International schools in Spain: what they cost, how to choose, and 15 worth a look (2026)

Moving to Spain with kids raises one question before all the others: where are they going to school? If you want them taught in English, or you want a qualification that travels well (the IB, A-Levels, a US high school diploma), you're looking at an international school. This guide covers what that costs in 2026, how these schools differ from the bilingual and concertado options everyone in Spain will mention to you, and 15 schools across five cities.

One thing before the list. We checked every school here against its own website and the main fee databases for the 2026/27 year. Where a school doesn't publish fees, we say so rather than guess. Fees change every September, so treat the numbers as a starting point and confirm with the school before you plan around them.

What an international school in Spain costs in 2026

Let's get the uncomfortable part out of the way. None of these schools are cheap, and the range is wider than most people expect. Tuition alone runs from around €6,000 a year at a small British school on the Costa del Sol to more than €30,000 for the IB years at the big American schools in Barcelona and Madrid.

Those bands come from Tutopiya's 2025/26 Spain fee guide and match what the schools below actually publish. By city, ISchoolAdvisor's 2026 guides put Madrid tuition at roughly €9,000 to €22,000 a year and Barcelona at €8,000 to €23,000. Secondary and diploma years sit at the top of every range, so a child who is 14 costs a lot more than a child who is 6.

Then there's everything that isn't tuition. Nearly every school charges a one-off registration or enrolment fee, anywhere from €500 to €2,000. The American schools add a capital fee on top: €6,000 at Benjamin Franklin in Barcelona, and between €3,000 and €6,900 at the American School of Barcelona. Exam fees for IGCSEs, A-Levels and the IB are often billed separately, and learning support or extra English classes can add thousands a year. Ask every school for the full fee schedule, not the headline number.

International, bilingual, private, concertado: what the words actually mean

Spanish parents will tell you their child goes to a bilingual school, a private school or a concertado, and none of those is quite the same as an international school. It's worth knowing the difference before you tour anything.

An international school teaches a foreign curriculum, usually British, American or the IB, mostly or entirely in English. It's built around families who arrive from abroad and may leave again, so its qualifications are designed to transfer.

A bilingual school is normally a Spanish school, public or private, that teaches a share of subjects in English. The curriculum is Spanish, the exams are Spanish, and the actual level of English varies enormously from one school to the next. Cheaper, and a good option if you're staying for good, but not the same thing.

A concertado is a private school that takes state funding in return for following the Spanish curriculum and keeping fees low, often a few hundred euros a month. Many are Catholic. A privado is fully independent and sets its own fees. Several of the schools below are technically privados that also happen to be international.

Public schools are free, taught in Spanish (plus Catalan, Valencian, Basque or Galician depending on the region), and open to any child living in the catchment, whatever the family's immigration status. If you're staying long term and your kids are young, don't rule them out. We've covered how public schools in Spain work separately.

International schools in Madrid

Madrid has the deepest bench of international schools in the country and the widest price range. Three that come up in nearly every conversation we have with families moving to Madrid:

St. George Madrid

A British school in the north of the city, taking children from age 2 right through to 18. It follows the English National Curriculum to IGCSE, then offers both A-Levels and the IB Diploma in sixth form, which is a useful hedge if you don't yet know which country your child will go to university in. Full English immersion from nursery.

• Ages: 2 to 18
• Curriculum: English National Curriculum, IGCSE, then A-Levels or the IB Diploma
• Area: north Madrid
• Fees: €8,950 to €19,440 a year (2026/27), plus a €1,870 one-off registration fee
• Website: stgeorgemadrid.com

The Global College

Not a school in the usual sense. It's an IB Diploma college for 15 to 18 year olds, day or boarding, run with IE University. If your child is already in the last stretch of secondary and wants a strong IB result with a university pipeline attached, this is what it's for. It doesn't take younger children.

• Ages: 15 to 18
• Curriculum: IB Diploma
• Area: central Madrid
• Fees: €20,940 a year for day students, €37,440 with boarding (2025/26)
• Website: theglobalcollege.com

Maxwell School

A smaller bilingual British school on Calle Serrano, with a second campus in El Viso. It runs from 3 to 16, so it stops at IGCSE and families wanting A-Levels or the IB move on at that point. What it offers instead is the lowest entry price of any school on this list and a proper Spanish-English mix, with homologation from the Spanish Ministry of Education, so a child can move into the Spanish system later if you end up staying.

