Best International Schools in Almaty: The 2026 Guide for Families

Comparison table

Fees converted to USD at indicative 2026 rates. Verify current figures with each school.

The city

Almaty is Kazakhstan's largest city and its commercial capital. It is not the political capital (that is Astana, 1,200 km north), which is part of why Almaty feels more relaxed and more livable. The city sits at the foot of the Trans-Ili Alatau range, and the mountains are visible from most of the city on a clear day. Skiing at Shymbulak is 40 minutes from the centre. Big Almaty Lake is 90 minutes away. For families with active children, this is one of the genuine selling points of the posting.

The international community is real but compact. There is a long-established mix of mining, oil, banking, diplomatic and consultancy expats, plus a growing number of remote workers and families relocated from Russia since 2022. Most of the daily friction points (banking, healthcare, schools) work in English at the international-facing end and in Russian or Kazakh elsewhere. A few months of Russian when you arrive will go a long way.

Almaty is meaningfully cheaper than Western European or Gulf cities. A family of four can live well on a budget that would be tight in Dubai or Singapore. The food is excellent, the cafe scene is strong, and the city is greener and more walkable than its size suggests. Winters are cold and the air quality in winter is the most-cited downside: the city sits in a basin and a temperature inversion can trap smog for days. Most international families buy air purifiers and check the AQI like the weather.

The schools

Haileybury Almaty

Haileybury Almaty is Kazakhstan's most academically selective British-curriculum school and the school most newly arriving British and international families ask about first. It opened in 2008 as a sister school to Haileybury in Hertfordshire, runs the English National Curriculum from age 4 to 18 with IGCSEs and A-Levels in the senior school, and serves around 800 students on a campus on Al-Farabi Avenue.

Fees run roughly USD 20,000 to USD 43,000 per year (KZT 8.8M to KZT 19.2M). That is the top of the Almaty market and noticeably above the IB and American options. The fees include meals, activities, and EAL provision. University destinations include Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge.

The natural first stop on a British-track shortlist, and the school most likely to be oversubscribed at the popular entry points.

Kazakhstan International School

Kazakhstan International School is Kazakhstan's first IB World School, founded in 1998. It runs the full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, Diploma) from age 2 to 18 on Al-Farabi Avenue, with around 535 students drawn from roughly 30 nationalities. The faculty is genuinely international: 63 foreign teachers alongside 30 local teachers. The Diploma offer covers 15 courses, which is broad for a school this size.

Fees run roughly USD 9,000 to USD 29,000 per year. For families already in the IB system who want continuity, this is the obvious choice in Almaty. The mix of nationalities and the continuum from Early Years to Diploma make it the most internationally feeling school in the city.

Almaty International School

Almaty International School is the American-curriculum option, run by QSI (Quality Schools International) since 1993 and one of the oldest international schools in Kazakhstan. The campus is in the Nauryzbay district at the western edge of the city. It serves around 600 students from 28 plus nationalities aged 3 to 18, with Advanced Placement courses available in the senior school. MSA Systems Accreditation was renewed in 2022.

Fees run roughly USD 9,000 to USD 25,000 per year (KZT 3.9M to KZT 10.8M). It is the natural choice for US families and embassy-linked households, and the QSI network connection means transferring in or out of other QSI schools globally is straightforward. The Nauryzbay location is further west than the other two leading schools, so plan your residence around the commute if AIS is your first choice.

Miras International School

Miras International School is the second IB continuum school in Almaty, founded in 1999 and the first in Kazakhstan to offer all three IB programmes. The campus is on Al-Farabi Avenue, with around 546 students from 18 nationalities. Teaching runs in three languages (English, Russian, Kazakh), which gives it a more locally rooted feel than KIS while still delivering the IB programme in English at the senior end. CIS and NEASC accredited.

Fees run roughly USD 7,000 to USD 19,000 per year (KZT 3M for nursery up to KZT 8.7M for Diploma). The school is worth a serious look if KIS is full or if a more trilingual environment is what you want for the family. Outcomes are credible and the campus is well established.

High Tech Academy

High Tech Academy is the newest of the credible international schools, opened in 2020 in a Finnish-designed 20,000 square metre campus in the Kok-Tobe area of Medeu. It combines project-based Finnish pedagogy with the Minerva Baccalaureate at Grades 10 to 12, which is unusual; understand it before you commit (Minerva is more inquiry-led than IB or A-Levels and university recognition is improving but not as broad). CIS accreditation came in 2022, ARQA in 2023.

Around 550 students. Fees run roughly USD 12,000 to USD 18,000 per year (KZT 5.2M to KZT 9.1M). HTA is the right choice for families who want a modern campus, smaller class sizes and a less traditional academic philosophy than Haileybury or KIS. Visit in person rather than relying on the website.

Galaxy International School Almaty

Galaxy International School Almaty is a Cambridge school in Microdistrict 4, Bostandyk, with COBIS membership and CIS member status. Around 415 students from 27 nationalities aged 5 to 18, running Cambridge Primary, IGCSE and A-Levels. Checkpoint results are reported above the international average in Mathematics and English.

