International schools in Bangladesh

Are you looking for an international school in Bangladesh? Search for the best international schools in Bangladesh; you can find a list of selected schools at the bottom of this page. Use the search filters to select only girls' or boys' schools, prep schools, senior schools or sixth forms; or you can search for schools that offer a particular curriculum, such as the International Baccalaureate, the UK national curriculum, a US-style model or the International Primary Curriculum.

International schools in Bangladesh are centred on the capital Dhaka and second city Chittagong. Schools following the Canadian, Australian, American and British systems are among the options available and English-medium teaching is the norm.

Typically providing co-educational day schooling to both Bengali and expatriate families, international schools range from stand-alone pre-schools, preparatory and senior schools to large through-train institutions  that take children from nursery to senior secondary level.  

There are nine IB World Schools, with three of these authorised to offer all three programmes leading to the International Baccalaureate Diploma, while the others offer one or two of the programmes. Aurora International School in Dhaka gained authorisation to offer the IB Primary Years Programme in 2022.

Many leading schools are members of the Dhaka International Schools Association, which aims to promote professionalism and share best practice. Accrediting bodies active in Bangladesh include the Council of International Schools, the Council of British International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.  

Most private schools in Bangladesh teach in English and offer British qualifications, such as IGCSEs, O-levels, A-levels and the Cambridge Pre-U. Some serve as recognised centres for exam boards operating in the country, such as Edexcel and Cambridge International Examinations.  

The Bangladeshi curriculum is available in both Bengali and English and some public schools are also English-medium. The sector includes some religious and missionary foundations, while around three million children are taught in private Islamic madrassa schools, of which more than half are subsidised by the government. 

The public education sector has seen rapid development over recent decades with gross primary enrolment reaching 125 per cent and net secondary enrolment 68 per cent in 2020, according to UNESCO.

Following a government drive to increase female participation rates, gross secondary enrolment of girls reached 75 per cent of the age group in 2015, UNESCO figures show. Education is free and compulsory from age six to 10.