Guides
Field notes for tired, hopeful parents
Short reads you can finish while the kettle boils. Written the way we wish someone had talked to us in the first week of looking.
American schools in Europe are not a US zip code
The word American on the gate is a leaving certificate and a school year, not a promise that the yard will sound like Chicago. Read the diploma page before you budget the posting.
12 minAmsterdam schools, four Tuesdays and a Dutch matching form
Amsterdam is not one international campus. It is a private IB, a subsidised IB, a Dutch Dalton secondary you reach through the city’s matching, and a French AEFE primary on Rustenburgerstraat. Name which Tuesday you are buying.
9 minAthens schools, Pallini and a Halandri American campus
Athens is not one international campus in Kolonaki. It is a British-international house in Pallini, and an American AP-and-IB campus in Halandri. Time the northern and eastern suburbs, not Syntagma.
10 minBarcelona schools, Esplugues and two Sarrià doors
Barcelona is not one American campus in Esplugues. It is that house, a British-Catalan day school in Sarrià, and an American-then-IB campus against Collserola. Ask how much Catalan the week actually holds.
9 minBasel schools, Aesch and Reinach, not Zurich
Basel is not a suburb of Zurich. It is a border city whose IB continuum sits in Aesch and Reinach. Ask which paper the child will hold, and which tram you can live with.
7 minBergen schools, a Sandsli campus that stops at 16
Bergen is not a suburb of Bekkestua. The portrait we have is a PYP and MYP house in Sandsli that stops at Grade 10. Time the 15 km, not Oslo’s dark Tuesday.
9 minBerlin schools, Zehlendorf, Kleinmachnow, and a Jesuit house
Berlin is not one international campus. It is a public German-American school in Zehlendorf, an IB house over the Brandenburg line, and a Jesuit Gymnasium by the Tiergarten. Ask which paper, then time all three roads.
13 minBrussels schools, who pays and which wood
Brussels is not one international campus. It is a European School system with categories, and two fee-paying woods that share an eastern forest and almost no Monday. Name who pays before you time the ring.
9 minCopenhagen schools, Nordhavn and two Hellerup doors
Copenhagen is not one IB campus in Nordhavn. It is that house with a 25% nationality cap, and a Hellerup house that also holds a Danish STX. Monthly kroner stay subsidised only if the CPR lands on time.
12 minDublin schools, the southside and a hill that still boards
Dublin is not one fee-paying campus. It is a Booterstown day house that still offers two leaving papers, and a hill in Whitechurch where most of the children sleep. Ask which Sunday you are buying, and how Irish the yard is after lunch.
8 minDüsseldorf schools, an IB Rhine Tuesday that is not Hamburg
Düsseldorf is not a suburb of Hamburg. ISD is an English IB campus on Niederrheinstrasse. The 2026–27 page prints euros. Ask which paper the child will hold, then time that road.
9 minEdinburgh schools, a boarding avenue and a Colinton day campus
Edinburgh is not a footnote to an English independent-school list. It is a full-boarding campus that still takes day pupils, and a large day house that prints Highers. Ask which paper, and whether this child sleeps at home.
9 minFrankfurt schools, the Taunus and Praunheim
Frankfurt is not one IB campus in the Taunus. It is that house on two Hesse sites, and a Type 1 European School in Praunheim. Category I is a different door from an Oberursel open morning.
13 minGeneva schools, a French city and more than one campus
Geneva is UN weather and a French-speaking city. The school people mean first is often three sites, not one château. Read which campus offers which diploma before you fall in love with the view.
10 minHamburg schools, Groß Flottbek and the centre
Hamburg is not one international campus. It is an older IB house by the Botanical Garden and a bilingual Abitur campus in the centre. Ask which paper the child will hold, and which S-Bahn you can live with.
12 minHelsinki schools, a choice not a promotion
Helsinki is not one international campus. It is a Finnish city where peruskoulu is the default, plus six official doors posting families name. Ask which paper the child will hold at eighteen.
12 minLisbon schools, the line and a valley that is not the beach
Lisbon’s internationals sit on the western line as often as in the city. Five climates share a capital and almost no Monday. Ask which paper the child will hold, and how much Portuguese the lanche still speaks.
16 minLondon school search, several childhoods on one Tube map
The useful London map is not a league table. It is which river, which leaving paper, and a commute you should time in January rain, not on Open Morning.
8 minLugano schools, an American hill above the lake
Lugano is not a Zurich suburb and not a Geneva lake campus. The portrait we have is an American day-and-boarding hill in Montagnola. Boarding starts at Grade 6. Time the funicular, not Bahnhofstrasse.
9 minLuxembourg schools, two English doors in one small capital
Luxembourg is not one international campus. It is an English National Curriculum house and an IB house, both in the city, both already counting a state subsidy. The commute is short on a map and long at 8:10.
7 minMaastricht schools, a UWC on Discusworp
Maastricht is not a Randstad suburb. The portrait we have is a United World College on Discusworp. Day from 4. Residential from 16. The 2026–27 page prints both bills.
12 minMadrid schools, the north side, Pozuelo, and a French lycée
Madrid is not one British campus. Two British doors on the north side, an American campus in Pozuelo, and a French AEFE lycée on two sites. Ask which paper, then time the M-40.
9 minMilan schools, Noverasco and the northern gate
Milan is not one American campus in Opera. It is that day house on Via Karl Marx, and a British not-for-profit on Via Pisani Dossi. Walk both, then an Italian courtyard.
13 minMunich schools, two castles and a European School
Munich is not one IB Schloss. It is two fee-paying IB campuses that share a city and not a commute, and a Type 1 European School in the south-east. Name the paper, then time the bus.
