🇰🇭 Phnom Penh · Schools

Schooling and childcare in Phnom Penh

A small but real international sector for a city this size, concentrated in the central and northern districts.

Get started in Phnom Penh

The thing people get wrongThe sector is small enough that the school choice is genuinely constrained — there are a handful of credible options rather than a market. Secure a place before you commit to an area or a job offer that depends on one.

The options

ISPP (International School of Phnom Penh) is the established IB school; Northbridge International School Cambodia is the other main international option, with Canadian, French, Australian and Singaporean-linked schools alongside. Below them sit private bilingual schools teaching in English and Khmer at considerably lower cost. For a city of its size the sector is respectable, but it is small.

  • ISPP and Northbridge are the two best-known international schools.
  • French, Canadian, Australian and Singaporean-curriculum options exist.
  • Bilingual private schools cost far less and vary more.
  • The international academic year starts in August.

Applying

Apply directly and early — in a small sector, a full year group is a real constraint rather than a negotiating position. Expect an application fee, assessment and reports from the last two years, and check whether the school charges a capital or development levy on entry alongside tuition.

  • Documents: passports, visa, birth certificate, immunisation record, two years of reports.
  • Application fee, plus a possible one-off entry levy.
  • Ask about capacity in your child's specific year group.
  • Some employers hold corporate places — ask before paying personally.

Where families live

The main schools sit in the central and northern parts of the city, which is why Toul Kork and the areas toward the airport road hold most international-school families — villas with gardens, quieter streets and a manageable run to school. BKK1 is convenient for everything else but offers less space for the money.

  • Toul Kork and the northern districts for space and school access.
  • Buses operate from the main residential areas; ask for the route map.
  • Phnom Penh traffic is busy but the distances are short by regional standards.

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