Private schools: rankings by country 2026

We compare private general-education schools, from primary to the final school-leaving exam. Tutoring centres, language courses and kindergartens without a school are not included. We use only facts from official sources: the school's own website and documents, and an official register or inspectorate where one can be read: whether the school has the state licence, registration or status its country requires, whether it holds a state accreditation or an international one (CIS, NEASC, COBIS), whether it names its legal entity, whether it publishes its tuition and its inspection report, its class size, the stages it teaches, whether it offers an international programme and the year it started. Every fact links to its source with the date we checked it. Exam results, parents' reviews and third-party league tables are not used, and we publish no names of pupils or staff. The ranking is not advice to choose a particular school. Places are not for sale.

countries: 3How we rank

Pick a country

Frequently asked questions

Which private school is the best?

The school in first place has the highest Score under our open methodology. This is not advice: the right school depends on your child. Visit the school, ask to see lessons and read the contract before you sign.

Where does the data come from?

From the schools' official websites and documents (fee pages, statutes, inspection reports, licence pages) and, where one can be read without a form or captcha, from official registers. Every fact links to its page with the date we checked it.

Why don't you use exam results or reviews?

Schools that select their pupils get better results for that reason alone, and results are published in different ways in each country, so they cannot be compared fairly. Reviews cannot be verified reliably. The Score uses only what can be checked in a document.

What does 'licence or state status' mean in each country?

It follows the national rule. Russia: the licence from the education authority, with state accreditation listed separately. Belarus: the licence in the Unified Register of Licences. Kazakhstan: the state licence for educational activity. Poland: entry in the register of non-public schools. Germany: the state approval of a private school (Ersatzschule or Ergänzungsschule). United Kingdom: registration as an independent school, which we confirm through the school's inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

Does 'not stated' mean a school has no licence?

No. It means we did not find the fact on the pages we could read. Check with the school or in the register of your country.

Why are some schools listed as 'site closed to automated checks'?

Some websites refuse automated reading (an error page, a captcha or a robots.txt ban). We do not get around such protection, so we cannot verify the facts and the school is not ranked. This is not a judgement of its quality; the school can send us links to its official pages.

Can a school buy a place in the ranking?

No. The Score is calculated with the same formula for every school. Paid placements, if they ever appear, will be a separate block labelled as advertising and never affect the Score.