How to Choose an International School in Nanjing: 2026 Family Guide

Quick answer: how do you choose an international school in Nanjing? Start with curriculum and commute, then check fees. Published 2026-27 tuition runs from roughly RMB 220,000 to 290,000 a year at Nanjing International School (IB) and The British School of Nanjing (English National Curriculum), with BASIS and Wycombe Abbey as alternatives.

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

Families moving to Jiangsu's capital find that choosing an international school in Nanjing comes down to three practical questions: which curriculum your child needs to continue, which district you will live in, and what the school will really cost once extras are added. Nanjing has a handful of established schools rather than dozens, so the decision is more about fit than about sifting through a crowded market.

This guide compares five schools using the information they publish themselves, including their 2026-27 fee schedules where available, plus the city government's own description of one of them. We say clearly where a school does not publish a figure, because a number we cannot source is worse than no number.

Nanjing context: where schools sit and what the commute means

Nanjing is a university city of several million people, and its international schools are spread across districts rather than gathered in one expat enclave. Two of the schools in this guide, Nanjing International School and BASIS International School, are in Qixia District, in or near the Xianlin university area on the eastern side of the city. The British School of Nanjing and Wycombe Abbey School Nanjing are in Jiangning District, in the south. EtonHouse International School is in Jianye, closer to the river and the Hexi business district.

That geography matters more than most families expect. A school in Xianlin and a home in Jianye are on opposite sides of the city, and the daily run is what your child will remember. Most schools run buses, but routes follow the school's catchment: BASIS, for example, says its own fleet of four buses covers Gulou, Aoti, Xianlin and Jiangning. Before you commit, test the real journey at school-run time and ask for the bus route and monthly price for your address.

One more local point: eligibility rules in China differ by school type and by the passports a family holds. Ask each admissions office, in writing, whether your child's nationality affects enrolment, and whether the school sets a different programme for Chinese-passport pupils.

Curricula available in Nanjing

International Baccalaureate: Nanjing International School teaches the IB from Pre-K to Grade 12, and EtonHouse International School says it offers the IB in English.
English National Curriculum, IGCSE and A level: The British School of Nanjing follows this pathway from ages 2 to 18, as does Wycombe Abbey School Nanjing in its upper school.
Bilingual English and Chinese: Wycombe Abbey runs a bilingual programme, with primary pupils following the Chinese national curriculum alongside English and the English-medium share rising from middle school.
English-medium programme with boarding: BASIS International School serves PreK to Grade 12 with a boarding wing and was accredited by Cognia in its founding year, according to the Nanjing municipal government.

Five Nanjing schools worth comparing

Nanjing International School

Founded in 1992, Nanjing International School (NIS) describes itself as the oldest international school in the city. It teaches an IB curriculum from Pre-K to Grade 12 and reports students from over 30 nationalities and calls itself the first IB Continuum School in China. The campus is at Xueheng Lu 8 in Xianlin University City, Qixia District, and the school's website carries the logos of the IB, the Council of International Schools and WASC.

NIS publishes unusually clear fees. For 2026-27, returning students pay RMB 266,940 a year from K1/K2 to Grade 5 and RMB 274,800 in Grades 6 to 12; new students pay a little more because an RMB 18,000 new-student fee is built into their first-year tuition. Tip: the enrolment deposit is non-refundable and is credited to first-semester tuition, so ask for the invoice date before you decide.

The British School of Nanjing

The British School of Nanjing (BSN) is part of Nord Anglia Education and calls itself the longest-running British international school in the city. Pupils aged 2 to 18 follow the English National Curriculum, including IGCSEs and A levels. The campus is at 16 Han Fu Lu in Jiangning.

Its 2026-27 schedule lists annual tuition of RMB 221,671 for Reception, RMB 262,825 for Years 1 to 3, RMB 279,255 for Years 7 to 10 and RMB 286,640 for Years 11 to 13. Full-day pupils get lunch included, which many schools charge separately. Applications are accepted year-round and involve a short assessment with an English test, so a mid-year arrival is realistic if a place is free.

