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A two- or three-year posting: choosing a Belgrade school you can leave
Which curriculum the next country will continue, the five schools that end before 18, the two-year exam courses a posting should not split, and the one-off fees that weigh more on a short stay.
Updated September 2026 · schools' own pages read 24 August 2026
On a two- or three-year assignment the question is not which Belgrade school is best. It is which school your child can leave, on a date you do not control, without losing a year. That turns on three things: a curriculum the next school will continue — the IB and Cambridge groups, the French and German systems all travel, in different directions; a school whose age range covers the whole stay, because five schools here end at 11 or 14; and the two-year examination courses at 14–16 and 16–18, which a posting should not cut in half. Arriving is the easy part: nine of the nineteen schools admit year-round.
Which curriculum the next country will continue
A curriculum is a promise about the next school as much as about this one. The five families taught in Belgrade each have a natural set of schools that will continue them; the last column is the question to ask before you sign anything.
| Curriculum | Belgrade schools | Where it continues |
|---|---|---|
| IB continuum (PYP–MYP–DP) | International School of Belgrade; Ruđer Bošković | Any IB World School, worldwide; the Diploma is a two-year course at 16–18 |
| IB Diploma only | Crnjanski; the state Deseta gimnazija | Any IB Diploma school for the final two years |
| Cambridge / British | Chartwell, PRIMA, British International School, Brook Hill, Westbridge, Savremena; Green School to 14; IPS to 14; London Gates and Young Sparrows to 11 | Any Cambridge or British-curriculum school; IGCSE at 14–16 and A Level at 16–18 are each two-year courses |
| French (AEFE) | École française de Belgrade | Any French or AEFE school worldwide, without an entrance examination |
| German | Deutsche Schule Belgrad | Any German school abroad or in Germany; the Abitur counts as Bildungsinländer for German universities |
| Russian (FGOS) | Russian Embassy school; Ruska škola „Valentina Tereškova“ | Any school on the Russian federal standards |
| Finnish-informed, own framework | EDUCA (to 14) | No single receiving system — ask the next school how it will place the child |
Programmes as each school names them on its own site, read 24 August 2026. The curriculum page has what each system commits a child to.
The five schools that end before 18, and the two-year courses
Five schools in this guide stop before 18, and on a short stay that is not a footnote. A child who joins London Gates or Young Sparrows at 9 changes school at 11 whether or not the posting has ended; a child who joins Green School, EDUCA or IPS at 12 changes at 14. Green School's pupils continue at Chartwell for IGCSE and A Level, which is a planned step rather than a rupture; the other four send a child on to a school of the family's choosing. If the posting spans the transition age, count the moves.
The second calendar is the examination one. In the Cambridge schools IGCSE is a two-year course at roughly 14 to 16 and A Level a two-year course at 16 to 18; the IB Diploma is a two-year course at 16 to 18; the German Qualifikationsphase is Grades 11 and 12. A posting that ends a year into any of these leaves a child arriving at the next school halfway through a syllabus the next school may not teach. If your dates are fixed, line them up against your child's age before you line them up against any school's open day.
Arriving mid-year, and leaving without losing anything
Arriving is the easy part. Nine of the nineteen schools admit year-round, gated only on a place in the year group; Chartwell says it accommodates mid-year arrivals and reviews a file in a couple of days; Ruđer Bošković asks you to nominate your own start date; the International School of Belgrade quotes a minimum of three weeks from a complete file and tests applicants abroad online. The exceptions are the École française, whose pre-registration window opens in early February, and Deutsche Schule Belgrad, whose entrance tests run around March and April. The mid-year page has every school's timescale.
Leaving is where a short stay pays for the structure of the fee rather than its size. A registration or capital fee charged once on entry is spread over two years instead of ten, so ask for the one-off charges in writing and separately from tuition. Two facts from the schools' own pages: Chartwell states it charges no deposit and no registration fee, and the École française charges its registration once, on first entry, with a smaller re-enrolment fee in later years. The fees page lists the six lines to ask every school for, and which schools publish anything at all.
And before you go, ask the school for what the next one will need: transcripts, the current syllabus and, in the Cambridge schools, the candidate details of any examination already entered. A school that admits year-round is used to writing these; ask early anyway.
Questions families ask
Which curriculum is easiest to continue after a posting in Belgrade?
The IB (International School of Belgrade and Ruđer Bošković run the full continuum) continues at any IB World School; the Cambridge schools continue at any Cambridge or British-curriculum school; the École française's AEFE homologation transfers a pupil into any French or AEFE school without an examination; Deutsche Schule Belgrad leads to the Abitur. Which is easiest depends on where the next posting is, so ask the likely next school first.
Which Belgrade international schools end before 18?
London Gates and Young Sparrows are primary only and end at about 11; Green School by Chartwell, EDUCA and IPS end at 14. Green School's pupils continue at Chartwell; the others move to a school of the family's choosing. On a two- or three-year stay that can mean two school changes.
Can a child start at a Belgrade school in the middle of the year?
At most schools, yes: nine of the nineteen admit year-round, subject to a place in the year group. Chartwell explicitly accommodates mid-year arrivals; Ruđer Bošković lets you nominate the start date; the International School of Belgrade needs a minimum of three weeks from a complete application. The École française and Deutsche Schule Belgrad have fixed windows.
Do Belgrade international schools charge one-off fees that matter on a short stay?
Some do and some say they do not. Chartwell states it charges no deposit and no registration fee; the École française charges registration once on first entry. Most schools publish little about one-off charges, so ask for them in writing, separately from tuition — on a two-year stay they weigh far more than on a ten-year one.