Family guides
How to find an international school
Most families start by collecting school names. It is faster, and far less stressful, to define your requirements first and let them remove the options that were never realistic.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished July 2026Last reviewed July 2026
The five decisions that constrain everything else
Answer these before you look at a single school website.
- 1
Curriculum
Decide this first, because it determines which schools are even candidates and how easily a later move would work.
- 2
Age and entry year
Work out the year group or grade your child would enter in the destination system, and whether that year has capacity.
- 3
Location and travel
Fix a realistic daily travel time before you fall in love with a school. This eliminates more options than anything else.
- 4
Fees and total cost
Set a full-year budget, not a tuition figure, and include registration, deposits, transport and everything else.
- 5
Start date
Mid-year entry is possible in many places but narrows the field sharply. Know your earliest and latest workable dates.
If you are unsure about curriculum, start with the curricula library and the comparison table.
A practical sequence
Timings assume a standard August or September start. Adjust them if you are moving mid-year.
Six to twelve months before the move
Settle curriculum direction, confirm the destination and understand how the school year runs there. Learn the local regulator and what it publishes.
Four to six months before
Fix your budget and travel radius. Identify which areas are realistic given where you will live or work, and shortlist schools that fit your requirements.
Three to four months before
Contact admissions teams. Ask about availability in the specific entry year, assessment requirements and documents. Arrange visits, in person or online.
Two to three months before
Complete applications, sit any assessments, and compare offers on total cost as well as fit. Check deposit terms before paying anything.
After accepting
Confirm start date, uniform, transport and records transfer, and request the full fee schedule for the year in writing.
How to research a school
- Read the school's own published information first: curriculum, fees, term dates and admissions policy.
- Check what the local regulator or inspectorate publishes, and understand what its framework actually measures.
- Confirm accreditation or programme authorisation directly with the awarding organisation where it matters to you.
- Treat parent forums as a source of questions to ask, not as evidence.
- Visit if you can, in person or online, and ask to see the year group your child would join.
What to verify directly
- Availability in the exact entry year and start date you need.
- The full fee schedule for a year, including everything non-optional.
- Assessment or interview requirements and their dates.
- Language and learning support, and how it is funded.
- Deposit terms and what they commit you to.
The questions guide sets these out stage by stage.
Common mistakes
- Starting with school names instead of requirements, which makes every option look plausible.
- Comparing tuition figures that include different things.
- Assuming a place exists in the specific year group, rather than at the school in general.
- Underestimating daily travel, especially in cities with heavy peak traffic.
- Leaving records and reports behind, then needing them for an assessment or placement decision.
- Changing curriculum in the middle of a two-year examination course when it could have been avoided.
Where InternationalSchools.org fits
We handle the shortlisting step. You describe your requirements once, and receive a recommended shortlist of schools that fit them in your own private school search, with an explanation of why each may fit and a consideration to weigh. You then select up to 3 admissions teams and contact them with a single message, rather than filling in a separate form on each school's website. Everything after that (visits, assessment, offers) happens directly between you and the school.
You can read how matching works before you start.
Continue reading
How admissions work
The sequence from enquiry to enrolment, and the documents needed at each stage.
Understanding fees
What a school year costs beyond the tuition figure.
Curricula explained
How the British, IB and American systems are built.
International schools in Dubai
How the Dubai market works, and how to search it.
Questions to ask
A staged checklist for conversations with admissions.
Last reviewed: July 2026
Timings describe common practice internationally. Individual countries and schools run to their own calendars.
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