Guide · Comparison
ISB or International School?
The International School of Belgrade and International School side by side on curriculum, admissions, what the fee covers and what neither school publishes.
Updated August 2026 · schools' own pages read 24 August 2026
The International School of Belgrade teaches IB PYP, IB MYP to ages 3-18 in Senjak. International School teaches Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary to ages 5-19 in Vračar. 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 | International School | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | IB PYP, IB MYP, IB DP | Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary, Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge International AS and A Level |
| Ages | 3-18 | 5-19 |
| Founded | 1948 | Not published |
| Neighbourhood | Senjak | Vračar |
| Campuses | Lower School, Secondary, Business Office | Main |
| Students | 500 | 350 directory figure |
| Nationalities | 54 | 10-15 directory figure |
| Class size | average 15 | average 18, max 25 directory figure |
| Inside the fee | Not published | Laptops or tablets; Textbooks; Uniforms; PE attire; Remedial lessons; Mentoring; School trips; Restaurant access; Online platforms; Career counselling |
| Billed on top | School bus (optional, charged on top of tuition) | Not published |
| Entrance testing | Taster day on campus, or online cognitive testing for applicants abroad. DRA, EAL, MAP, CAT and ALIS used as appropriate. | Psychological testing and an interview with the school psychologist to assess abilities and talents. |
| School bus | Runs a service | Runs a service directory figure |
| Special needs support | Up to 150 minutes per week of additional support, counted across EAL and learning support together rather than 150 minutes of each. | Nothing published |
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 |
| Publishes fees | Yes, a full schedule |
| Admission type | Rolling, year-round |
What stands out about each
- ISB: Founded 1948 as the Foreign School — the oldest English-medium international school in Belgrade; Board partly 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; Publishes what it can and cannot do for a child needing additional support, which no other school here does.
- International School: Uniform and textbooks are inside the fee; A distance-learning route at the same price; The steepest sibling discount in Belgrade: fourth child free.
International School: The school states on its own site that it is IB World School no. 062142, authorised for the IB Diploma Programme. On 24 August 2026 that school number did not resolve on the IB's own register, and the school did not appear in the IB's programme finder for Serbia, which returned six schools. The school's Serbian-language fee page names only the Cambridge programme. We have not yet put this to the school. When we do, we will publish its answer here alongside the date we asked. Until then we describe the school as Cambridge, which is what its own fee page says, and we make no claim about why the register and the site differ.
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: CIS membership — Wikipedia lists it, the school's own accreditation page does not
- ISB: Recent IB results and university destinations; the most recent results the school publishes are from 2016
- International School: The IB World School number 062142 claimed on the school's own site, which does not resolve on the IB register
- International School: Founding year
- International School: Cambridge centre number
- 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 International School?
The International School of Belgrade teaches IB PYP, IB MYP to ages 3-18; International School teaches Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary to ages 5-19. 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 International School?
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.