• Ages: 3 to 16
• Curriculum: English National Curriculum and Cambridge IGCSE, bilingual
• Area: Serrano and El Viso
• Fees: €4,920 to €13,390 a year (2026/27)

International schools in Barcelona

Barcelona's international schools cluster in the upper part of the city and in the suburbs to the west and south, so where you live matters more here than in Madrid. Catalan is also a teaching language in the Spanish system, which pushes more foreign families toward international schools than elsewhere. If you're still choosing a neighbourhood, our guide to living in Barcelona covers the areas these schools serve.

St. George Barcelona

The Barcelona sister of the Madrid school, in the upper Sarrià-Sant Gervasi area. British curriculum through IGCSE, then the IB Diploma for the final two years. Spanish and Catalan are taught as subjects from the start, which matters if your child will be here a while.

• Ages: 2 to 18
• Curriculum: English National Curriculum, IGCSE, IB Diploma
• Area: upper Barcelona, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi
• Fees: from €10,100 a year in nursery to around €13,600 to €16,200 from primary up, payable in 10 instalments
• Website: stgeorgebarcelona.com

Benjamin Franklin International School

The American option inside the city, in Sarrià. Non-profit, founded in 1986, and an IB World School, so you get a US-style programme inside the IB framework and an IB Diploma at the end. The one-off €6,000 entrance fee catches people out. Factor it in.

• Ages: nursery to Grade 12
• Curriculum: American, within the IB framework, IB Diploma
• Area: Sarrià
• Fees: €12,580 (early years) to €20,115 (high school) in 2026, plus a €6,000 one-off entrance fee
• Website: bfischool.org

American School of Barcelona

Despite the name, it isn't in Barcelona proper. ASB is in Esplugues de Llobregat, just west of the city, and runs buses to Barcelona, Gavà, Castelldefels, Sitges and Sant Cugat, which tells you where its families live. American curriculum with the IB Diploma on top, ages 3 to 18, and the highest top-end fees in this guide.

• Ages: 3 to 18
• Curriculum: American, IB Diploma
• Area: Esplugues de Llobregat
• Fees: €9,404 to €32,534 a year (2026/27), plus a one-off capital levy of €3,000 to €6,900
• Website: asbarcelona.com

International schools in Valencia

Valencia is where the sums start to work for more families. Fees are noticeably lower than Madrid or Barcelona, and two of the best-known schools are in Puçol, a 15-minute drive up the coast, which is also where a lot of expat families end up living.

Caxton College

The long-established British school in Puçol, taking children from age 1 to 18 in a bilingual setting. It's the default choice for British families in the region and one of the better-value British schools in Spain.

• Ages: 1 to 18
• Curriculum: British, bilingual
• Area: Puçol, 15 minutes north of Valencia
• Fees: roughly €6,600 to €10,400 a year for 2026/27 (the two main fee databases disagree, so confirm with the school), plus a €900 enrolment fee
• Website: caxtoncollege.com

American School of Valencia

Also in Puçol, in the Los Monasterios development. American curriculum with the IB Diploma, ages 3 to 18. Tuition is modest, but ASV has a share-based structure: new families pay a capital fee and buy a share in the school, which together come to about €4,000 up front.

• Ages: 3 to 18
• Curriculum: American, IB Diploma
• Area: Puçol
• Fees: €7,246 to €9,545 a year (2026/27), plus a €1,500 capital fee and a €2,500 share
• Website: asvalencia.org

Valencia Montessori School

A different animal. An AMI Montessori school in the city for children from 18 months to 12, with English as the main language from age 3 and Spanish and Valencian taught as subjects. There's no secondary stage, so plan for a move at 12.

