There are many benefits of sending a child to one of Poland’s international schools: internationally recognised accreditations, small classrooms with low teacher to student ratios, interesting and abundant extracurricular activities and a diverse and multinational student body.  These benefits, however, do not come at a low price with tuition fees sometimes reaching over US$ 20, 000 per school year for secondary school students at some schools and over US$ 14, 000 US for some primary school programmes. 

International schools can be found in most of the major cities in Poland; however, the majority are still located in the nation’s capital, Warsaw. Some of the more recognised international schools in Warsaw include the American School of Warsaw, the International American School of Warsaw, and The British School. The American School of Warsaw was founded in 1953 and is Poland’s oldest international school. It enrols today close to 900 students from 49 different nations in its primary, middle and secondary school programmes. The International American School of Warsaw, founded in 1989, is the first American School of the post-Communist period. The school has students from over 30 different nations and is the only international school that is also certified by the Polish Ministry of Education. The British School in Warsaw, which follows the English national curriculum, was established in 1992 to provide British-style education in the English language for children of expatriates in Poland. Today, the school, which offers programmes from nursery school age to year 12, also attracts native Poles and other students whose native language is not English. For these students the school makes available individualised English as a second language (ESL) programmes. 

In all, Warsaw is home to over 19 international schools such as the Canadian Primary School of Warsaw, International European School-Warsaw, Meridian International Schools, and St. Paul's British International School of Warsaw, to mention but a few.   Non-English language international schools in Warsaw include: ÉcoleAntoine de Saint-Exuper (French), Lycée Français de Varsovie (French), Willy Brandt Deutsche Schule Warschau (German), Japanese School at the Japanese Embassy in Warsaw (Japanese) and the Warsaw Montessori School (Italian).

One of Poland’s most dynamically growing cities, Wrocławis also home to a number of well known international schools including the British International School of Wrocław, International School Ekola, The Polish-German Primary School and the WrocławInternational School (WIS). The British International School of Wroclaw which follows the British educational system and offers its programmes for 3 to 18 year-old students, is the sister school of The British International School of Cracow. The school opened its doors in 2006 following an invitation from the city of Wrocław.  International School Ekola has been offering primary, middle and high school education in the city since 1990. A major achievement for the school has been its being awarded the Westallen Peace Prize for promoting peace, tolerance and intercultural understanding. The Polish-German Primary School opened in 1999 and offers primary school education which allows students to continue their education at either Polish or German schools. The Wrocław International School, which is governed by the not-for-profit public charity Foundation of International Education, was established in 2002. The school’s programme ranges from pre-school to year 10 and has over 120 students from more than 20 countries. 

Kraków, which is Poland’s most popular tourist destination and second largest city, is home to two major international schools: British International School of Cracow and the International School of Kraków. The British International School of Cracow was established in 1995 and today offers programmes for students between the ages of 3 and 18 from twenty different countries. The school is based on the English National Curriculum and offers an ESL programme for students who are not fluent English speakers. The International School of Kraków also offers programmes for students between the ages of 3 and 18. The school was established by the American School of Warsaw in 1993 and has since grown into an independent institution and one of the fastest growing international schools in its region. Today, the International School of Kraków has 73 students from 16 different nations. 

There are also plenty of international schools in some of Poland’s other major cities. Some of the more recognised schools include: British International School of Gdańsk, The American Elementary and Middle School and High School no. 3 in Gdynia, British International School of Łódź, International School of Poznań, Poznań British International School and the Szczecin International School.   The number of international schools is expected to continue to grow in the coming years as Poland continues to catch up to Western Europe in all regards and as more and more foreigners come to Poland to live and work. Thus far, despite the current economic downturn, the majority of international schools have not been affected adversely and, in fact, many schools report that they are expanding to accommodate an increasing demand. 

Selecting an International School

With all the different international schools in Poland, it can be difficult to pick the best one for your child. Choosing a school is a very important decision and one which should not be taken lightly. Most schools are very good at promoting themselves but it does not necessarily mean that a school that is better at marketing and promotion is the better choice for a given individual student. Likewise, it is not always the case that a more expensive school is necessarily the better choice and it is important to do   thorough research before making a final choice. There are many factors that should be considered including the qualifications and experience of the teachers, teacher to student ratio, language policy, the school’s facilities, how long it will take your child to get to the school, accreditations, extracurricular activities offered and so on.   The best thing to do is to visit the school and speak to the teachers in order to get a true feel for what the school has to offer. Also speak to other parents and observe how current students interact with each other – if they seem happy and confident, then this might be a school worth considering. 

If your child can speak Polish reasonably well, it might be worth looking at a local school while investing the money saved in other private lessons or activities. On the whole, the Polish public education system offers a relatively high standard as well, so it need not be ignored when deciding on where to send your child. Other things to look at include what universities accepted students from the school in the previous year (if looking at a secondary school), what individualised programmes are offered if your child has special needs, what type of standardised tests are taken and how the school’s students do on these relative to students at other schools. Finally, it is probably a good idea to bring your child along when visiting a potential school and to listen to what he or she has to say. In the end, because of the amount of competition among international schools, the majority will offer a very high standard regardless, so that the final decision may boil down to how you and your child feel about the school and its atmosphere.