Greengates School

The British-heritage international school for the diplomatic and corporate expat circuit in Mexico City, sitting in Naucalpan to the northwest with about a thousand students running IPC into Cambridge IGCSE then the IB Diploma.

Founded in 1951, Greengates joined the Nord Anglia network and brought in a fully new leadership team in late 2022. Families who were at the school through the previous administration noticed admin and communication frustrations; those joining since the leadership change report meaningful improvement on both. IGCSE results and IBDP pass rates sit comfortably above international averages, and the university destination list runs heavily UK and US.

The Naucalpan location is the practical thing to weigh. It is a real commute from Polanco and a serious one from Coyoacán or the south, so the catchment is concentrated in the northwest. Facilities, sports, and arts are strong, and the school is selective at admissions. Best fit for British-curriculum expat families willing to live north or northwest, where most of the community is.

• Greengates draws steady praise from expatriate parents for academic strength, a deeply international intake, and a strong PTA.
• Parents report graduates being accepted at every US university applied to and a 2021 average IB Diploma score of 36.4 against a global 33.0.
• The community is genuinely diverse, with more than 45 nationalities and the International Day Fair regularly cited as the social highlight of the year. Classes run in English, with most students picking up Spanish through living in Mexico.
• Administration and parent communication are the recurring sore point. One parent called the administration "awful" and flagged a class-of-2020 graduation letter sent at 10pm only after parent complaints. Several reviews a leadership refresh has improved communication.
• Some parent reviews call the facilities very good, while others say classrooms are small and furniture is dated. Wider feedback consistently lands on the side of "expensive but worth it".
• The school joined Nord Anglia Education in 2022; the operator has changed but there is no evidence yet of fundamental shifts in the parent experience.