IB Schools in London

London has more International Baccalaureate provision than any other European city an expatriate family is likely to be posted to, and for families already inside the IB system that changes the shape of the whole relocation. Thirteen of the 28 international and independent schools ESG profiles in London run an IB programme, four of them from the early years right through to the Diploma. That depth means a child in the PYP in Singapore or the MYP in Dubai can continue without a curriculum break, and it means a family uncertain about their next posting can choose the most portable senior qualification available. This guide sets out which London schools offer what, how transfers work at each stage, how the Diploma is read by UK and overseas universities, what the fee bands actually buy, and where the schools physically sit.

International School of London, an international school in London

Quick answer

Compare London's IB schools — full continuum versus Diploma-only, transferring mid-programme, IB versus A Levels, university entry points, fee bands and where each campus sits.

At a glance

What the IB actually is, in the four forms London offers

What to establish about any London IB school in the first call

The International Baccalaureate is a family of four programmes rather than a single qualification, and London offers three of them in volume. The Primary Years Programme covers roughly ages three to eleven and is an inquiry-led framework rather than a prescribed syllabus: schools design units around transdisciplinary themes, and a child transferring between two PYP schools finds the same structure and the same habits of learning, even though the content differs. The Middle Years Programme runs roughly eleven to sixteen across eight subject groups, ending in a personal project. The Diploma Programme is the two-year senior course taken at sixteen to eighteen: six subjects, three at Higher Level and three at Standard, plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service.

The fourth, the Career-related Programme, appears rarely in London and combines a smaller set of Diploma courses with a career-focused qualification. If a school offers it, treat it as a distinct decision with distinct university-recognition consequences and ask for destination data.

The reason this matters for a relocating family is that the guarantee the IB gives you is structural, not curricular. It does not promise your child will be studying the same book in London that they were studying in Hong Kong. It promises the same programme architecture, the same assessment philosophy and, at Diploma level, the same globally recognised certificate. For a mobile family, that architecture is the point.

The full-continuum schools and why they are different

Four London schools take a child through the whole IB journey. The International School of London runs PYP, MYP and Diploma on its Gunnersbury site and is unusual in the depth of its mother-tongue programme — children continue formal study of their home language alongside English, which is a substantive advantage for a family expecting to return to a non-English-speaking country. Southbank International runs from age two to eighteen across central London campuses. Dwight School London covers the same span in North London and sits within an international group with sister campuses in New York, Seoul, Dubai and Shanghai, which is genuinely useful if your employer moves people between those cities. ACS Egham offers the IB across its full age range on a Surrey campus.

The practical value of a continuum school is that you make one admissions decision rather than two. A family whose child joins at seven does not have to re-run the whole exercise at sixteen, and the school's own Diploma teaching is calibrated to children it has taught since the PYP.

The counter-consideration is that a continuum school locks in a single institution for a long stretch. Ask about attrition at the MYP-to-Diploma transition: if a significant share of a school's own students leave for A Levels elsewhere at sixteen, that tells you something about the strength of its sixth form that no prospectus will.

Diploma-only sixth forms: a different kind of choice

Several strong London schools offer the IB only in the final two years, usually alongside A Levels. King's College School Wimbledon is the best-known example, running both routes and letting students choose at sixteen. The American School in London offers the Diploma within an American programme that also carries Advanced Placement. Fulham School combines a British through-school with an IB route.

For a family arriving with a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old, these schools are often the better option than a continuum school, because the whole sixth form is a fresh cohort and nobody is a transfer student in the awkward sense. It also means your child can make the IB-versus-A-Level decision inside one institution rather than by choosing a school first.

When comparing dual-route sixth forms, ask how the timetable is built. A school where the Diploma is a genuine parallel track with its own Theory of Knowledge teaching, dedicated Extended Essay supervision and a properly staffed CAS programme is different from one where a small IB group is accommodated around an A Level timetable. Ask how many students took the Diploma in each of the last three years — a cohort in single figures constrains Higher Level subject combinations badly.

Transferring into an IB programme mid-course

This is where most relocating families need a straight answer, and it differs sharply by stage. PYP transfers are the easiest school moves in international education: the programme is a framework, teaching is inquiry-led, and a child who has been doing units of inquiry in Kuala Lumpur will recognise the classroom in Gunnersbury within a week. MYP transfers are similarly workable, with the caveat that language provision needs checking — a child who has been studying Spanish as their acquisition language needs the receiving school to offer it at the right level, and not every London school does.

Diploma transfers are the hard case. Once the two-year course has begun, a student has locked in six subjects at specified levels, started internal assessments, chosen an Extended Essay topic and begun accumulating CAS. Moving schools means the receiving school must be able to timetable that exact combination, and its internal assessment deadlines and teaching sequence will not match. Some schools will consider a transfer at the very start of the second year when the subject match is exact. Many will suggest a repeat of the first year instead, which is a real and often sensible option for a sixteen-year-old.