11 minOslo schools, Bekkestua, Frogner and the river
Oslo is not one international campus in Bærum. It is an IB house in Bekkestua, a French AEFE week on Skovveien and Vulkan, and a German-Norwegian encounter school in Sagene. Ask which paper the child will hold, and which dark Tuesday you can live with.
14 minFinding a school in Paris without confusing three west-side maps
The useful Paris map is often a western suburb, a bilingual house in the 15th, or a public cité scolaire of sections. Time the RER at the hour you would actually travel.
10 minPorto schools, two English Tuesdays that are not the Cascais line
Porto is not a suburb of Lisbon. CLIP is Cambridge on Rua de Vila Nova. OBS is British then IB on Rua da Cerca. Same city. Almost no Monday. Ask which paper the child will hold.
16 minPrague internationals, six Tuesdays in one city
The useful Prague map is not the castle. It is six official doors, several kinds of leaving paper, and a commute you should time in January, not in June light.
13 minProgressive, alternative, and the school that only sounds like one
Progressive is a Tuesday, not a font. Ask what happens when a child needs drill, and who is awake if the workshop does not hold them.
11 minRome schools, four hills and four papers
Rome is not one international campus. It is a boarding high school on the Aventine, a British through-school on La Storta, an American AP-and-IB house on Via Cassia, and a French AEFE week on three sites. Ask which paper, and which gate.
8 minSandefjord schools, Framnesveien and a Tønsberg gate
Sandefjord is not a suburb of Bekkestua. The portrait we have is an IB house on Framnesveien, plus a Tønsberg gate. The 2026 tables print spring kroner. A new fee arrives on 1 January 2027.
12 minBoys’ schools, girls’ schools, and the mixed house in between
Most European internationals are co-ed by design. Single-sex is a particular Tuesday, usually a UK or Irish one. Decide it for this child, not for a newspaper column.
7 minSt. Gilgen schools, a lake house that is not Vienna
St. Gilgen is not a suburb of the first district. The portrait we have is an IB day-and-boarding house on the Wolfgangsee. Day from Grade 4. Boarding from Grade 7. The 2026/27 page prints euros.
7 minStavanger schools, an oil-town campus in Hafrsfjord
Stavanger is not a suburb of Oslo. The portrait we have is an English-medium through-school in Hafrsfjord. The Board’s 2026–27 policy prints a Category 1 line. Early Years is a different sentence, because Stortinget sets that monthly price.
9 minStockholm schools, Norra Latin and two Danderyd gates
Stockholm is not one international campus. It is a two-site IB house with an international-connection test, and a British-rooted house in Danderyd. A municipal skolpeng may reduce what you pay. It is not a neighbourhood friskola.
9 minThe Hague schools, Kijkduin, Wassenaar, four British gates, a European School, and a French lycée
The Hague is not one international campus. It is a subsidised IB in Kijkduin, an American day campus in Wassenaar, a British school on four gates, an Accredited European School, and a French AEFE lycée on Scheveningseweg. Ask who pays, then time the roads.
8 minTrondheim schools, the cathedral and a house that stops at 16
Trondheim is not a suburb of Oslo. It is a university city with a state-supported English-medium house that ends at Year 10. Ask which paper comes next, and how Norwegian the yard is.
13 minVienna internationals, six Tuesdays and a German city
Vienna is a German city with four English-medium campuses, a French AEFE lycée, and Theresianum on Favoritenstrasse. The useful question is which district you sleep in, and whether the child will still need German — or French — at eighteen.
9 minWarsaw schools, Sadyba and a campus in Bielawa
Warsaw is not one international campus. It is a British house on two city addresses, and an American IB continuum south in Bielawa. You will pay in złoty, or in dollars and złoty. Time the road.
8 minZuoz schools, an Engadine house with two papers
Zuoz is not a Zurich suburb and not a Geneva lake campus. The portrait we have is a 1904 Engadine house with Swiss Matura, IGCSE and IB. Boarding and day. Time the train, not Bahnhofstrasse.
8 minZurich schools, the lake shore and Zumikon
Zurich is not one international campus. ZIS sits on the lake shore south of the city. ICS sits in Zumikon. Same canton. Almost no Monday. Time both roads.
13 minBoarding, day, and the in-between
Some children bloom down a corridor of trunks and cocoa. Some need their own bedroom and the dog. Both are allowed. The commute is also a kind of boarding.
15 minIB, A-Levels, Bac, Abitur: a friendly decoder
The letters on the leaver’s certificate matter. They are not the whole child. Here is how to tell them apart without a headache, and without pretending every door stays open.
17 minEuropean Schools versus fee-paying internationals
They both have children from many countries and a leaving certificate that travels. That is where the resemblance ends. One is a public system built for EU-institution families. The other is a marketplace you pay to enter.
16 minHow to choose a school without losing the plot
You do not need a perfect algorithm. You need a few true things about your child, a boring list on the fridge, and the courage to ignore a beautiful campus that does not fit.
16 minThe language of the classroom and the language of the yard
A child can thrive in English at 9 a.m. and still be lonely at 11 if the yard is speaking something else. Ask about both languages before you fall in love with the science labs.
15 minMoving mid-year, without pretending Europe shares a calendar
The posting email does not wait for September. Some schools are built for that. Some are still thinking in rentrée, Land holidays, and a mid-August Swedish Monday. Here is how to tell which world you are standing in.
15 minHow to read a European school fee PDF without being sold
Tuition is the number on the homepage. The PDF is the number that arrives in March. Here is how to read the second one, without inventing a euro, a krona, or a deadline.
12 minTen questions that make a school tour actually useful
Skip the question about last year’s average. Ask the ones that make a teacher’s face change. Then look at the corridor while they answer.
14 minWhen to start looking (without starting a year too early)
Most panic is just a calendar nobody explained. Here is a gentler one, with the only safe rule printed first.