Choosing an international school in Tbilisi has become a more consequential decision than it was five years ago. Georgia's capital has attracted a large and varied international population: remote workers on Georgia's generous visa-free regime, regional managers, diplomats, NGO staff and a substantial number of families who arrived from neighbouring countries and stayed. Demand for English-medium schooling has risen faster than supply, and the schools have expanded at different rates and with different levels of rigour.
That makes due diligence worth doing properly. Tbilisi has genuinely excellent options and it also has schools whose marketing runs ahead of their provision. This guide sets out the curricula available in 2026, what fees look like, and the specific checks that separate the two.
Curricula available in Tbilisi
- International Baccalaureate. The strongest signal of established international provision in the city. Verify which specific programmes a school is authorised to deliver rather than accepting a general claim, because authorisation is granted programme by programme.
- British curriculum. Cambridge and Pearson pathways to IGCSEs at 16 and A Levels at 18, widely available and popular with Georgian as well as expatriate families.
- American curriculum. US high school diploma pathways, some with US regional accreditation and Advanced Placement courses. The natural route for North American families.
- Georgian national curriculum, often taught bilingually. A number of strong local schools teach substantially in English while following the national programme. Much cheaper, and a serious option if you are staying long term.
- Other national systems. Tbilisi has schools serving specific communities, reflecting its position as a regional crossroads.
A word on accreditation. In a market that has grown quickly, the presence of a recognised external accreditation, whether IB authorisation, Cambridge International registration, or a US or European accrediting body, is the most reliable filter available to a parent. It is not a guarantee of good teaching, but its absence should prompt harder questions.
International schools in Tbilisi worth shortlisting
QSI International School of Tbilisi
QSI International School of Tbilisi belongs to an international network with a long record of operating schools in emerging and frontier markets. That brings a defined academic model, standardised reporting and staff who are experienced with high student turnover. For families arriving mid-year or expecting a short posting, that operational maturity is worth a lot.
British International School of Tbilisi
British International School of Tbilisi delivers the English National Curriculum with Cambridge examinations in the senior years. If your child is moving from a British school or aiming at UK universities, the continuity in curriculum, assessment style and terminology removes a significant amount of adjustment. Ask which A Level subjects are running this year and how large the sixth form actually is.
New School, International School of Georgia
New School, International School of Georgia is a well-known Tbilisi option combining international provision with strong local roots. Schools of this profile often do something valuable that pure expatriate schools cannot: they mix Georgian and international students, which gives children a real connection to the country they are living in. Ask about the nationality mix in the specific year group.
European School
European School is one of the larger private providers in Tbilisi and offers international pathways alongside its Georgian provision. Larger scale means broader subject choice and more extracurricular breadth in the senior years, which matters in a city where small cohorts can otherwise limit options. Confirm which pathway and which language of instruction applies to the year group you are considering, since larger schools often run several streams.
International school fees in Tbilisi
Georgia uses the lari, and while local schools bill in lari, schools serving the international market often quote in US dollars or euros. Indicative annual ranges for 2026:
- Early years and kindergarten: GEL 6,000 to GEL 20,000 (roughly USD 2,200 to USD 7,400)
- Primary: GEL 10,000 to GEL 35,000 (roughly USD 3,700 to USD 13,000)
- Lower secondary: GEL 14,000 to GEL 45,000 (roughly USD 5,200 to USD 16,500)
- A Level or IB Diploma years: GEL 18,000 to GEL 60,000 (roughly USD 6,600 to USD 22,000)
Bilingual schools following the Georgian national curriculum sit at the bottom of these bands and sometimes below them. By international standards, Tbilisi is inexpensive: a full IB Diploma education here typically costs a fraction of the equivalent in Western Europe or the Gulf. That is one of the reasons the city has attracted so many location-independent families.
Beyond tuition, budget for a one-off registration fee, transport, lunch, uniform where required, devices and external examination entries. Exam fees are charged in hard currency by the awarding bodies and can be a genuine surprise in the IGCSE and Diploma years. Ten to fifteen per cent on top of tuition is a reasonable planning assumption.
Where families live in Tbilisi
- Vake and Vera are the classic choices: leafy, central, walkable, and where much of the international community concentrates.
- Saburtalo offers newer apartment blocks, metro access and better value per square metre.
- Old Tbilisi and Sololaki are beautiful and full of character, with the trade-offs of older buildings, steep streets and parking difficulty.
- Dighomi and the northern suburbs have larger houses with gardens and are close to several schools, at the cost of a longer trip into town.
Tbilisi is hilly and its traffic is unpredictable. Metro coverage is good in some corridors and absent in others. As always, drive the school route at 8am on a weekday before signing a lease. Winter mornings bring ice on the steeper streets, which changes journey times.
Admissions timing and practicalities
- Apply in the winter for an autumn start. Most Tbilisi schools run a rolling admissions process but the best entry points fill from January onward.
- Expect assessment. In-house literacy and numeracy testing plus English screening is standard, with interviews for older applicants.
- Prepare documents early. Passports, residence documentation, birth certificate, immunisation records and the previous two years of school reports. Foreign transcripts may need translation into Georgian and certification.
- Ask about Georgian language. Provision varies widely. If you plan to stay, insist on more than a token two periods a week; Georgian is difficult and children need real time on it.
- Check teacher retention. In a fast-growing market this is the single most revealing question. Ask what proportion of teaching staff returned this September.
Ready to compare curricula, fees and parent reviews in one place? Browse the best schools in Tbilisi on International School Advisor.
Frequently asked questions
How much do international schools in Tbilisi cost in 2026?
Expect roughly GEL 6,000 to GEL 20,000 a year for early years, GEL 10,000 to GEL 35,000 for primary and GEL 18,000 to GEL 60,000 for the A Level or IB Diploma years, equivalent to about USD 2,200 to USD 22,000 depending on the stage. Bilingual Georgian-curriculum schools cost considerably less. Add 10 to 15 per cent for registration, transport, devices and examination fees.
Is Tbilisi a good place for international schooling?
It offers unusually good value: IB, British and American pathways at a fraction of Western European or Gulf prices, in a city with a large and growing international community. The caveat is that the market has expanded fast, so quality is uneven. Use external accreditation, teacher retention and actual class sizes as your filters rather than facilities or marketing.
Will my child learn Georgian at an international school?
Most international schools in Tbilisi include Georgian in the timetable, but the intensity ranges from two token periods a week to genuine functional teaching. Georgian is a demanding language with its own script, so meaningful progress requires four or more periods a week plus exposure outside school. Ask each school how classes are grouped by level.