If your posting lands mid-Diploma, put the question first in every conversation, and consider the alternatives honestly: boarding at the current school for the remaining period, a staggered family move, or accepting a repeat year. ACS Cobham, TASIS England and Marymount all offer boarding, which makes the first of those options available inside London itself.

One further practical point: request your child's current school produce a formal statement of subjects, levels, internal assessment progress and CAS record before you leave. Receiving admissions offices cannot assess a Diploma transfer without it, and chasing it after a departure is much harder.

IB versus A Levels for a family that may move again

Choose the Diploma when

The honest comparison is about portability and breadth, not prestige. The Diploma keeps six subjects running to eighteen — including mathematics, a science, a language and a humanity — and adds independent research through the Extended Essay and a structured service commitment. A Levels reduce to three subjects studied in considerable depth and examined terminally. Both are respected; they suit different students and different family situations.

The case for the Diploma in a mobile family is straightforward. It is recognised by universities in the UK, the United States, continental Europe, Australia and Asia, and a student who moves from London to Amsterdam or Singapore before eighteen can continue it. A Levels are read fluently by UK admissions tutors and reasonably well elsewhere, but they are a national qualification and a mid-course move abroad is much more disruptive.

The case for A Levels is equally real. A student with three clear strengths and a settled UK future frequently achieves more by concentrating on them, and the reduced subject load can be the difference for a child who finds the Diploma's breadth punishing. London's British independents — Latymer Upper, Dulwich College, City of London School, North London Collegiate, Collingham College — offer that route at a high standard.

The decision point is not curriculum ideology. It is: how likely is another move before your child is eighteen, and how does your child actually work? Answer those two honestly and the choice usually makes itself.

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How UK and overseas universities read the Diploma

Every UK university, including Oxford, Cambridge and the Russell Group, publishes IB entry requirements alongside A Level requirements, expressed as a total point score with specified Higher Level grades. Competitive courses typically ask for 38 to 42 points with Higher Level grades of 6 or 7 in named subjects. The important planning consequence is that Higher Level choice at sixteen functions exactly as A Level choice does: medicine needs Higher Level chemistry and usually biology, engineering needs Higher Level mathematics and physics, and economics courses increasingly specify Higher Level mathematics.

US universities read the Diploma well and many award credit for strong Higher Level results, though credit policies vary by institution and by department. European universities, particularly in the Netherlands, are extremely familiar with it and often publish clean IB entry tables. Australian and Asian universities have well-established conversion scales.

What this means for a family choosing a school is that you should ask about counselling as seriously as you ask about teaching. A sixth form with an experienced university counsellor who handles UCAS, the US Common Application and European applications in the same office is worth a great deal to a family whose child may apply in three countries. Ask how many counsellors there are, what the ratio to students is, and where the last three years of graduates actually went.

Southbank International School — an international school in London
Southbank International School, London

Fees, and what the IB adds to the bill

London's IB schools cluster in the upper half of the city's fee market, with one important exception. German School London, subsidised by the German government, publishes a range of roughly £6,000 to £14,000 and offers the IB alongside the German curriculum — for a family who can use it, that is an unusual combination of programme and price. Fulham School and ACS Cobham begin around £15,000 to £16,000 at their lower year groups.

The main band — the International School of London, Dwight School London, ACS Egham, ACS Hillingdon, King's College School Wimbledon, École Jeannine Manuel — runs from roughly £18,000 to £30,000 depending on year group. Southbank International, Marymount, TASIS England and The American School in London reach £32,000 to £37,000 at senior level, and TASIS and ACS Cobham publish separate, considerably higher, boarding rates.

Beyond tuition, the Diploma years carry their own costs: IB registration and subject examination fees, which are charged per subject and are not trivial across six; CAS activities and trips, which can be substantial at schools with ambitious programmes; and the technology expected of a Diploma student. Budget the Diploma years specifically rather than assuming the primary fee scales linearly — at almost every London school the sixth-form fee is materially higher than the junior-school fee.

Where the schools are, and what that means for housing

London's IB provision has two geographies. The in-city cluster runs west and north-west: the International School of London at Gunnersbury, The American School in London in St John's Wood, Dwight School London in Barnet, German School London in Richmond, École Jeannine Manuel in Bloomsbury, Fulham School in Fulham, King's College School in Wimbledon, and Southbank International's central campuses. Families using these schools generally live in Chiswick, Hammersmith, Richmond, Barnes, Wimbledon, Fulham, Kensington, St John's Wood or Hampstead.

The out-of-city cluster is ACS Hillingdon, ACS Egham, ACS Cobham, TASIS England in Thorpe and Marymount in Kingston. These are large campuses with playing fields, extensive coach networks and a suburban or semi-rural setting, and they suit families who want space and a car-based life. The trade-off is the working parent's commute into central London, which needs testing honestly at the actual hour rather than assumed from a rail timetable.

Whichever cluster you choose, get the coach route map before you sign a tenancy. London school runs are the most consistently underestimated part of a relocation, and an IB Diploma student with CAS commitments and after-school sessions will be making that journey late as well as early.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many IB schools are there in London?

