Founded
1977

Current Al Mohammadiyyah site since 1998

Structure
Not-for-profit

Community school, board of trustees

Curriculum
British + IB

EYFS → IPC → IGCSE → IB Diploma (no A-level)

Students
~1,350

60+ nationalities; 22% Saudi; ages 2–18

Inspection
BSO Nov 2025

Good overall; welfare & leadership outstanding

Admissions
British priority

MoE-designated British Community School

The short version

The short version

The British International School of Jeddah (BISJ) opened in 1977 and has occupied its current Al Mohammadiyyah campus since 1998 — a not-for-profit community school overseen by a board of trustees, teaching about 1,350 pupils aged 2–18 from more than 60 nationalities, around 22% of them Saudi.

As a designated British Community School authorised by the Saudi Ministry of Education, it gives admissions priority to British passport holders while welcoming non-British families.↗↗

For an expat family, the practical summary is this: BISJ is the default British-curriculum answer in Jeddah — with one structural twist that decides fit for many families. IGCSE at key stage 4, then the IB Diploma in the sixth form; there is no A-level option.

Published 2025/26 fees run from SAR 56,718 (FS1) to SAR 101,430 (sixth form), with nursery from SAR 43,240, plus a SAR 17,250 one-time entrance fee. If your child is set on A-levels, the alternative in this city is Jeddah Prep and Grammar School.↗

What the school is

A community school with a UK-recognised inspection trail

BISJ’s governance model matters to families who care about incentives: it is a not-for-profit community school, with fees set by a board of trustees rather than an owner’s spreadsheet — the same broad model as the British International School Riyadh, and a different beast from the commercially owned new-wave schools.

The inspection report describes a school in deliberate transition: a new director appointed in October 2024 arrived in August 2025 with a new leadership team and an ambitious five-year strategic plan.↗

The curriculum architecture is layered: the EYFS in early years, the International Primary Curriculum in Years 1–6, the National Curriculum for England in key stages 3–4, IGCSE at key stage 4, and then the IB Diploma Programme for almost all students in Years 12–13 — with, inspectors note, “no other sixth-form options available” at present, though the school plans to review and extend pathways.

Families should treat the IB-only sixth form as a defining fact, not a detail: a child who would thrive at A-level has no in-school alternative here.↗

Academics in practice

What the November 2025 BSO inspection actually found

BISJ was inspected under the UK Government’s British Schools Overseas framework on 2–5 November 2025 by Education Development Trust, with the report published on 12 November 2025.

The verdict: a good school overall — quality of education good, welfare, health and safety outstanding, leadership and management outstanding — meeting all BSO standards except those precluded by Saudi law (the standard carve-outs around UK Equality Act protected characteristics). The judgement is endorsed by the British government and valid for three years.↗

The report’s outcome evidence is specific. In 2025, over 80% of IGCSE English entries gained A*–C; 87% of Year 11 mathematics entries achieved A*–C against a 60% England average; 94% of double/triple science entries gained A–C.

In the sixth form, IBDP English averages slightly exceed world averages and mathematics outcomes beat world averages by over half a point. Almost all leavers progress to universities worldwide — more than half to the UK, two-thirds of those to Russell Group institutions.

Two honest caveats from the report itself: inspectors saw no Year 13 lessons because students were sitting mocks, and they flagged curriculum coherence across phase transitions and consistent teaching challenge as the improvement points.↗

Admissions and cost

Admissions, fees and the real year-one cost

Published 2025/26 fees run from SAR 43,240 in nursery and SAR 56,718 in FS1 to SAR 101,430 in the sixth form. One-time charges are a SAR 425 application fee, SAR 1,025 assessment fee and — the one that shapes the year-one budget — a SAR 17,250 entrance fee.

A 10% tuition discount applies for third and subsequent children. Non-Saudi families pay 15% VAT on tuition; Saudi nationals are exempt.

The school notes fees are set annually by the trustees and are subject to revision, so treat these as the last published schedule and confirm 2026/27 levels directly.↗↗

On admissions mechanics: priority goes to British passport holders under the school’s MoE designation as a British Community School — a structural advantage for UK families in a city where demand outstrips seats — but the school explicitly welcomes non-British applicants, and the student body’s 60-plus nationalities prove the point.

Placement uses a 31 August birthday cut-off. Annual fees are invoiced in three term payments (August, January, April), and public examination fees — IGCSE and IB — are invoiced separately in Term 3, on top of tuition.↗

The family experience

Campus, community and the Jeddah rhythm

The campus record is solid: an artificial football pitch, two swimming pools, a golf simulator, a medical centre with a doctor and two nurses, and biometric-gated security; one flagged limitation is the absence of lifts, which restricts upper-floor access for anyone with restricted mobility.

Attendance runs at 94% in secondary and 93% in primary — near UK averages, which for a transient expat school is a quiet marker of community stability.↗

On community texture, the inspection found parents describing a close-knit, inclusive school with highly effective communication — four written reports a year in secondary, two in primary, plus coffee mornings and workshops under the new leadership.

For a ground-level data point, an AECOM senior project director based in Jeddah since 2012 reports his three children attend BISJ from the Lotus IV compound, noting that most expat families hire a driver while many compounds run shuttles — the standard Jeddah pattern of choosing housing within school-run range.↗↗

Our readConfidence: High

The British benchmark in Jeddah — with an IB-shaped decision at 16

Our confidence is High: the core of this profile rests on a UK-government-recognised inspection report less than a year old, plus the school’s own fee and admissions pages. The founding date, governance, curriculum pathway, inspection judgements, outcome data and 2025/26 fees are all first-party or regulator-grade.

What the record cannot tell you is the current year’s fee level and waiting-list position — both change annually — and how the new leadership’s five-year plan will land; the inspection caught the school three months into a new administration.

BISJ suits families who want a British curriculum through IGCSE and are happy with the IB Diploma at 16–18 — particularly British-passport families who benefit from the admissions priority, and anyone who values not-for-profit governance and a freshly inspected safeguarding record rated outstanding.

It suits fewer families set on A-levels (that is Jeddah Prep and Grammar School’s lane), families wanting an American pathway (AISJ), and those who need guaranteed mid-year entry.

On a visit, ask for the current waiting list by year group, the 2026/27 fee schedule, and how the planned review of sixth-form pathways might affect a child choosing subjects now.

Take these to the school

Questions that move beyond the tour script

Admissions and priority

  1. For our child’s year group, is there a waiting list today — and where would we sit as British (or non-British) passport holders?
  2. How are incoming students assessed, and how should a child arriving mid-year from a non-British curriculum prepare?
  3. What is the current-year fee schedule, and are any changes to the entrance fee planned?

Academics and pathways

  1. May we see the most recent IGCSE and IB Diploma results with cohort sizes, plus the latest university-destination list?
  2. With the IB as the only sixth-form route, how are students guided through the DP subject choices — and is the planned pathway review likely to add alternatives before our child reaches Year 12?
  3. What learning-support and EAL provision exists, and how is it staffed and charged?

Cost and logistics

  1. Beyond published tuition, what is our full year-one cost — application, assessment, entrance fee, exam fees, uniform and transport?
  2. Which bus routes or compound shuttles serve our shortlisted neighbourhoods, and what is the realistic morning journey?
  3. What notice and refund terms apply if our posting ends mid-year?

Continue your research

Choose your next step

Sources and further research

Where to verify and keep reading

We favor direct links to the exact page or document a family may need next. Access dates matter because admissions, tuition, leadership, and programs change.