In Warsaw, "English school" covers three different things. International schools teach in English to a foreign curriculum: British, American or the International Baccalaureate (IB). Bilingual Polish schools follow the Polish core curriculum and teach some subjects in English as well. Language schools teach English after school. The one you choose decides which diploma your child leaves with, whether a child who speaks no Polish can follow lessons, and, if your family moves again, how easily your child can carry on at a school in another country.
Compare for yourself: book a visit and see an ordinary school day at IAS.
Three kinds of English school, side by side
| International school | Bilingual Polish school | Language school | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language of lessons | English | Mostly Polish, with some subjects also taught in English | English, as the subject being learned |
| Curriculum | A foreign one: British, American or IB, sometimes more than one | The Polish core curriculum | A language course, by level |
| What your child leaves with | The qualifications of that system, for example A-levels, an American High School Diploma or the IB Diploma | Polish school certificates and the Polish matura | A language certificate. It does not replace school. |
| A child with no Polish | Does not need Polish for lessons | Will find most lessons hard at first | Still needs a school |
| Often chosen by | Families who may move again, or who want a diploma recognised abroad | Families staying in Poland who want more English inside the Polish system | Children at any school who need extra English |
International schools
An international school teaches in English and follows a curriculum from outside Poland, usually British, American or IB, and in Warsaw most of them are private schools that charge tuition, with students and teachers from many countries. The label alone tells you little. Two international schools in the same city can teach entirely different curricula. Ask which one, at each stage, before anything else.
What a British curriculum means
Schools that follow the British system count the years as Year groups. Between about 14 and 16, students take IGCSEs: two-year courses in several subjects, examined at the end of Year 11. Then come A-levels. From 16 to 18, students usually study three subjects, sometimes four, in depth over two years, which suits a student who already knows the few subjects they want to concentrate on and is ready to drop the others.
UK universities make offers on A-level grades. They also accept the IB Diploma. Universities publish their IB entry requirements course by course.
IAS does not teach IGCSEs or A-levels. If your child is on the British curriculum now, in Warsaw or in the UK, ask our admissions team which grade they would join here, which reports from the current school the team would like to see, and which routes would be open to your child in the last two years.
Bilingual Polish schools
A bilingual school (szkoła dwujęzyczna) is a Polish school. It teaches the Polish core curriculum, with some subjects taught in both Polish and English, and its pupils sit the same national exams as every other pupil in Poland: the exam at the end of Grade 8, and later the matura.
For a Polish family planning to stay, that can be a good fit. A child who has just arrived without Polish faces a hard start. Polish remains the main language of the school day.
Language schools
A language school teaches English as a subject, after school or at weekends, in groups by level. It can help a child's English, but it does not replace school and does not lead to a school diploma.
Where IAS sits
The International American School of Warsaw is an international school in Warsaw in the first sense above, and an American one. Lessons are taught in English from Kindergarten to Grade 12, with a Pre-KG group when there is demand. We have taught in Ursynów since 1989.
- American. Accredited by Cognia for the American High School Diploma, Kindergarten to Grade 12.
- IB. Authorised by the IB since 2006. Students take the two-year IB Diploma Programme in Grades 11 and 12, and our Middle School is a candidate school for the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).
- Polish. The Matura route, recognised by the Polish Ministry of Education (MEN), for students who want to study in Poland.
Students who graduate with the IB Diploma or the Matura are also awarded the American diploma. A student who completes the requirements of each programme can leave with all three; the three diploma pathways page shows how, along with our IB results from the May 2026 session, when the average diploma score was 34 against a worldwide average of about 30.6.
Seven students to every teacher, across the school. Classes are kept small, usually up to about 18, smaller in the youngest years. Students of more than 40 nationalities.
A child who is still learning English can get support through EAL, English as an Additional Language. EAL is paid. How much support a student gets depends on their level, the fee depends on that level and on current demand, and the office will give you the current figure when you ask.
Tuition is set per year. Our fees page lists it by grade. It also says what tuition covers and what it does not.
We are next to the Kabaty Forest in Ursynów, five minutes on foot from Kabaty, the last station on metro line M1, so the school can be reached without a car. If you are still weighing up curricula, our guide to international schools in Warsaw compared sets the IB, American, British and Polish routes out next to each other.
Questions to ask any school
- Which curriculum do you teach at each stage, and which diploma will my child leave with?
- Is that diploma accepted in the country we might move to next, and by the universities my child may apply to?
- Which subjects are taught in English?
- My child's English is not ready yet. How do you assess it, what support follows, and what does it cost?
- How is Polish taught, both to Polish children and to children who arrive without it?
- How many children are in the class my child would join this year? (That class, not the average for the school.)
- What does a full year cost, in writing: tuition, the enrolment fee, exam fees, language support, the bus, lunch?
- Can we visit on an ordinary school day?
Write the answers down. After the third visit, schools start to blur together.
Compare for yourself
Book a visit and we will show you an ordinary school day. You can also write to [email protected] or call +48 22 649 14 40.
