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Country guide

Colombia

Colombia runs Latin America’s most regulated private-school fee market: annual increases move under tariff rules set by district education secretariats, and the country splits its school year in two — calendario A on the local January-to-November rhythm, calendario B on the northern-hemisphere August-to-June one. Around those rules sits an IB-deep market anchored in Bogotá, with genuine second-city options in Medellín and Cartagena.

The landscape

A regulated market anchored in Bogotá

Colombia’s school market is regulated in layers. The Ministry of Education (MEN) sets the national framework — Ley 115 de 1994 fixes the 40 lective weeks — and accredits schools directly (CNG’s profile lists Cognia and Ministry of Education accreditation side by side). Below that, departmental and district education secretariats do the operational regulation: in Bogotá, the Secretaría de Educación del Distrito (SED) issues the annual calendar and the tariff resolutions that govern fee increases. ↗ ↗

The IB depth is exceptional for the region. Colombia authorised its first IB World School in 1977 — early even by European standards — and an academic count puts 32 Colombian schools running all three IB programmes. Around that sits a layer of genuine heritage schools: Colegio Andino (the Deutsche Schule, founded 1922), Gimnasio Moderno (1914), Colegio Nueva Granada (1938) and the Anglo (1956). ↗

Bogotá is the anchor; the region is the context. The capital and its northern corridor (Chía, Cajicá) hold the deepest bench of international schools, with Medellín a clear second and Cartagena a working third. Families weighing postings across Latin America should read this page alongside our Mexico City and São Paulo guides — and against Panama City, the dollarised regional-HQ market that recruits the same corporate families.

The city directory

City guides live now

City guide · ColombiaBogotáAnglo Colombiano, CNG, CGB, Rochester, Gimnasio Moderno and the German and French national schools with real COP figures, the northern-corridor commute decision, and the regulated fee-increase regime school by school.

The rules that matter

Regulated increases, two calendars

Fee increases are capped, not negotiated. Bogotá private schools operate under a régimen de libertad regulada: schools set their own matrícula and pensión, but annual increases are adjusted under tariff rules issued by the SED — and school handbooks cite the applicable SED resolution for each year’s fees, as The Victoria School’s 2025-26 handbook does. Budget for inflation-linked increases, not Gulf-style step jumps. ↗

The regime creates unusual products. The Anglo’s 2024-25 PEI offers a pension prepayment scheme for entrants to grades 5-7 that discounts future Ministry-approved increases — pay early, cap the escalation — and charges late-payment interest at the maximum legal rate certified by the Financial Superintendence. Read the annex before you sign; it is a financial product as much as a fee sheet. ↗

Two calendars divide the market. Calendario A is the official Colombian year — Bogotá’s 2026 public calendar runs 26 January to 29 November (SED Resolución 2433 of 2025). Most bilingual and international schools run calendario B, August/September to June/July, on independent schedules. Expat guidance reports B schools accept transfers at the January and August semester breaks while A schools hold rigidly to January — switching systems mid-stream can cost half a year. ↗

Contract terms still bite. CGB’s 2025-26 handbook bills tuition monthly from August through June and refunds only 50 per cent of the enrolment fee if a paid-up student never starts. US diplomatic-community reports add the texture the handbook omits: compulsory lunch charges and a far-north commute of an hour each way — up to two in rain — from Rosales and Chicó. ↗ ↗

The fee reality

COP figures, regulated escalation

  • Colegio Anglo Colombiano (2024-25 PEI annex, first-party): annual payments of matrícula plus pensiones run COP 40,548,600 (grades 5-6), COP 40,304,700 (grade 7), COP 39,965,400 (grades 8-9), COP 39,776,500 (grade 10) and COP 39,604,500 (grade 11). ↗
  • Rochester School (Nord Anglia, Chía; day-and-boarding, LEED Platinum campus): listed fees from US$10,300 a year; directory data puts pensión at COP 2.4-2.9 million a month plus cafeteria (COP 500-600K) and transport (COP 500-650K). ↗
  • Colegio Nueva Granada: publishes no current fee schedule. A 2024-25 aggregator compilation lists US$13,485-14,918 a year; an expat guide cites matrícula of roughly COP 53.6-60 million. Confirm directly — and treat anything older as history. ↗
  • Gimnasio Moderno (founded 1914, calendario B): pensión around COP 2,704,320 a month per directory data — the benchmark top-tier Colombian school at well below the international names. ↗
  • The national schools: the AEFE Lycée Français Louis Pasteur is compiled at around COP 34.3 million a year by an expat guide; Colegio Andino publishes no fee schedule we could verify this pass. ↗

A note on conversion: peso figures move with a 4,000-4,300 COP-per-dollar range, so the Anglo’s COP 40 million is roughly US$9,500-10,000 depending on the day. Convert on the day you compare, and model the regulated annual increase across your whole posting.

Curriculum and admissions

IB-deep, dual-diploma by default

Portability is the market’s design principle. At CNG, every student graduates with the US High School diploma and about 80 per cent of the Class of 2025 also received the Colombian Bachillerato; the Anglo runs the full IB continuum; Colegio Andino awards the German International Abitur as a double German-Colombian diploma; the Lycée Louis Pasteur follows the French national curriculum under AEFE. The trade-offs between these tracks are mapped in our curriculum guide. ↗

“Bilingüe” is not a synonym for international. Hundreds of Colombian private schools market bilingual status while teaching the national curriculum with heavy English hours — excellent schools, but a different product from an IB or US-diploma programme, and a different price. Before enrolling, ask admissions for a subject-by-subject breakdown of teaching hours by language. ↗

Start the file early. Expat guidance reports the top schools fill six to twelve months ahead, with calendario B schools taking transfers at the January and August semester breaks. Our admissions timeline guide turns that into a month-by-month plan.

