🇵🇭 Manila · Schools

Schooling and childcare in Manila

A strong international sector concentrated in BGC, Alabang and the south, taught in English, priced at the top end.

Get started in Manila

The thing people get wrongInternational School Manila and British School Manila are both in BGC, and Alabang has its own cluster. Those two poles are thirty kilometres apart through the worst traffic in the country, so the school choice effectively picks your side of the metro.

The sector

International School Manila (IB), British School Manila, and the German and Japanese schools sit in BGC; Southville International and Everest Academy serve the Alabang side; Brent International has campuses outside the metro. Below the international tier, the Philippines has a large and well-regarded private school sector teaching in English at a fraction of the cost, which is a genuine option in a way it is not in some neighbouring countries.

  • BGC cluster: ISM, BSM, and the German and Japanese schools.
  • Alabang cluster: Southville, Everest and others in the south.
  • Local private schools teach in English and cost far less.
  • The academic year at international schools starts in August; local schools vary.

Applying

Apply directly and early. Expect an application fee, assessment and reports from the last two years. Several of the established schools charge a substantial one-off entrance or development fee on admission, in addition to tuition, and some operate corporate or debenture arrangements through employers that are worth asking your company about before you pay personally.

  • Documents: passports, visa or ACR, birth certificate, immunisation record, two years of reports.
  • A one-off entrance or development fee is common and large.
  • Ask whether your employer holds a corporate place or debenture.
  • Waiting lists in popular year groups are real.

The commute

Schools run bus services and the routes define the family neighbourhoods. Given Metro Manila traffic, ask for collection times rather than distances: a family in Alabang with a child at a BGC school is looking at a very long day, and nobody enjoys discovering that in September.

  • Bus fees are annual and priced by zone.
  • Ask for actual collection and drop-off times on your candidate routes.
  • Living in the same district as the school is worth a great deal here.

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