International School of Beijing

What the school is

From a hallway in Sanlitun to a 33-acre campus

ISB traces its origins to a small school under the US Liaison Office in the 1970s, with eight students and two teachers. Its formal founding in 1980 brought together the US, British, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand embassies. It registered as a school for diplomatic children in 1988, then became an independent school under the Beijing Municipal Education Bureau and moved to Shunyi in January 2002. A 12-member board elected by the parent association governs the school.

ISB teaches a standards-based curriculum of its own design. It introduced the IB Diploma in 1991 and added AP courses from August 2024. In Grades 11–12, students can pursue the full IB Diploma or individual IB courses alongside the ISB High School Diploma. The Chinese-English dual-language programme runs from Early Years through Grade 5. The history records CIS, NEASC and NCCT accreditation in 2007; these are institutional credentials, separate from IB programme authorisation.

The school reports a 2026 IB Diploma average of 35.9, with nearly three-quarters of candidates scoring at least 35. Ask for the candidate count, pass rate and full distribution. ISB also reports three consecutive years at the top of Hurun Education’s China international-school ranking, which uses its own methodology.

Admissions and eligibility

Eligibility, assessment and available places

ISB is registered as a school for children of foreign nationals, so it cannot accept Chinese families permanently resident in mainland China. Applicants must document one of four priority categories: 1) foreign-passport children of employees of the founding embassies (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US); 2) foreign-passport families with a parent on a Chinese work visa and the child on a dependant (S1) visa; 3) Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan families holding travel permits, or families holding Q1 visas or Chinese residence permits; 4) Chinese-passport families with foreign permanent residency and more than one year living abroad. When a grade is short of space, higher categories are admitted first.

Applications are accepted all year, with August or January starts recommended. Families submit the online form and pay the non-refundable RMB 2,800 fee, then provide passport copies, a birth certificate, the parent’s work visa and child’s dependant visa (which can follow by the first day), recent school records in English and a confidential teacher recommendation. Non-native English speakers take an English proficiency test, Dual Language applicants in Elementary a Chinese test, and every family has a 30-minute introduction meeting. The Admissions Committee decides about two weeks after all steps are complete. EY2 to Grade 1 places follow age on August 31 without exception, from age 2 for EY2 to age 6 for Grade 1.

For Grades 6–12, ISB asks for two years of school records, teacher recommendations from the English and maths teachers plus an administrator or counsellor, a student personal statement and any standardised test results. Grade 11 entry is for students aged 16 by August 31. High school follows a US-style credit system, so ISB counts credits on the official transcript, and families should bring sealed transcripts on arrival. In Grades 11–12, students take the full IB Diploma (six subjects, three at higher level, plus TOK, CAS and the Extended Essay) or individual IB courses towards the ISB Diploma, with at most three higher-level classes.

Beijing’s foreign-resident count fell by about 41.5% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. That is historical context; places at ISB today depend on the grade, start date and any language or learning-support needs. Mid-year entry brings its own assessment and course placement.

Fees and the real cost

2026–27 tuition and additional charges

For 2026–27, annual tuition is RMB 155,800 for EY2 half-day or RMB 247,800 for full-day; RMB 251,800 for EY3–4; RMB 291,800 for Kindergarten; RMB 301,800 for Grades 1–2; RMB 311,800 for Grades 3–5; RMB 331,800 for Grades 6–8; RMB 351,800 for Grades 9–10; and RMB 361,800 for Grades 11–12. New students also pay an RMB 18,000 Entry Tuition Fee. The non-refundable RMB 2,800 application fee is valid only for the academic year of application. ISB states that its fee income is reinvested in the school.

The fee schedule includes the one-to-one iPad or laptop programme for Grades 2–12. Optional bus transport costs RMB 16,800–27,300 a year, depending on distance. Western Academy of Beijing’s 2026–27 schedule includes transport within its bus network, so compare each school’s total quotation and route coverage rather than tuition alone.

For a new Grade 11 or 12 student, listed tuition, application and entry charges total RMB 382,600. Adding the published bus range brings that subtotal to RMB 399,400–409,900. Meals, examinations, trips, activities and any support charges come on top. Families with an employer allowance should find out which items it covers and whether the limit applies per child.

The family experience

The Shunyi campus, transport and activities

The campus is at 10 Anhua Street in Shunyi, northeast Beijing near the airport. Older forum reports describe long journeys from central Beijing; current route times vary by home and time of day.

ISB’s history records the addition of two pressurised sports domes with air filtration in 2012. These provide indoor space for tennis and field sports. On a visit, ask how indoor air quality is monitored, what maintenance is required and when outdoor activities are moved inside. Filtration should not be described as a guarantee of pollution-free air.

The middle-school page advertises more than 100 enrichment offerings, a one-to-one MacBook programme and more than three hours of Chinese each week. Its published student-teacher ratio is 1:8.5, which is not a class-size figure. Ask how activity participation fits with the bus schedule.