Mexico City, Mexico
International schools in Mexico City: what families need to know
Mexico City has an unusually deep private-school market, with long-established bilingual schools serving French, German, American, British, Japanese and Mexican communities, many of them a century old. Almost all combine a foreign curriculum with the Mexican national programme, because Mexican law requires it for pupils in the national system. Understanding that dual structure is the key to reading any school's timetable here. This guide covers admissions, curricula, the school year, fees, areas and how places actually work here.
Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Your request
- Where you are moving
- Mexico City
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
One request. We ask relevant schools whether they have places for each child. Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Example request. School names in these examples are fictional.
Mexico City in short
- Curricula available in Mexico City: Mexican national (SEP) combined with IB, American, British, French or German programmes.
- The Mexico City school year runs Late August to early July, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) and the Autoridad Educativa Federal en la Ciudad de México.
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Mexico City school.
- You can create one request and we ask relevant Mexico City schools whether they have places for your children and what happens next.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Mexico City at a glance
The facts that shape a Mexico City school search
- Oversight
- Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) and the Autoridad Educativa Federal en la Ciudad de México
- Main curricula
- Mexican national (SEP) combined with IB, American, British, French or German programmes
- School year
- Late August to early July
- Ages served
- Preescolar from age 3 through preparatoria to 18
- Language
- Spanish plus the school's second language; some schools are trilingual
How admissions work in Mexico City
Most Mexico City schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Mexico City. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Mexico City
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Mexico City school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Mexico City fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Mexico City school year runs late August to early July.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Mexico City
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Mexico City market costs, in round numbers
Mid band- Primary, per year
- MXN 180,000 – 350,000
- Secondary, per year
- MXN 220,000 – 450,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$10,000 – 25,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Mexico City schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why we ask schools directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Mexico City school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Answers from schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
Answered in 1 day
North campus · British · Annual fees: Shared with your answer
- Sofia · Year 4Place available for AugustPlace available
- Luca · Year 1Place available for AugustPlace available
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
Answered in 2 days
City campus · British · Annual fees: Shared with your answer
- Sofia · Year 4Place available for AugustPlace available
- Luca · Year 1Waiting list, reviewed monthlyWaiting list
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
Answered in 3 days
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Shared with your answer
- Sofia · Year 4Full for the August intakeFull for this intake
- Luca · Year 1Place available for AugustPlace available
Next step: Register interest for January
Your contact details are shared only with the schools you continue with.
Example answers. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Mexico City
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
Polanco, Lomas de Chapultepec and Bosques
Traditional home of diplomatic and corporate families, close to several long-established bilingual schools.
Condesa, Roma and Del Valle
Walkable, green and popular with younger families and remote workers, with schools nearby and heavier traffic.
Santa Fe and Interlomas
Modern towers, corporate offices and newer campuses to the west, chosen mainly for the short commute.
Coyoacán and San Ángel
Historic southern neighbourhoods with established schools, cobbled streets and a slower pace.
Moving to Mexico City with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Mexico City.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Mexico City are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Answers side by side
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Shared in answer
Shared in answer
Shared in answer
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
Register interest for January
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Mexico City
Private schools obtain official recognition from the education authority, and pupils following the Mexican national programme must cover the SEP curriculum, including Spanish and Mexican history and civics. Schools layer a foreign programme on top: IB, Advanced Placement, IGCSE, the French baccalauréat or the German Abitur. Some schools also offer a purely foreign track for pupils who will not remain in Mexico.
Understand the dual-curriculum timetable
In a SEP-incorporated school, the Mexican programme is not optional for pupils in that track. The day is longer than families expect, and the workload sits across two languages.
Ask whether the school offers a foreign-only track, who is eligible, and what happens to Spanish support for a child arriving with none.
Revalidación if you may stay
If your children later move into the Mexican system or apply to a Mexican university, previous overseas studies need revalidación — official recognition of prior schooling by the education authority.
Schools handle this routinely, but the paperwork is document-heavy: apostilled records, translations by an authorised translator, and identity documents. Start early.
Fees, inscription and annual increases
Tuition is published in pesos as ten or eleven monthly colegiaturas, with a separate annual inscription or reinscription fee.
Increases are announced annually, and schools are expected to publish their fee schedule before the enrolment period. Ask for last year's increase alongside this year's figure.
Books, uniform, meals, transport and trips are billed separately, and some schools have a one-off admission or family contribution.
Traffic, altitude and the daily rhythm
The city sits at about 2,240 metres; newcomers often need a couple of weeks to adjust, and sport is affected at first.
Traffic is heavy and school days start early — 7:30am is common. Combined with a long commute, that makes proximity to the school more valuable here than almost any other factor.
Admissions timeline and documents
The main enrolment period runs roughly from January to April for the August start, with assessments, interviews and in some schools a family meeting.
Prepare passports and residence documents, apostilled previous reports with certified translations, birth certificates and vaccination records.
What families get wrong in Mexico City
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Not checking whether the Mexican programme is compulsory
In SEP-incorporated tracks it is. Ask about foreign-only tracks and eligibility before shortlisting.
Leaving apostille and translation late
Revalidación and enrolment both require legalised and officially translated records.
Budgeting for tuition only
Inscription, books, uniform, meals and transport are separate, and inscription is a significant annual line.
Underestimating early start times
Many schools begin around 7:30am. A cross-city commute means a very early morning for young children.
Assuming little Spanish is fine long-term
Spanish is central to school life and to the SEP programme. Ask exactly what support a beginner receives.
Official Mexico City resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Mexico City
One request. We ask relevant Mexico City schools whether they have places for your children and what happens next.
- 1
Create one request for Mexico City
Where you are moving, each child's age, the curriculum you prefer and when you want to start. One request covers the whole family.
- 2
We ask relevant Mexico City schools
We start with schools that serve your children's ages in Mexico City. Curriculum, budget and area help us decide which relevant schools to ask first.
- 3
Schools answer for each child
Availability, fees, timing and what happens next. Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Schools cannot pay to be prioritised, and we do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Mexico City
Find out which Mexico City schools have places for your children
One request, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
Your contact details stay private until you choose to continue with a school.
Go deeper on Mexico City
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Mexico City compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From one request to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can create a request for any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.1. Mexico City information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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