Where should I start if I've only just started thinking about an international school?

Start with the guides grouped under Planning a move and Working out what fits, which help you set requirements before you look at any specific school. Understanding international-school fees and How admissions work are the two most families read first, since they explain the process and costs you will meet whichever school you choose.

Do these guides tell me about specific schools?

No. The guides explain process, vocabulary and what varies by country or school, so you can judge any school against your own requirements. Anything about a specific school's own place, year group or offer can only be answered by that school directly.

How is this different from the curriculum library?

The guides cover process — admissions, fees, assessments, visits and decisions — while the curriculum library explains how each education system, such as British, IB or American, is actually built. Families often need both: the guides for how to navigate the process, the curriculum pages for what the education itself involves.

Do the guides apply outside the cities you cover?

Yes. The guides describe process and vocabulary that apply broadly across international schools, while our school search currently runs city by city, starting with Dubai. Where something is specific to a country or regulator, the guide says so rather than assuming it applies everywhere.

How do I actually start contacting schools?

Tell us what your family needs once, and see matched schools with places, fees and next steps, answered per child. You then choose which schools receive your contact details, and no others do.

Family guides | InternationalSchools.org

Family guides

Guides to the parts of international schooling that are hardest to work out from school websites alone, grouped by where you are in the process.

Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished July 2026Last reviewed August 2026

In short

Each guide answers one question a family actually asks, and says plainly what varies by school or country.
Each one explains the process and the vocabulary, so you can judge any school against your own requirements.
Read the guides for process and vocabulary, and the curriculum library for how each education system is built.
Anything about your own child's place, year group or offer can only be answered by a school.

Start here

The two guides most families read first: what a school year actually costs, and how applying works.

Understanding international-school fees

What a school year costs beyond the tuition figure, and what to compare between schools.

How international-school admissions work

Enquiry, application, assessment, offer, deposit and enrolment, in the order they happen.

Planning a move

Before you have chosen any schools, and often before the destination is confirmed.

Moving abroad with children: a school timeline

For families with a move confirmed or likely. What to do at twelve, six, three and one month out.

School year and intake timing

For families whose move does not line up with the school calendar. Where the real intake points fall.

Entry year and age cut-offs

For families unsure which year group their child will enter, and why schools disagree about it.

Working out what fits

Turning a city and a year group into requirements you can compare schools against.

How to find an international school

For families at the start. Setting requirements before comparing schools, and in what order to decide.

Checking a school properly

Verifying what a school offers, before it becomes a decision.

School visits and tours

For families booking visits. How to see an ordinary school day rather than an open-day version of it.

Learning support and additional needs

For families with a support need to raise. How provision is structured and when to disclose.

Accreditation and recognition

For families checking claims. What each badge certifies, and how to verify it in minutes.

Applying and deciding

From first contact with admissions through to accepting a place.

Assessments and entrance tests

For families facing a test or observation. What is assessed by age, and what the result is used for.

Waiting lists and availability

For families told a year group is full. How places free up and how lists are actually reviewed.

Questions to ask an international school

For families in conversation with admissions. What to ask at each stage, and what a good answer sounds like.

Choosing between two offers

For families with a decision to make under a deadline. What to compare, and what to ignore.

Where we cover

The guides apply anywhere. When you want the answer for your own children, an adviser can research the schools where you are moving.

International schools in Dubai

Curricula, areas, fees and intake timing in the city we cover first.

Which schools have places for your children?

A guide explains how something works. Only a school can tell you whether it has a place for your child, in that year group, for the start date you need.

Tell us where you are moving, your children's ages and what you are looking for, and see matched schools with places, fees and next steps for your children and what happens next. Each school answers per child, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same school.

What you tell us decides which schools your request is relevant to. Your contact details are shared only with the schools you choose to share them with.

Start my school search

US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.

Common questions about the family guides

Last reviewed: August 2026

Practice varies by country and by school. Where a guide describes something as typical, treat it as a starting point to confirm, not a rule.

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