Guide · Comparison
ISB or BIS?
The International School of Belgrade and British International School Belgrade side by side on curriculum, admissions, what the fee covers and what neither school publishes.
Updated September 2026 · schools' own pages read 24 August 2026
The International School of Belgrade teaches IB PYP, IB MYP and IB DP to ages 3-18 in Senjak. British International School Belgrade teaches Cambridge Checkpoint, Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge AS and A Level and University of Nebraska curriculum (Years 12-13) to ages 3-18 in Voždovac. The table below sets them side by side on everything either school publishes. Where a row says “not published”, that is the finding — it means the school does not put it anywhere public, and it is a good question to take to an interview.
Where they differ
| ISB | BIS | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | IB PYP, IB MYP, IB DP | Cambridge Checkpoint, Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge AS and A Level, University of Nebraska curriculum (Years 12-13) |
| Founded | 1948 | 1997 |
| Neighbourhood | Senjak | Voždovac |
| Campuses | Lower School, Secondary, Business Office | Primary, Lower Secondary, Upper Secondary |
| Students | 500 | 473 |
| Nationalities | 54 | Not published |
| Class size | average 15 | Not published |
| Publishes fees | Yes, a current schedule | No |
| Inside the fee | Not published | Teaching and extracurricular activities; Books and instructional materials; Examination fees; Report and certificate issuance; Single-day curriculum-related field trips; ESL support at no extra charge |
| Billed on top | School bus (optional, charged on top of tuition) | School transport; Lunch (external caterer); After-school activities; The annual study tour; Uniform |
| Entrance testing | Taster day on campus, or online cognitive testing for applicants abroad. DRA, EAL, MAP, CAT and ALIS used as appropriate. | No entrance examination is described. |
| Admission type | Rolling, year-round | By admissions conference |
| Special needs support | The school states it is “usually able to provide up to 150 minutes per week of additional support in either EAL or LS”. It does not say whether that ceiling applies per area or across both together. | Individual education plans are in place for all pupils identified with special educational needs. The 2025 inspection recorded 32 such pupils, and noted that monitoring in the primary school is close and consistent while use of the plans in secondary teachers' planning is less consistent. |
Rows where the two schools give the same answer are listed separately below, so that this table shows only what actually separates them.
Where they are the same
| Both schools | |
|---|---|
| Language of instruction | English |
| Ages | 3-18 |
| School bus | Runs a service |
What stands out about each
- ISB: Founded 1948 as the Foreign School, by Lady Peake, wife of the British Ambassador; Board of 7 to 10, three of them appointed by the U.S. Ambassador, and an admissions priority order that reflects it; One of two private schools in Belgrade running the full IB continuum; The only school in this guide that publishes where its additional-support provision stops, not just that it exists.
- BIS: Two routes in the final years: Cambridge A Levels, or the University of Nebraska curriculum; Examination fees and ESL are both inside the fee; Duke of Edinburgh's International Award operator; Hosts its 2025 British Schools Overseas inspection report on its own site — the only inspection report we found published by a school in this guide.
BIS: A directory publishes an annual tuition range for BIS on a profile the school does not manage, with no academic year stated. The school's own position is that fees are given to families directly, so we do not reproduce that range.
What to ask both
Questions worth asking both schools, because neither publishes the answer:
- ISB: Whether the returning-student capital fee already reflects the 50% loyalty discount or is reduced further
- ISB: The homepage gives 47 nationalities and the FAQ gives 54. We publish 54, from the FAQ.
- ISB: Recent IB results and university destinations; the most recent results the school publishes are from 2016
- BIS: Whether the University of Nebraska route leads to an awarded American high school diploma — the Upper Secondary page and the homepage description word it differently
- BIS: Whether Advanced Placement is offered
- BIS: Fee schedule
- Both: last year's actual leaver destinations and average results.
- Both: how many teachers in your child's year group were also there last year.
- Both: whether the bus covers the street you will live on.
Questions families ask
What is the difference between ISB and BIS?
The International School of Belgrade teaches IB PYP, IB MYP and IB DP to ages 3-18; British International School Belgrade teaches Cambridge Checkpoint, Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge AS and A Level and University of Nebraska curriculum (Years 12-13) to ages 3-18. They also differ on admissions process, what the fee covers and how much each publishes about itself. The full side-by-side is on this page.
Which is better, ISB or BIS?
Neither, in the abstract — and any source that answers that question is guessing about your child. The comparison that decides it is narrower: which one teaches the curriculum your child will finish in, has a place in the right year group, is reachable from where you will live, and can support your child's particular needs. This page is built to let you answer those four.