete and submit application with documentation
- Application Deadline: N/A; contact school for information
- Contact: [email protected]
- Website: lensterlycee.lu/inscription-internationale-20182019
Netherlands
Amsterdam International Community School:
Amsterdam International Community School is a few steps closer to moving into its new home come 2021. The plans for the new building, which will be located behind Vrije University, call for big sustainability including:
- solar panels on the roof
- lots of green space around the new school
- and “walls full of plants on the outside”
The project, in partnership with the City of Amsterdam, will also feature shared learning facilities and spaces, studios for various arts, and a new athletics facility.
In the meantime, AICS is expanding its current home to accommodate 300 new students. The expansion is greatly needed, as there’s a waiting list where some families apply years in advance for the chance to get in.
- Fees (2017-18 academic year): 4,650 euros – 6,550 euros annual tuition fee, depending on grade level; 500 euros new student deposit; full schedule of fees here (may change when 2018-19 academic year comes around)
- Requirements: Complete and submit online application with required documentation and registration fee; complete intake interview and assessment
- Application Deadline: Applications accepted year-round
- Contact: [email protected]
- Website: aics.espritscholen.nl/home
Updates on recently opened schools
Florencius International School
Florencius opened as a primary school in 2008 in Amstelveen outside Amsterdam. This year, the school expands to Laren between Amsterdam and Utrecht. Students between 5-12 with an international background are eligible. The tuition is about 20,000 euros.
Haarlem International School opened last September. As we reported, the plan was to add a secondary program for the 2018-2019 year, with total enrollment to range between 500 and 1,000 students in the next two to three years.
Here’s the latest from the HIS website:
For the school year 2018-2019 Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 will remain at the original address, Schreveliusstraat 27. Groups 5, 6 and 7 will be taught with the MYP 1, 2 and 3 classes in our second site based at the Blauwe Wetering in Haarlem East. The entrance is at the Oorkondelaan 65, 2033 MN Haarlem. The distance between school sites is 3 km.
Admission criteria are:
• The student has a non-Dutch nationality (or Dutch non-Dutch nationality) and has a parent who is working in The Netherlands for a limited time (maximum 3 years).
• The student has the Dutch nationality and has attended an international school abroad for two years because a parent was stationed abroad.
• The student has the Dutch nationality and a parent who will be stationed abroad within two years. This must be confirmed in writing by the parent’s employer.
Tuition is 4,700 euros per year for primary and 5,750 euros for secondary. There’s a 200 euro one-time non-refundable registration fee and a 500 euro deposit upon acceptance, refundable once all conditions have been properly fulfilled. Check their website for more details.
RISE International School
In April 2017, we reported RISE International School was opening in Paris. Only 15 months later, RISE has entered into a partnership with Malherbe International School, a 30-year-old primary school, according to the RISE website.
MIS RISE will be launching its program at 19 Rue du 11 Novembre, Le Vésinet, in the house next to the current MIS school building. Michele Silvestri, former head of history in the American Section at the prestigious Lycée International School in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and Janine Springall founded RISE in response to a growing demand from French and anglophone parents living in Paris and the western suburbs.
https://youtu.be/Y2wHPfXId8A
Brookes Moscow
Brookes Education Group struck a deal last year to open a new international school in Moscow. The 800-pupil capacity Brookes Moscow International School will accept local and international students from age 2 to 18 years old to its campus in the center of the Botanicheskii Sad. Starting in September, it will offer the International Baccalaureate programs, which are the standard around the globe.
You can see more details here.
Brookes Education Group is based in San Jose, CA.
Lifestyle journalist. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
