Greece · Thessaloniki
Anatolia College offers Greek national education from Pre-Kindergarten through Lykeio. Pupils can apply to an English-medium IB Diploma programme instead of the final two Lykeio years. Secondary pupils may board on the Pylea campus. The IB programme is run jointly with Pinewood, which remains a separate school.
Anatolia College is a coeducational school group in Pylea, Thessaloniki. This profile covers Anatolia Elementary School, Anatolia High School and the joint Anatolia–Pinewood IB Diploma Programme.
Pinewood is a separate English-medium international school in the same organisation. The American College of Thessaloniki is a higher-education institution, not part of this school profile.
The central question is which route your child needs. The Greek route leads towards the national leaving certificate. The two-year IB route replaces the final two Lykeio years and is taught in English.
The elementary division follows the Greek national curriculum, mainly in Greek, with substantial English teaching. Anatolia High School comprises three Gymnasium years, the lower-secondary stage, and three Lykeio years, the upper-secondary stage.
From the first Gymnasium year through the first Lykeio year, the school uses the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) framework. Teaching remains in Greek, and pupils continue to follow the national curriculum.
After the first Lykeio year, pupils may apply to the two-year IB Diploma Programme (IBDP), a pre-university programme. It corresponds to Grades 11 and 12, is taught entirely in English and accepts full Diploma candidates only.
The IB lists Anatolia as authorised for the Diploma Programme since 1997 and the MYP since 2016. The school describes the IB Diploma as equivalent to the Greek Apolytirio when prescribed Greek subjects are completed.
Equivalence does not by itself establish a university admission route. In its March 2026 announcement about introducing IB into public schools, the Ministry reaffirmed the Panhellenic national entrance examinations as the route to Greek public universities.
Ask the school and your intended university to confirm the route that applies to the pupil’s nationality, schooling and intended degree. Do not treat the Ministry’s general announcement as an assessment of an individual international applicant.
Anatolia deserves a close look if you want a long-term Greek education in Thessaloniki with strong English teaching. It also suits a pupil ready for a selective, full English-medium IB Diploma.
The Greek secondary route is not designed as a beginner-Greek international programme. The latest published High School admissions rules say applicants must have the expected Greek literacy at the end of primary school.
Boarding makes the secondary school accessible beyond daily commuting range. However, families should treat the accommodation offer, academic offer and immigration permission as three separate decisions.
The main campus is at 60 John Kennedy Avenue, Pylea. It houses the High School, IBDP, Kindergarten and boarding facilities. The elementary division also uses 31A V. Sevenidi Street.
Boarding is for secondary and IBDP pupils, not elementary children. The current page describes capacity for up to 80 pupils, separate floors for boys and girls, double en-suite rooms and supervised study.
It also mentions meals, counselling and organised activities. The fee page calls the charge “accommodation,” so ask what the contract includes for meals, laundry, weekends, holidays and airport transfers.
For 2027–28, Pre-Kindergarten is for children born in 2023, and Kindergarten is for children born in 2022. Interest forms are expected to open on 19 October 2026.
Grade 1 applicants must have been born during 2021. The same opening date applies. Children already in Anatolia Kindergarten and siblings receive priority.
Admission to later primary grades depends on a vacancy. The published process includes a parent-and-child meeting, and registration becomes final after the school receives the required non-refundable deposit.
The latest Grade 7 cycle closed on 30 April 2026. Its €20 entrance examination took place on 9 May and covered Greek, English, literacy and mathematical thinking.
Grade 10 applicants with an average of at least 18.5/20 received priority for interview. Other applicants sat Greek, mathematics and English tests. The application and test dates were 20 and 29 May 2026.
Applications to other secondary grades depended on vacancies and used similar academic screening. Those published dates belong to the closed 2026 cycle; the school had not announced the 2027 cycle by our research date.
The 2026–27 IBDP application window ran from 1 December 2025 to 24 April 2026. Later applications could be considered only where both programme and subject capacity remained.
Applicants submit Grade 9 and 10 records and attend an interview. Unless exempt, they take the school’s B2 entrance test. Most later complete English placement, and the school may request a mathematics diagnostic.
The November 2025 policy places applicants below 16.5/20, B or 80%, or 5/7 in MYP on the waiting list automatically. These are thresholds, not offers.
The school expects B2 English, an upper-intermediate level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It may waive its English test after at least two years in an English-medium international school. The published route is the full Diploma, not individual IB courses.
The handbook says a pupil below 20 points in the first IB year, called IB1, may be advised to transfer to an American High School Diploma. It does not explain the receiving division or resulting fee contract; ask before enrolment.
The Greek route requires functional academic Greek. Families arriving from another system should ask the relevant principal to assess reading, writing and subject vocabulary before paying a deposit.
Elementary and High School support pages describe counselling, assessment, individual or small-group help and adjustments to classroom teaching. They also describe referrals to KEDASY, Greece’s educational assessment, counselling and support centres.
The IBDP considers documented learning disorders, mental-health-related disabilities, motor needs and chronic conditions. Admission depends on whether the school can support the pupil while preserving access to the full Diploma.
Disclose needs early and provide current professional evidence. School accommodations do not automatically become IB examination arrangements; the IB must approve those separately.
The public material does not quantify staffing, support charges or physical accessibility. Ask for a written support plan, named provision, cost and an accessibility tour before accepting a place.
