Guide · Comparison
ISB or Ruđer Bošković?
The International School of Belgrade and Privatna internacionalna škola „Ruđer Bošković“ 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. Privatna internacionalna škola „Ruđer Bošković“ teaches IB PYP, IB MYP to ages 5-18 in Banovo Brdo, Košutnjak. 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 | Ruđer Bošković | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | IB PYP, IB MYP, IB DP | IB PYP, IB MYP, IB DP, Serbian national programme |
| Language of instruction | English | English and Serbian |
| Ages | 3-18 | 5-18 |
| Founded | 1948 | Not published |
| Neighbourhood | Senjak | Banovo Brdo, Košutnjak |
| Campuses | Lower School, Secondary, Business Office | Main |
| Students | 500 | Not published |
| Nationalities | 54 | Not published |
| Class size | average 15 | Not published |
| Inside the fee | Not published | Compulsory and elective lessons; Seminars and research projects; School lunches; Health care; Security surveillance; IT support; School uniform; Coursebooks, notebooks and stationery; Field trips, museum, gallery, cinema and theatre visits; Excursions |
| 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. | English language placement test is mandatory for all applicants. A trial day at school forms part of the process. |
| 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 | |
|---|---|
| Publishes fees | Yes, a full schedule |
| Admission type | Rolling, year-round |
| School bus | Runs a service |
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.
- Ruđer Bošković: One of two private schools in Belgrade running the full IB continuum; Runs a Serbian national track alongside the IB Diploma, so a family can change route without changing school; Lunch, uniform and coursebooks are inside the fee; Class sizes of 10 to 20, published.
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
- Ruđer Bošković: Aggregators list British/IGCSE provision; the school's own site does not mention it at all
- Ruđer Bošković: Aggregators say uniform is not required; the school's fee text lists uniform as included
- Ruđer Bošković: Founding year
- 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 Ruđer Bošković?
The International School of Belgrade teaches IB PYP, IB MYP to ages 3-18; Privatna internacionalna škola „Ruđer Bošković“ teaches IB PYP, IB MYP to ages 5-18. 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 Ruđer Bošković?
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.