Beyond Bogotá

Medellín and Cartagena

The Columbus School makes Medellín a real second market. Set at Alto de las Palmas above El Poblado on the Envigado side, it teaches a US-style curriculum with IB programmes, holds Cognia accreditation, and is reported to run genuine waitlists. Expat compilations put pensión at COP 3,907,926 a month (about US$1,065) plus an annual registration fee of COP 4,342,140 — confirm the current schedule directly, as the school does not publish one. Colegio Alemán de Medellín, Marymount and the IB-continuum Colegio Colombo Británico round out the city. ↗ ↗

Cartagena works for coast-based families. COJOWA (Colegio Jorge Washington) runs Circle Time through Grade 12 to a dual US High School and Colombian Bachillerato diploma, with recruiter data putting enrolment around 743 students; expat compilations price it at roughly US$2,951-5,639 a year — a fraction of the capital’s international tier. The Colegio Británico de Cartagena adds a Cambridge-accredited track with the IB Diploma. Neither publishes a dated fee schedule we could verify, so treat the coast as a visit-first market. ↗ ↗

Sources

Where the numbers on this page come from

Every figure above traces to our research dossier. Primary sources: the Anglo’s official PEI fee annex, CNG’s school profile, CGB’s parent handbook, COJOWA’s own site and a stack of regulator documents, directories and expat guides graded for what they are. Where a school publishes no dated schedule (CNG, CGB, The Columbus School), we say so and scope the compiled figures.

Fees and policies expire. This page was researched on 2 September 2026 and is re-verified each academic year — see our research standard, browse the school directory and guides as they open, and use corrections if you spot something stale.

Coverage priorities

What we investigate here

01

The regulator map: the Ministry of Education (MEN) nationally, departmental and district secretariats locally — and Bogotá’s SED tariff resolutions that cap annual fee increases.

02

The calendar split: calendario A (January–November) versus calendario B (August–June) — and why the international schools sit in B.

03

The fee reality: the Anglo’s published PEI annex at COP 39.6-40.5 million, Rochester from US$10,300, and the schools that publish nothing.

04

The IB depth: a Colombian IB school since 1977, 32 schools running all three programmes, and dual US/Colombian diplomas at CNG and COJOWA.

05

Beyond Bogotá: The Columbus School in Medellín with verified fee compilations, and Cartagena’s COJOWA at a fraction of capital prices.

Recently researched

Bogotá city guide

Anglo Colombiano, CNG, CGB, Rochester and the German and French national schools with real COP figures, the northern-corridor commute trade-offs, and the fee-increase regime in detail.

Read the Bogotá city guide →

Common questions

What families ask about Colombia

How much do international schools in Colombia cost?

Verified 2024-25 figures from Colegio Anglo Colombiano’s own PEI annex run COP 40,548,600 (grades 5-6) to COP 39,604,500 (grade 11) for the year, matrícula and pensiones combined. Rochester School lists fees from US$10,300 a year; CNG publishes no schedule, with aggregator compilations at US$13,485-14,918. Strong Colombian schools sit well below: Gimnasio Moderno’s pensión is around COP 2.7 million a month. COP figures move with a 4,000-4,300 peso-per-dollar range, so convert on the day you compare.

What is the régimen de libertad regulada?

Colombia’s regulated-freedom regime for private-school pricing. Schools set their own fees, but annual matrícula and pensión increases are adjusted under tariff rules issued by the district education secretariat — Bogotá’s SED — and school handbooks cite the applicable SED resolution for each year’s fees. The practical consequences: increases are inflation-linked and predictable, and the Anglo can offer a prepayment scheme for grades 5-7 entrants that discounts future Ministry-approved increases. It is the opposite of Panama’s unregulated dollar market.

Calendario A or B — which will my child’s school follow?

Almost certainly B. Calendario A is the official Colombian year — Bogotá’s 2026 public calendar runs 26 January to 29 November under SED Resolución 2433 of 2025 — while most bilingual and international schools run calendario B, August/September to June/July, aligned with northern-hemisphere systems. Expat guidance reports that B schools generally accept transfers at semester breaks (January and August) while A schools are rigid about January entry. Confirm the calendar before signing anything — switching systems mid-stream can cost half a year.

Does “bilingüe” mean the school is international?

No — this is the most common misunderstanding. Colombia has hundreds of national bilingual schools that teach the Colombian curriculum with heavy English hours; genuinely international schools run IB, US, British, German or French programmes to foreign diplomas. Both are legal, both can be excellent, but they serve different mobility needs. Expat guides advise asking admissions for a subject-by-subject breakdown of teaching hours by language before enrolling.

What are the options outside Bogotá?

Medellín is a real second market: The Columbus School (Alto de las Palmas above El Poblado) teaches a US-style curriculum with IB programmes, is Cognia-accredited, and compiled fees run around COP 3.9 million a month plus a COP 4.3 million registration fee — with reported waitlists. Colegio Alemán, Marymount and the IB-continuum Colombo Británico round out the city. Cartagena has COJOWA, a dual US/Colombian-diploma school of about 750 students that expat compilations price under US$6,000 a year, plus the Cambridge-and-IB Colegio Británico de Cartagena.

Will a Colombian international-school diploma travel?

Yes — the market is built for portability. Colombia has had an IB school since 1977 and 32 schools running all three IB programmes. At CNG every graduate earns the US High School diploma and about 80 per cent of the Class of 2025 also took the Colombian Bachillerato; Colegio Andino awards the German International Abitur with a double German-Colombian diploma; the Lycée Louis Pasteur follows the French national curriculum under AEFE. Dual-diploma structures are the norm at the top schools, not the exception.

Continue your research

Choose the question that comes next

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