International School Fees in Port Harcourt: 2026 Cost Guide for Expat Families

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

Budgeting for school in Port Harcourt has become harder since 2023. Families moving to the Garden City for oil and gas, engineering, banking or NGO work often arrive with a figure from a colleague that is two or three years old, and then find the term invoice is nothing like it. This guide sets out what international school fees in Port Harcourt look like in 2026, which extras push the real total up, and how to plan when your salary and your school bill sit in different currencies.

We cover five schools listed on International School Advisor, from early years settings to a secondary school with boarding and a university foundation year. None of them publishes a full fee schedule on its profile, so the ranges below are drawn from what parents report and from the wider Rivers State private school market. Treat them as a starting point for your conversations with admissions offices, not as a quote.

Port Harcourt for relocating families: where schools sit and why it matters for cost

Port Harcourt is the commercial capital of the Niger Delta and the base for many energy companies, service contractors and their suppliers. That shapes the school market: demand for British-style and international curricula is steady, but the expatriate population is smaller than in Lagos, so fewer schools charge at the very top end and more of them blend a British or international curriculum with the Nigerian one.

Most families look at schools in and around the Government Reservation Areas (GRA Phases 1 to 3), Old GRA, Rumuibekwe, Elekahia and the Stadium Road corridor, and along the Odili Road and Woji side of town. A second cluster sits towards the airport road, around Igwuruta, about a quarter of an hour from Port Harcourt International Airport. Commute times change sharply with rush hour and rain, and a home in GRA paired with a school out near Igwuruta can mean a long morning run.

That geography has a direct cost. School bus fees rise with distance, and many companies insist on a vetted driver and vehicle for their staff, so transport can end up close to a fifth of the annual bill. When you compare quotes, compare door to door, not just tuition.

Curricula on offer and how they affect the fee level

The curriculum is the biggest single driver of price in Port Harcourt, partly because of teacher recruitment and partly because of exam fees.

• Hybrid British and Nigerian: the most common model. Schools teach the Nigerian curriculum alongside a British framework, so pupils can sit both national exams and Cambridge or other UK-linked qualifications. Fees sit in the middle of the market.
• International Primary Curriculum (IPC) and International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC): thematic frameworks used in nursery and primary at schools such as Greenoak and CrestForth. They do not lead to a final exam on their own; ask what the school uses afterwards.
• Cambridge Primary, Lower Secondary and IGCSE: offered at several schools as a pathway to international exams. IGCSE entries are billed per subject and are among the extras most often priced in dollars.
• Nigerian national pathway: leads to the Basic Education Certificate at the end of junior secondary and to WAEC and NECO exams in senior secondary. Exam fees are paid in naira and are much lower than Cambridge fees.
• University foundation: Brookstone runs a pre-degree foundation year in partnership with NCUK, which is an alternative route to universities abroad and is priced separately from secondary tuition.

The five Port Harcourt schools in our directory

Brookstone School

Brookstone is an independent, coeducational school with a Christian ethos, covering nursery, primary, secondary and a pre-degree foundation programme run with NCUK. The nursery and primary school, founded in 2003, sits in the GRA, while the secondary and foundation schools share a site at Igwuruta near the airport. It offers boarding and carries a 3.9 rating from 242 reviews on its profile, by far the largest sample in the city. Cost tip: if you have one child in primary and one in secondary, factor in two campuses and possibly two transport arrangements, or ask about boarding for the older child.

Koothill International School

Koothill, on Odili Road at Okuru, teaches children aged 2 to 16 in English and describes its approach as active and innovative. It holds a 4.7 rating from 37 reviews, and one parent review specifically calls the fees parent friendly relative to the progress seen in early years. That makes it worth a visit for families who want a strong nursery and primary foundation without top-tier pricing. Ask how the school plans to support pupils after 16, since sixth form is not mentioned on its profile.

Greenoak International School

Greenoak, in GRA Phase 3, has over 630 students aged 5 to 16 and runs a hybrid of the International Primary Curriculum, British and American elements and the Nigerian curriculum. Its rating is 3.7 from only 3 reviews, so the score says little either way. A school of this size usually has more structured fee schedules and sibling policies, so ask for the written schedule for every stage your children will pass through, not only the entry year.

CrestForth International School

CrestForth, off Stadium Road in Elekahia near the GRA, combines Cambridge Primary, the IEYC and the IPC for children from pre-toddler through primary. Reviewers give it 4.8 from 5 ratings and two of them describe it as affordable for the standard offered. For a family with young children only, it is a sensible benchmark for what an early years and primary place with a Cambridge framework costs. Check where pupils typically move on for secondary, because that next fee level is what you should budget for.