BASIS International School

According to the Nanjing municipal government, BASIS International School opened in September 2019 in University Town, Qixia District, on a campus of about 32,500 square metres with 53 standard classrooms and 10 labs. It serves PreK-1 to Grade 12 and has room for about 1,000 students, 418 of them boarders. In 2024-25 the city lists 220 staff, including 97 academic staff and 57 foreign teachers.

Tuition is not published on the school's public pages, so request the current schedule. A useful angle for families: with a boarding wing and, the school says, its own cafeteria and school buses, BASIS suits households who do not want to live near the campus.

Wycombe Abbey School Nanjing

Wycombe Abbey School Nanjing describes itself as a modern private boarding school for students aged 2 to 18. Kindergarten draws on the Early Years Foundation Stage, primary pupils follow the Chinese national curriculum, and the upper school moves to a two-year IGCSE programme and then A levels, with the Extended Project Qualification compulsory for every A level student.

The school does not publish its 2026-27 tuition, and boarding changes the budget completely. Consider it if you want a British-style boarding structure with a Chinese-language foundation, and ask how many English-medium lessons your child would have in each year group.

EtonHouse International School

EtonHouse International School, in Jianye, says it offers the International Baccalaureate in English, with a stage range from nursery to high school. It is the option to look at if you live in the Hexi area and want an IB school without crossing the city. As with the others, confirm the programmes authorised for each stage with the school and the IB.

School fees in Nanjing

Published tuition for the two schools that list it sits between roughly RMB 190,000 (NIS full-day Pre-K is RMB 191,500) and RMB 290,000 for older pupils (BSN Years 11 to 13 are RMB 286,640), or about USD 27,000 to 41,000 at current exchange rates. Treat conversions as indicative, because the schools bill in RMB. BSN says it can bill in USD, GBP or EUR on request, at the Bank of China rate of the day.

Extras can add meaningfully to the budget:

Application and enrolment fees: BSN lists an RMB 2,500 application fee, a refundable RMB 12,000 deposit and a one-off RMB 10,000 enrolment fee.
English support: BSN adds a one-off RMB 18,000 EAL charge for children who need extra English.
Transport: NIS buses cost roughly RMB 925 to 2,350 a month depending on distance; BSN prices buses in three distance tiers from RMB 13,255 to 18,116 a year.
Uniform and PE kit: BSN lists items from RMB 40 to 400 each.
Boarding, meals and exams: these vary by school; ask for a written total.

Practical advice for choosing

Start from the next school, not the current one. If your child may move to Singapore, Dubai or back to the UK in two years, an IB or English National Curriculum pathway travels well. Ask where recent leavers went and how the school handles mid-programme transfers.

Visit in term time and ask about turnover. Expat communities in Nanjing are smaller than in Shanghai, so ask how many students and teachers leave each year, and how large the class actually is in your child's year group.

Read the fee schedule line by line. Compare the first-year total, not the headline tuition: NIS builds a new-student fee into tuition, while BSN lists application, deposit and enrolment charges separately. Check who pays if you leave mid-year.

See how Nanjing fits in the national picture

For a wider comparison across the country, see ▷ Best 34 International Schools in China.

More guides to schools in Nanjing

Frequently asked questions

How much do international schools in Nanjing cost?

Published 2026-27 tuition at Nanjing International School is RMB 266,940 to 274,800 a year for returning students from K1 to Grade 12, and The British School of Nanjing lists RMB 221,671 to 286,640 by year group. Add application, enrolment, transport and uniform costs, and confirm current figures with each school.

Which curriculum is best for expat children in Nanjing?

It depends on where your child goes next. Nanjing International School teaches the IB from Pre-K to Grade 12, while The British School of Nanjing follows the English National Curriculum with IGCSEs and A levels. Choose the pathway that matches your next likely destination, then compare commute and fees.

Can children join an international school in Nanjing mid-year?

Often yes, if there is space. The British School of Nanjing says it accepts applications year-round and uses a short assessment that includes an English test. Other schools set their own rules, so ask each admissions office about vacancies in your child's year group and any English support charges.