Guide · Comparison
Ruska škola or ISB?
Prva ruska međunarodna škola „Valentina Tereškova“ u Beogradu and The International School of 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
Prva ruska međunarodna škola „Valentina Tereškova“ u Beogradu teaches Russian federal state programme (FGOS) to ages 6-17 in Senjak. The International School of Belgrade teaches IB PYP, IB MYP and IB DP to ages 3-18 in Senjak. 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
| Ruska škola | ISB | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | Russian federal state programme (FGOS) | IB PYP, IB MYP, IB DP |
| Language of instruction | Russian | English |
| Ages | 6-17 | 3-18 |
| Founded | Not published | 1948 |
| Campuses | School | Lower School, Secondary, Business Office |
| Students | Not published | 500 |
| Nationalities | Not published | 54 |
| Class size | Not published | average 15 |
| Publishes fees | No | Yes, a current schedule |
| Billed on top | Not published | School bus (optional, charged on top of tuition) |
| Entrance testing | Not published. | Taster day on campus, or online cognitive testing for applicants abroad. DRA, EAL, MAP, CAT and ALIS used as appropriate. |
| Admission type | By admissions conference | Rolling, year-round |
| School bus | Nothing published | Runs a service |
| Special needs support | Nothing published | 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. |
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 | |
|---|---|
| Neighbourhood | Senjak |
| Inside the fee | Not published |
What stands out about each
- Ruska škola: Teaches in Russian, not in English — the only school in this guide besides the Embassy school where that is true; Cites a numbered Serbian Ministry of Education decision, 022-5-16/2017-07, for its recognition; English from the second grade, with Serbian available at an enhanced level.
- 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.
What to ask both
Questions worth asking both schools, because neither publishes the answer:
- Ruska škola: What the school charges, and what an interview covers
- Ruska škola: The full grade range the school covers — its own site names fourth grade and "upper grades" but no range
- Ruska škola: The year the school opened
- 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
- 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 Ruska škola and ISB?
Prva ruska međunarodna škola „Valentina Tereškova“ u Beogradu teaches Russian federal state programme (FGOS) to ages 6-17; The International School of Belgrade teaches IB PYP, IB MYP and IB DP 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, Ruska škola or ISB?
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.