International School Fees in Montevideo: What Families Pay in 2026

Quick answer: How much do international schools cost in Montevideo? Fees are charged in Uruguayan pesos, and The British Schools, Stella Maris and Elbio Fernández do not publish price lists. The only public figure we found is UYU 17,000 to 29,000 quoted for Elbio Fernández in 2022, so treat it as dated and ask each school for its 2026-27 schedule.

Last reviewed: October 2026 by Emma from ISA. Fee ranges are indicative; always confirm with the school.

Anyone searching for international school fees in Montevideo quickly finds that the city works differently from Dubai or Singapore. There is no glossy fee table on every school website. Prices are given on request, and they vary with the stage, the number of hours and the family's circumstances. This guide explains how the fee structures work, what each of the three schools we cover says about itself, and how to budget without relying on numbers nobody has published.

A word of honesty first: only three Montevideo schools have a profile in our directory, so this is not a market survey. They are The British Schools, Escuela y Liceo Elbio Fernández and Colegio Stella Maris. Other private schools exist in the city, including German and Anglo schools that appeared in a 2023 ranking of the most-searched schools published by El Observador, but we have not profiled them here. What follows is built from each school's own published material and the public rules that apply to all of them.

Montevideo context: where schools sit and what the law says

Uruguay's capital is compact, calm and mostly Spanish-speaking, which shapes the school market. Two well-known English-medium campuses, The British Schools and Stella Maris, are both in Carrasco, in the east of the city, on General Máximo Tajes (numbers 6421 and 7359 respectively). Elbio Fernández is in the centre, on Canelones. Families who rent in Pocitos, Punta Carretas or Carrasco therefore face very different commutes, and a school run from the coast to Carrasco can take a substantial part of the morning.

The legal frame matters for budgeting. Under Ley General de Educación 18.437, article 7, "Es obligatoria la educación inicial a partir de los cuatro años de edad", so schooling is compulsory from age 4. Article 27 describes upper secondary (educación media superior) as the last stage of compulsory education. According to the Ministry of Education and Culture guide for migrant families, formal education, public or private, is overseen by ANEP, the national education administration. The same guide says nothing about private school fees, and in our searches we found no published official tuition cap in Uruguay. That means each school sets its own price, and the only protection is to compare and negotiate terms before you sign.

Curricula you will find

Uruguayan national programme: all three schools follow it, which is what keeps their certificates valid for local universities.
International Baccalaureate: The British Schools runs the Primary Years Programme and the Diploma. Stella Maris built a dedicated IB floor in 2003. Elbio Fernández describes a bilingual bachillerato internacional diploma, according to a 2022 El Observador report.
Cambridge: The British Schools uses IGCSE courses before the Diploma. Stella Maris uses Primary Checkpoint, IGCSE and the IB Diploma.
English alongside Spanish: English is taught as a language and used to teach other subjects, in different proportions at each school.

The three schools and how their fees work

The British Schools, Montevideo

The school was founded in 1908 and sits on a campus of roughly ten hectares in Carrasco. It teaches from Pre-Kinder, for children who are 3 by 31 December of the year before entry, up to the IB Diploma. English is spoken at all times in the Early Years, according to the school. Its public "Fees and Payment Procedures" page gives no amounts and sends you to the Admissions Office for current rates, but it does set out the rules. Fees are charged in local currency and paid in 10 monthly instalments from January to October. Sibling discounts run from 10% for two children to 25% for five or more, with a further 10% for British families and for families of former students. An entrance fee is charged on acceptance, a refundable guarantee deposit of up to three quotas of annual tuition may be asked for, external exam fees are due before the exam, and notice of withdrawal is three months in writing. The admissions page adds that the admissions fee is invoiced once an application is accepted, is non-refundable, and that interest should be registered by the end of February of the year before entry. Tip: because fees are not shown, ask the Admissions Office for the current schedule in writing before paying the admissions fee.

Escuela y Liceo Elbio Fernández

Elbio Fernández is run by a non-profit association, the Sociedad de Amigos de la Educación Popular, and teaches from initial education to bachillerato in the city centre. In 2022 the president of its owning association told El Observador's Café & Negocios supplement that fees ran from UYU 17,000 to 29,000 depending on hours and level, which we read as monthly, with discounts for siblings, children of former pupils and payment method. That is the only dated, attributable figure we could find for any of the three schools, and it is several years old, so treat it as a reference point, not a quote. Tip: if you are weighing a central campus against Carrasco, ask how many weekly hours of English your child's year receives, since the fee depends on the timetable.