Thirteen of the 28 international and independent schools ESG profiles in London offer an International Baccalaureate programme — International School of London, Southbank International School, Dwight School London, Marymount International School, ACS Egham, ACS Cobham, ACS Hillingdon, TASIS England, The American School in London, King's College School Wimbledon, German School London, Fulham School and École Jeannine Manuel across its bilingual route. That makes London one of the deepest IB markets in Europe, and it is the single strongest reason an IB family posted here can keep a child on the same curriculum.

Which London schools run the full IB continuum from Primary Years to Diploma?

The International School of London runs PYP, MYP and the Diploma on one site, and Southbank International and Dwight School London both take children through from the early years to the Diploma. ACS Egham offers the IB across the age range on its Surrey campus. Several other schools offer the Diploma only in the sixth form — King's College School Wimbledon and The American School in London among them — which is a different proposition for a family with a seven-year-old.

Is the IB Diploma better than A Levels for a relocating family?

It is more portable, which is not the same as better. The Diploma's six subjects plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS are recognised by universities in the UK, the United States, continental Europe, Australia and across Asia, so a family that may move again before the child turns 18 buys real optionality. A Levels are narrower and deeper — three subjects, examined terminally — and are extremely well understood by UK admissions tutors. If your child is certain about the UK and already strong in three subjects, A Levels are a legitimate choice; if your next country is genuinely unknown, the Diploma is the safer structure.

Can a child transfer into a London IB school mid-programme?

Into the PYP and MYP, yes, and it is routine — the programmes are frameworks rather than fixed syllabuses, so a child moving from an IB school in Singapore or Dubai continues without a content gap. Into the Diploma is much harder once the two-year course has started, because subject choices, internal assessment deadlines, the Extended Essay and CAS are all already underway. Schools will occasionally take a Diploma transfer at the very start of the second year if the subject combination matches exactly; assume it will not be possible and raise it in the first admissions conversation if your posting lands mid-course.

How much do IB schools in London cost?

London's IB schools sit mostly in the upper half of the city's fee market. German School London is the notable low-fee outlier at roughly £6,000 to £14,000 because of home-government subsidy. Fulham School and ACS Cobham begin around £15,000 to £16,000. The International School of London, Dwight School London, ACS Egham, ACS Hillingdon and King's College School Wimbledon occupy a band of roughly £18,000 to £30,000. Southbank International, Marymount, TASIS England and The American School in London reach £32,000 to £37,000 at senior level. Diploma-year fees are always higher than primary fees at the same school.

Do UK universities accept the IB Diploma?

Yes, universally, including Oxford, Cambridge and the rest of the Russell Group, all of which publish IB entry requirements in points alongside their A Level requirements. Typical competitive offers sit in the 38 to 42 point range with specified Higher Level grades for the relevant subjects. The practical planning point is that Higher Level subject choice functions the way A Level choice does: medicine, engineering and economics courses specify particular Higher Level subjects, so the decision made at 16 constrains applications at 18.

What is the difference between the IB Diploma and the IB Career-related Programme?

The Diploma is the full academic programme — six subjects, three at Higher Level, plus the core. The Career-related Programme combines a smaller number of Diploma courses with a career-related qualification and is offered by a minority of schools. Most London provision is the full Diploma. If a school offers the Career-related Programme, ask specifically which universities have accepted its graduates, because recognition is narrower than for the Diploma.

Is the IB harder than the British curriculum?

It is broader rather than harder. A Diploma student carries six subjects including mathematics, a science, a language and a humanity right through to 18, plus an extended piece of independent research and a service commitment, where an A Level student carries three. Students who like breadth and manage workload well thrive on it; students who want to drop everything except their strongest subjects often prefer A Levels. Workload management, rather than raw difficulty, is what separates students who do well from those who struggle.

Where in London are the IB schools?

Central and west London hold most of them — the International School of London in Gunnersbury, Southbank International across central campuses, Dwight School London in North London, The American School in London in St John's Wood, King's College School in Wimbledon, Fulham School in Fulham, German School London in Richmond. The ACS campuses at Egham, Cobham and Hillingdon and TASIS England sit outside the city in Surrey and Middlesex with substantial coach networks, as does Marymount in Kingston. That geography matters more than it looks on a map: choose the cluster your commute supports.

Should we choose the IB simply because our child is already in an IB school?

Continuity is a genuinely good reason, especially mid-primary or mid-MYP, and London's depth of provision makes it easy to act on. But it is worth re-testing the decision at the Diploma transition. If your family is now likely to settle in the UK long term and your child has three clear academic strengths, A Levels at a school such as Latymer Upper, Dulwich College or City of London School may serve them better. If the next move is uncertain, keep the IB.

International schools in Full IB continuum, early years to Diploma

International schools in American programmes with the IB Diploma

International schools in British and bilingual schools offering the IB

International schools in Single-sex and boarding IB options

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