Switzerland · Aesch and Reinach

International School Basel, the IB continuum south of the city, not Zurich

Three campuses south of Basel, not Bahnhofstrasse and not the Zugerberg. The only IB continuum the school names for this city. The 2026–27 regulation prints francs. Time tram 11, not a Zurich commute.

externatmixteRecherché 01/09/2026

Site officiel Bâle Suisse guide

Ce portrait est encore en anglais. Les autres langues arrivent école par école.

Programme tel que l’école le publie:IB Primary Years Programme · IB Middle Years Programme · IB Diploma Programme

Langues d’enseignement:English

International School Basel is a not-for-profit co-educational day school on three campuses south of Basel, in Aesch and Reinach. Official site isbasel.ch. The history page says Janet Galli founded it in 1979 with 15 pupils, that it became an IB World School for the Diploma in March 1995, added the MYP in 2001 and the PYP in 2003, and now houses more than 1,200 students. Treat the headcount as the school’s own snapshot.

It is not Zurich International School, not ISZL in Baar and Hünenberg, and not Institut Montana on the Zugerberg. Basel is tired of being called “near Zurich.” This house is a day school. There is no boarding corridor.

The useful questions are: Do you want the full IB continuum — PYP, MYP, Diploma — rather than a Swiss Matur? Can you live with Aesch and Reinach on tram 11, not Kleinbasel? And have you added the CHF 4,500 development fee and the meal line, because tuition does not include lunch.

Who it is for

Families who want an English-medium IB week from age 3 to 19, in the Basel region, and who can accept three gates instead of one front door.

The history page calls ISB the school that serves this region with all three IB programmes. The Switzerland walking map is allowed to say it is the IB continuum this city names. That is a paper, not a ranking.

It will not suit a family hunting a Swiss bilingual Matur on the Zugerberg, an IB house in Baar, or a Zurich lakeside day campus. Walk Montana, ISZL or ZIS if that is the climate. Walk a Basel-Landschaft Gymnasium if the next five years may still be German.

We are not ranking ISB against a cantonal school. Parent quotations on the campus pages are the school’s own display, not a result we built.

The campus you can actually picture

Three official addresses, all south of Basel city.

Aesch, Arlesheimerstrasse 7, 4147 — Early Childhood 1 through Grade 6, ages about 3–12. Purpose-built in 2007, the history page says, for light and open space. Directions print tram 11. Reception +41 61 715 33 34, 08:00–18:00 in term. Classes from 08:15. Drop-off from 07:45. Pick-up 15:00 for EC1–2, 15:10 for EC3, 15:20 for Grades 1–5; all pupils 15:00 on Wednesdays.

Fiechten, Fiechtenweg 72, 4153 Reinach — Grades 7 and 8, in Reinach Süd, one tram stop north of Aesch. Reception +41 61 567 34 00, 08:00–17:00. Drop-off 08:10–08:35. Classes 08:35–15:50.

Reinach, Fleischbachstrasse 2, 4153 — Grades 9–12. Purpose-built in 2002. Reception +41 61 715 33 33, 07:45–18:00 in term. Drop-off 07:45–08:20. Classes 08:20–15:50. The Financial Regulations letterhead uses this address.

info@isbasel.ch. Head of Admissions Michael Relf, +41 61 715 33 19. Admissions Coordinator Lilla Bettiol, +41 61 567 34 20. Admissions Assistant Cydalise Poux-Guillaume, +41 61 567 34 37.

Time Aesch at 7:40 in January, then Fiechtenweg, then Fleischbachstrasse. They are not one lodge. They are also not Wädenswil.

How the years are organised

PYP, ages 3–11 — Early Childhood through the junior years at Aesch. Grade 6 still sits at Aesch; the fee table already prices it with middle school.
MYP, ages 11–16 — Grades 7–8 at Fiechten, 9–10 at Reinach.
Diploma Programme, ages 16–19 — Grades 11–12 at Reinach.

Lunch is not inside tuition. Campus pages say pupils may sign up daily, pay as they go, or bring food. Ask what this child’s Tuesday actually costs.

ASPIRE is the after-school name the Aesch page prints. The fees page prices an extended day, EC1–Grade 5, 15:00–18:00: trimester registration CHF 30/day, drop-in CHF 60/day. Holiday childcare 07:45–17:00: pre-registration CHF 90/day, drop-in CHF 150/day.

How a child actually gets in

Admissions are rolling for the current year if a chair exists. The policy tells families to start with an online enquiry. Visit via admissions@isbasel.ch.

A formal offer gives parents 7 days to accept the enrolment contract and to pay the non-refundable development fee plus a minimum of 20% of annual tuition. Corporate-sponsored families are excepted from that 20% line. Enrolment is confirmed only when policies are accepted and the applicable fees are paid.

If a grade is full — or Learning Support or EAL is at its maximum — the school may make a waitlist offer. Placement is first-come, first-served. The waitlist fee is CHF 1,000. It is offset against tuition if a place appears. If ISB cannot offer a place within 8 months, the regulation refunds it. We will not invent the length of that list.

ISB may refuse or disenrol if it cannot meet the child’s needs, if behaviour jeopardises the community, if significant information was withheld, or if fees are not paid.

Money, as the 2026–27 regulation and fees page print it

Annual tuition 2026/27

Year	Annual tuition
EC1, 5 mornings (minimum)	CHF 14,390
EC1, 4 mornings + 1 full day	CHF 16,270
EC1, 3 mornings + 2 full days	CHF 18,140
EC1, 2 mornings + 3 full days	CHF 20,030
EC1, 1 morning + 4 full days	CHF 21,900
EC1, 5 full days	CHF 23,980
EC2	CHF 23,980
EC3 – Grade 5	CHF 28,210
Grades 6–8	CHF 32,280
Grades 9–10	CHF 33,650
Grades 11–12	CHF 38,000

EC1 mornings are 08:00–12:00; full days 08:00–15:00. Early drop-off from 07:45 at no extra charge. An ad-hoc full day until 15:00 is CHF 100.

One-off and list fees

Item	Amount
Development fee (new pupils, or return after more than 14 months)	CHF 4,500, not refundable, not deducted from tuition
Waiting-list deposit	CHF 1,000

Sibling discount, when two or more children from the same family are enrolled in the same year — pro-rated for late arrival or early withdrawal:

Child	Annual reduction
Second	CHF 1,000
Third	CHF 2,000
Fourth and after	CHF 4,000

Private payers may arrange 10 monthly instalments, due the 15th from July through April, with a 2% yearly administration fee. Corporate tuition is due 100% before 15 July. Changing payment frequency after re-enrolment: CHF 100. Ask finance.receivables@isbasel.ch.

Tuition includes most materials and textbooks. It does not include meals, field trips, IB exams, IB DP online courses, extra-curriculars, or learning-support extras the regulation names. We will not invent those invoices.

What we are not claiming

We are not ranking ISB against ZIS, ISZL, Montana, or a Basel Gymnasium. We are not putting this house on the Zurich hub. We are not inventing a waitlist length, a lunch total, or a 2027 franc. We are not treating “top ratings” marketing as a league table.

Stairs questions

Ask which campus this child stands in next September — Aesch, Fiechten or Reinach — and what Grade 6 actually costs. Ask how much German a shy eight-year-old meets after lunch. Ask whether the invoice is private or company, and what the 20% enrolment payment comes to for this year. Time tram 11 on a wet Tuesday.

The Basel hub is the short map. The Switzerland country page is the wider one. This is not a Zurich card.