• Ages: 18 months to 12
• Curriculum: Montessori (AMI), with an American curriculum
• Area: Valencia city
• Fees: €7,599 to €9,234 a year, plus a €919 first-year enrolment fee and a €450 registration fee
• Website: valenciamontessori.org

International schools on the Costa del Sol

Málaga province has a long strip of British schools running from Málaga city down to Estepona, built for the British and northern European families who have been settling there for decades. Most follow the British curriculum, most are smaller than the big-city schools, and fees are among the lowest in Spain. Just check the map before you fall for one: three of the schools people ask us about most are in three different towns. Our guide to living in Málaga helps with the geography.

The British International School of Marbella

A British school in Marbella for ages 2 to 18, running the English National Curriculum through to GCSEs and A-Levels, with a stronger sports and music programme than most. Fees can be paid by term rather than up front.

• Ages: 2 to 18
• Curriculum: English National Curriculum, GCSE, A-Levels
• Area: Marbella
• Fees: €6,000 to €14,500 a year (2026/27)
• Website: bsm.org.es

Queens British Grammar School

In Estepona, not Málaga, with a school bus running to and from Marbella twice a day. Early years through to IGCSEs and A-Levels. The school doesn't publish tuition online, so you'll need to ask. There's a €1,500 one-off joining fee, and sibling discounts of 5% for a second child and 10% for a third.

• Ages: early years to A-Levels
• Curriculum: British, IGCSE, A-Levels
• Area: Estepona
• Fees: on application; €1,500 joining fee
• Website: qbgs.education

Shine International Academy

A small school in Mijas: about 90 pupils, classes of around ten, ages 3 to 14. British curriculum with the International Primary and Middle Years programmes. It's a deliberately calm, small setting, and it ends at 14, so it's a primary and early-secondary choice rather than a through school.

• Ages: 3 to 14
• Curriculum: British, with the IPC and IMYC
• Area: Mijas
• Fees: not published; contact the school
• Website: si-academy.com

International schools in Seville

Seville has fewer international schools than the coast or the big two cities, and the three it's known for are very different from each other. Worth reading alongside our guide to living in Seville.

Colegio Internacional de Sevilla, San Francisco de Paula

Spain's oldest private school, founded in 1885, in the historic centre, and the only school in Seville running the full IB continuum from primary through the Diploma. Bilingual Spanish and English rather than English-only, which suits families who plan to stay.

• Ages: 0 to 18
• Curriculum: IB Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma, bilingual
• Area: Seville city centre
• Fees: upwards of about €700 a month; confirm with the school
• Website: colegiosfpaula.com

International School Andalucía

The British option, but it's in Sanlúcar la Mayor, about 30 minutes west of the city, so it works best if you're living on that side. English National Curriculum taught by native English speakers, a couple of Spanish subjects taught by Spanish teachers, and the IB Bilingual Diploma at the end.

• Ages: 2 to 18
• Curriculum: British plus Spanish subjects, IB Bilingual Diploma
• Area: Sanlúcar la Mayor
• Fees: on application
• Website: internationalschoolandalucia.com

Sevilla Montessori School

A Montessori school in the Nervión district, open since 2015, with the day run in English and Cambridge-accredited exams. Licensed by the Spanish Ministry of Education and working toward Middle States accreditation. It holds open days, and that's where fees are shared, so go to one.

• Curriculum: Montessori, English-language, Cambridge exams
• Area: Nervión, Seville
• Fees: on request at open days
• Website: sevillamontessorischool.es

How to actually choose

Fifteen schools is a lot to tour. Three questions cut the list down fast.

First, where are you going to live? Half these schools are in suburbs or neighbouring towns, and a 40-minute commute each way with a six year old gets old by October. Pick the neighbourhood and the school together, not one after the other.

Second, how long are you staying, and where might your child go to university? If it's two years and then home, match the system you're coming from, American schools for US families and British for British ones, so nothing is lost on the way back. If it's for good, a bilingual programme or a school with Spanish homologation keeps the door to Spanish universities open. The IB Diploma is the compromise that travels everywhere.

Third, what's the real budget? Add the one-off fees, exam fees, transport and lunch to the tuition line before you compare. Two schools that look €4,000 apart on tuition can be neck and neck once everything's in.

And apply earlier than feels reasonable. The popular schools fill their entry years well ahead, and arriving mid-year means taking whichever school has a space rather than the one you wanted.