The official calculators label their results indicative. Their default total includes school transport. The no-bus figure is €750 lower in elementary and €850 lower in secondary and IBDP.
| Year group | With school bus | Without school bus |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten | €7,310 | €6,560 |
| Grade 1 | €8,550 | €7,800 |
| Grade 2 | €8,480 | €7,730 |
| Grades 3–6 | €8,435 | €7,685 |
| Greek Gymnasium and Lykeio | €10,780 | €9,930 |
| IBDP Year 1 or Year 2 | €15,150 | €14,300 |
The elementary deposit is €1,400 in May or June, followed by €3,500 on 15 September and the balance on 15 January. The deposit is non-refundable. These payments form part of the annual charge; do not add the deposit to the full year’s fee again.
High School requires a €2,500 non-refundable deposit, then €4,100 on 15 September and the balance on 15 January. IBDP figures are €3,800, €5,400 and the remaining balance.
Boarding costs €11,030 annually. Its payment schedule is a €3,000 non-refundable deposit, €4,015 on 15 September and the balance on 15 January.
The younger of two concurrently enrolled children receives 5% off. The third child receives 40% off. Ask finance to confirm which “Anatolia” divisions count and how transfers affect the calculation.
The 4% full-payment discount expired on 31 August 2026. It could not be combined with other aid, except an honorary scholarship.
Elementary After School activities have a published participation charge of €590. LINK, the English-enrichment programme, costs €590 for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, €760 for Levels 1–3, and €990 for Levels 4–6.
The elementary activity bus costs €180 per activity where a route is available and parents request it. The €180 swimming bus is compulsory for participants. Kindergarten programmes ending at 14:30 can use the return bus without an additional charge.
The activity payment schedule requires a €100 non-refundable deposit by 31 October 2026 and the balance by 31 January 2027. Tennis and basketball payment arrangements are handled separately by the sports academy.
After School activity discounts are 5% for the second participating child, 30% for the third and 100% for the fourth. A child taking two activities receives 5% off each. Confirm whether these reductions apply to LINK and whether discounts combine.
Kindergarten lunch is contracted directly with an external provider, and the public page gives no price. Ask separately about daily meals for older day pupils.
The IBDP handbook excludes boarding, books, calculators, materials and IB charges from tuition. It quotes a €580 examination fee for 2025 and about €130 for diploma legalisation in 2026.
Those dated figures are useful for budgeting, but they are not a current quotation. Retakes, remarks, bank charges, Pamoja courses and low-enrolment subjects may add further costs.
The closed 2026 IBDP scholarship round offered means-tested awards of 25% to 100% and a separate 10% merit award. Applicants also faced demanding grade thresholds, an English essay, mathematics and an interview.
Household income could not exceed €60,000 for a 25% or 50% award, €36,000 for up to 75%, and €26,000 for full tuition. These were 2026 rules.
Renewal after IB1 required at least 36/42 points and unchanged financial circumstances. Do not assume the percentages, thresholds or examination date will remain the same for 2027.
The 2026 Grade 7 competition offered 15% to 100% awards, a 10% merit award and regional boarding scholarships. Grade 10 awards covered 15% to 50%, with a €60,000 income ceiling.
Those awards and eligibility rules differed by route. Use the route-specific page when the next competition opens rather than carrying the 2026 criteria forward.
The latest linked elementary and High School rules are dated 2025–26 and 2024–25. Both say the first instalment is non-refundable and the full annual tuition remains due after withdrawal during the school year.
They allow a discretionary proportional refund for serious illness or relocation. Obtain the 2026–27 signed terms before paying, because the public rules are older than the current fee table.
The IBDP handbook says unpaid balances may prevent examination registration or release of results. Ask finance to identify every liable party and every payment deadline in the contract.
An admission or boarding offer does not itself grant permission to live or study in Greece. The public pages do not describe visa sponsorship or a local-guardian requirement for an unaccompanied international pupil.
The Thessaloniki guide provides local comparisons. The Greece guide explains the wider education and residence context.
Official pages and documents we read. If a figure matters to your budget or your application, open the link and confirm it is still current.
Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.
Deutsche Schule Thessaloniki offers German-Greek education from kindergarten to Grade 12. Pupils can finish with the German International Abitur and Greek Apolytirion. Entry depends on age, previous schooling and German readiness, while the latest public fee sheet is still for 2025/26.
PyleaPinewood offers English-medium American schooling in Pylea and a joint IB Diploma with Anatolia. Boarding is available from Grade 7. Before applying, check the citizenship requirements and support availability: the school currently places applications needing special educational support on hold.
Halandri, AthensACS Athens is an English-medium day school from Pre-Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. It awards an American High School Diploma and offers the IB Diploma in Grades 11–12.
PsychicoAthens College and Psychico College are coeducational Greek private day schools run by the not-for-profit Hellenic-American Educational Foundation. Both use IB frameworks within the Greek curriculum. Psychico College also offers the English-medium IB Diploma in Grades 11 and 12.
Thessaloniki's three main international-facing options serve different needs. Anatolia is a Greek through-school with boarding and a joint English-language IB route; Pinewood offers an American education and the same joint IB; Deutsche Schule Thessaloniki leads through German and Greek qualifications.
8 minStart with the child and a realistic weekly timetable. Then confirm who provides care, which nights are covered, and what happens when plans change.
7 minStart with the qualification your child would actually receive. Then check its subjects, language demands, and recognition in the countries where they may study next.
7 minStart with your child and the family's likely plans. Define the non-negotiables, verify the school's claims, compare three realistic options and visit with specific questions.