Cedarwood School

Cedarwood, in Rumuibekwe, grew out of Kiddies Pride Creche, Playgroup and Nursery School, established in 2003, and now runs as a nursery and primary school. It is rated 4.2 from 5 reviews; parents mention a well equipped ICT lab and teachers who hold at least a first degree. Its long history in the same neighbourhood suggests a settled local community, which helps if you want your children to mix with Nigerian as well as expatriate families.

What families actually pay in 2026

Port Harcourt schools almost always bill per term, with three terms a year running from September to July. The ranges below are rough, per child, for tuition only, and reflect the international and British-hybrid end of the market. At an exchange rate of around ₦1,500 to the US dollar, which moves often, you can divide by 1,500 for a rough dollar figure.

• Nursery and reception: roughly ₦600,000 to ₦2 million per term (roughly US$400 to US$1,300).
• Primary: roughly ₦900,000 to ₦2.5 million per term (roughly US$600 to US$1,700).
• Junior secondary: roughly ₦1.2 million to ₦3.5 million per term (roughly US$800 to US$2,300).
• Senior secondary and IGCSE years: roughly ₦1.5 million to ₦4 million or more per term, before exam fees.
• Boarding: usually adds roughly ₦1 million to ₦2.5 million per term on top of tuition.

The context behind these numbers matters. In June 2023 the Central Bank of Nigeria unified its exchange-rate windows and let the naira float. The naira fell sharply, and many schools now quote or index part of their fees in US dollars, most often Cambridge and other international exam fees, or review naira fees each term rather than once a year. Families who budgeted on a fixed annual figure before 2023 have often seen mid-year increases.

On top of tuition, expect the following extras:

• Application and assessment fee: a one-off, non-refundable payment when you apply.
• Acceptance or enrolment fee: paid once on accepting an offer, sometimes as large as a full term of tuition at the top end.
• Development or building levy: charged annually or once on entry; ask whether it is refundable if you leave early.
• Uniforms and books: bought at the start of the year and replaced as children grow.
• Transport: the school bus is priced by zone; private drivers and fuel are often the bigger cost.
• Meals: sometimes included, sometimes a separate termly charge.
• Exams: IGCSE and other Cambridge entries are charged per subject and often in dollars; WAEC and NECO are cheaper and paid in naira.
• Devices and ICT: some schools require a laptop or tablet from upper primary.
• Trips and clubs: excursions and extracurricular activities are frequently billed separately.

How to budget when fees can move mid-year

Ask which lines are in dollars. Request a written breakdown showing which charges are fixed in naira, which are indexed to the dollar and which are billed in dollars outright. If your package is paid in dollars or pounds, the dollar lines are no risk to you, but the naira lines may rise each term. If you earn in naira, the reverse is true, and the exam years are the pressure point.

Negotiate the payment terms, not just the price. Some Port Harcourt schools offer a discount for paying the whole year upfront, and some give sibling reductions. Paying annually in advance can lock in a naira price for a year, which has been worth more than the headline discount since 2023. Before you do it, read the refund policy carefully in case you are posted elsewhere mid-year.

Check what your employer actually covers. Education allowances in the energy sector often cap tuition but exclude levies, transport and exam fees. Send your HR team the full itemised invoice from your first-choice school and ask them to confirm, line by line, what they will reimburse. A surprising number of families only discover the gap at the first term bill.

See how Port Harcourt schools compare

Once you have the fee schedules in hand, compare them against reviews, curriculum and location in our ranking of the best international schools in Rivers State, then book visits to the two or three that fit your budget and your route to work.

More guides to schools in Port Harcourt

• ranking of the best international schools in Rivers State

Frequently asked questions

Are international school fees in Port Harcourt paid per term or per year?

Most Port Harcourt schools invoice per term, with three terms running from September to July. Some offer a reduction if you pay the full year upfront, which can also protect you from a mid-year naira review. Always ask for the refund policy in writing before paying annually, in case your posting ends early.

Why are some Port Harcourt school fees quoted in US dollars?

Since the Central Bank of Nigeria let the naira float in June 2023, many schools index part of their costs to the dollar. Cambridge IGCSE and other international exam entries are the charges most often billed in dollars, because the schools pay the exam boards in foreign currency. Tuition is usually still invoiced in naira.

Which Port Harcourt international school offers boarding?

Among the schools in our directory, Brookstone School lists boarding. Its secondary school and NCUK foundation programme share a site at Igwuruta, about 15 minutes from Port Harcourt International Airport, while its nursery and primary school sits in the GRA. Boarding is charged on top of tuition, so ask for both figures together.