Choosing an international or English-medium school in Stockholm

Start with the programme, not the word “international”. Stockholm offers private IB schools, French and German national routes, a municipal IB school and English-medium programmes leading to Swedish qualifications.

Our six profiles are a starting set, not a ranking of all Stockholm schools.

English-medium options

Stockholm International School offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) from primary through the Diploma years. Primary pupils attend Johannesgatan; Middle and Upper School use Norra Latin on Drottninggatan.

SIS requires an international connection, but this is broader than a temporary expatriate posting. Its criteria include substantial previous education abroad, plans for extended time abroad and certain English-speaking or internationally oriented family circumstances. English expectations rise in the older grades, so request an individual assessment.

British International School of Stockholm follows a British-rooted curriculum through IGCSEs, then the IB Diploma. Its Altorp and Ekeby campuses are in Danderyd, north of Stockholm. It is the more direct comparison for a child continuing British schooling before the final IB years.

International School of the Stockholm Region, or ISSR, is municipal. Its primary and middle programmes through Grade 9 are restricted to families with a temporary work contract. The upper-secondary intake, from Grade 10, is open to local and international applicants under separate rules.

ISSR is temporarily at Kärrtorps gymnasium, Karlsövägen 9, Johanneshov, from August 2026 through June 2028. Diploma entry closes in September; it is not a rolling late-year alternative. Check its admissions page for the applicable programme.

French, German or Swedish qualifications

Lycée Français Saint Louis is on Stora Essingen. It follows the French curriculum and offers the Baccalauréat Français International (BFI) in French, Swedish and English. BFI is an international option within the French baccalauréat, not the IB Diploma. The school also describes a French baccalauréat/Swedish gymnasieexamen double qualification; ask which route the applicant can enter.

Saint Louis’s 2026–27 admissions campaign is closed as of 4 September 2026. Ask about the next campaign or any exceptional late vacancy rather than assuming rolling entry. Preschool uses a separate municipal queue and does not guarantee a primary place.

Tyska Skolan teaches through German and Swedish. Its German Abitur route also provides Swedish university-entry qualification. The main site is on Karlavägen, with younger provision on Bragevägen. A short guest stay has its own application and fee rules, so do not treat it as ordinary subsidised enrolment.

Kungsholmens gymnasium offers English-medium upper-secondary programmes following the Swedish curriculum, not IB. Applicants need the required passing Swedish grade and must meet the Stockholm-region registration conditions to attend. Applications go through Gymnasieantagningen, the regional upper-secondary admissions service.

A personal number is only part of the fee question

For fee-paying schools, ask whether the home municipality has actually approved its subsidy. A Swedish personnummer, or personal identity number, is not by itself a funding guarantee.

BISS makes families responsible for a subsidy shortfall. Saint Louis also distinguishes subsidised tuition from full-cost cases. In 2026–27, its standard primary-to-lycée fees range from SEK 14,550 to SEK 18,210 annually, but the published full-cost amount is SEK 157,590.

Saint Louis applies that full-cost rule to specified upper-secondary cases involving parents from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland, and to pupils without a subsidy guarantee at admission. Ask the school to confirm the child’s category in writing.

ISSR charges no tuition for most pupils. Its stated exception concerns upper-secondary pupils whose parents belong to diplomatic missions from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland; request the applicable amount if relevant.

Before choosing a neighbourhood

Check programme eligibility, language readiness and funding before committing to a home near one campus. Then test the actual journey and ask about the next campus transition.

The Stockholm city page links the six profiles. Sigtunaskolan is a separate day-and-boarding option outside Stockholm, not another central campus. The Sweden overview explains the wider national routes.

Friendly orientation, not formal admissions advice. Always confirm dates with the school.