Colegio Stella Maris

Stella Maris is a coeducational Catholic school in the Edmund Rice tradition, run by the Christian Brothers, with a 35,000 square metre site in Carrasco. Our directory lists it as secular, but the school describes itself as Catholic, which is worth knowing if religious education matters to you. It offers education in English from age 3 to 18 and says more than 80 percent of students choose to sit the optional international exams. Its public pages carry no fee table. Tip: ask whether the quoted monthly fee includes the Cambridge and IB examination entries or whether those are billed separately.

What families pay: structure, ranges and extras

With no official cap and no public schedules, the honest answer is a structure rather than a price list. Private schools in Montevideo typically bill a monthly fee in pesos for the school year, plus a one-off charge at admission. The British Schools confirms a non-refundable admissions fee and instalment payments, and Elbio Fernández quoted UYU 17,000 to 29,000 in 2022. We cannot responsibly give a current figure for any school without a school-issued schedule. Ask each school for the fee by stage, because Early Years, primary and the Diploma years are rarely priced the same.

Extras are where budgets drift. Based on the services each school lists on its own website, ask about:

Admission or registration fee: non-refundable at The British Schools, which also mentions an entrance fee and a possible refundable guarantee deposit; confirm the amounts.
Lunch and snacks: The British Schools has a food service with a monthly menu, and it says meals for the Early Years are prepared on site.
School transport: The British Schools has a transport page; ask any school who operates its routes and how they are billed.
Uniform and stationery: The British Schools publishes a 2026 stationery list and runs a uniform shop.
After-school care and clubs: sports, chess, robotics and debate are listed at The British Schools, and Elbio Fernández reported paid extras such as swimming, tennis and karate in 2022.
Exams: IGCSE, Cambridge Checkpoint and IB candidate fees are usually billed on top of tuition; ask when they fall due.
Discounts: The British Schools publishes sibling discounts of 10% to 25% and a discount for annual fees paid before 10 February; Elbio Fernández mentioned sibling, alumni and payment-method discounts in 2022.

One legal point from Ley 18.437 shapes the budget: initial education is compulsory from age 4, so from that age the school years are a planned expense for every family in the country, not an optional extra.

Practical advice for budgeting

Ask for the full schedule in writing. Request the fee for your child's exact year, the admission charge, what is billed monthly, and what is billed once a year. If the school will not send a schedule before application, ask for it before you pay anything non-refundable.

Check the currency and the indexation. The British Schools says fees are charged in local currency, and others are likely to do the same, so the dollar or euro equivalent moves with the exchange rate, and annual increases are set by the school. Ask when the new year's fee is announced and whether it is capped by contract. If your employer pays a fixed foreign-currency allowance, build a margin of at least a few percentage points for peso movement and annual rises.

Mind the calendar. The British Schools asks for interest forms by the end of February of the year before entry and wants signed acceptance documents back by 1 October, so fee decisions come early. Mid-year entry is considered only exceptionally there. If you are relocating at short notice, the Admissions Office is the first call, and a family on a short contract may find a school with more flexible timing a better fit than the best-known name.

Compare more schools

For a wider list of schools in the city, see Best international schools in Montevideo, then request a written fee schedule from each school on your shortlist.

More guides to schools in Montevideo

Frequently asked questions

How much does The British Schools in Montevideo cost?

The school does not publish amounts. Its public fee page says fees are charged in pesos in 10 monthly instalments from January to October, lists sibling discounts of 10% to 25%, and refers you to the Admissions Office for current rates. An admissions fee is invoiced after your application is accepted and is non-refundable. Ask for the schedule for your child's year first.

Is there a legal limit on private school fees in Uruguay?

In our searches we found no published official tuition cap. The Ministry of Education and Culture guide for migrant families describes the system under Ley 18.437 and says ANEP oversees formal education, public or private, but it does not mention a rule on private fees. Each school sets its own price.

At what age is school compulsory in Uruguay?

Under Ley General de Educación 18.437, article 7, initial education is compulsory from age 4, followed by primary and lower secondary. Article 27 describes upper secondary as the last stage of compulsory education. This applies to public and private schools, so plan for at least one nursery year.