Fees run roughly USD 11,000 to USD 13,000 per year (KZT 5.04M to KZT 5.71M, with a KZT 10,000 admission fee). It is materially below Haileybury and similar to or slightly above Miras. A serious look if Haileybury is full or if a smaller British-curriculum school in Bostandyk fits the family logistics better.

Tamos Education Cambridge International School

Tamos Education Cambridge International School is the Cambridge International stream of Kazakhstan's largest private school group. The Cambridge stream operates from the Nur-Alatau campus in Bostandyk and has held CIS membership since 2023. It offers Cambridge IGCSE, A-Levels and AP, with around 3,000 plus students across the wider Tamos group (the Cambridge stream itself is smaller).

Fees for the Cambridge track run roughly USD 11,000 to USD 15,000 per year (KZT 5.17M for Kindergarten up to KZT 6.82M for Grade 12). Tamos is a more local-feeling alternative to Galaxy or Haileybury, with the operational scale that comes from being part of a large Kazakhstani group. The wider Tamos group also includes a Russian-medium stream, which is a different proposition.

Nazarbayev Intellectual School

The Nazarbayev Intellectual School network is state-funded and selective. Two campuses operate in Almaty (a Sci-Math campus in Nauryzbay and a Chem-Bio campus in Bostandyk) and run the Cambridge-aligned NIS Programme to IGCSE and A-Level standards. Trilingual Kazakh, Russian and English. Admission is primarily merit-based with limited fee-paying places at around USD 8,000 per year.

A real option for academically strong children with a connection to Kazakhstan or a willingness to learn Russian and Kazakh alongside English. NIS is not a typical international school choice for relocating families, but the academic standards are real and the school is a major part of the Almaty education landscape. For the great majority of expat families, one of the schools above will be a closer fit.

Other schools to know

A handful of smaller schools complete the picture. International College of Continuous Education is one of Central Asia's longest-running IB schools, founded in 1993, with PYP and MYP authorisation but no Diploma. Tien Shan International School is a small Christian school in the Karasai district running an American programme with CIS and ASIC accreditation. International School of Almaty (ISA) runs IB PYP and MYP alongside the Kazakh national curriculum so students leave with two qualifications. None of these is the obvious first choice for an expat family with budget, but each fills a particular gap if the leading schools do not work out.

Where people live

Almaty is large but the residential geography international families care about is concentrated in three or four areas in the south and east of the city, close to the mountains and to the schools.

Al-Farabi Avenue (southern strip)

Al-Farabi runs east to west across the southern edge of the city and is where the headline international schools sit. Haileybury, KIS and Miras are all here, which makes it the natural cluster for families whose first-choice school is one of those three. Housing is a mix of newer apartment blocks and detached houses in gated developments. A three or four-bedroom apartment in a good building runs roughly USD 1,500 to USD 3,500 per month. Detached family houses are higher.

The avenue itself is busy and traffic at school start and finish times is real, so plan to live within ten or fifteen minutes of your school rather than relying on the address being on the same road.

Bostandyk

Bostandyk sits north of Al-Farabi, between the avenue and the city centre, and is one of the more popular residential areas for international families. Galaxy, Tamos Education and Miras are in or near Bostandyk. The Mega Park and Esentai Mall sit here, which means more retail, restaurants and walkability than further east. A three-bedroom apartment in Bostandyk runs roughly USD 1,200 to USD 2,800 per month.

Bostandyk works well if your school is here or if both parents are working centrally and need a shorter commute than the southern strip allows.

Medeu and Kok-Tobe

Medeu sits east of Bostandyk and stretches up towards the mountains and the Medeu skating rink. High Tech Academy and Shoqan are both here. The neighbourhood mixes newer apartment buildings with detached houses on the hillside, and the air quality tends to be better than in the basin further west during winter inversions, which is one reason families with children sometimes prioritise this area. Rents are higher than in central Bostandyk for equivalent space.

Esentai (the upmarket development around Esentai Tower and Esentai Mall) sits at the southern end of this area and is popular with senior expats and the families on the largest packages.

Nauryzbay

Nauryzbay is the western district where Almaty International School sits. It is further from the city centre than Al-Farabi or Bostandyk and feels more suburban. Most families with children at AIS live in Nauryzbay or in Kalkaman to the immediate east, which keeps the school commute short. Housing is mainly detached family houses at lower per-square-metre rents than the southern or eastern strips.

A note on commuting

Almaty is not a city where school proximity is an absolute constraint, but cross-city commutes (Nauryzbay to Bostandyk, or Medeu to Al-Farabi during morning peak) take 30 to 45 minutes. Most schools run bus services, and they cover the main residential areas. If you are doing the school run yourself, picking a home within ten or fifteen minutes of the school is the simpler answer. Winter air quality and snow can both extend the journey.

Practical notes

Setting up: Most international families move on an employer-sponsored work permit. The IIN (Individual Identification Number) is the document that everything else flows from: bank account, healthcare, school enrolment paperwork. The process has been digitised through eGov and is faster than it used to be, but expect a few weeks of paperwork rather than a few days. Bring apostilled qualifications and birth certificates with you.

Healthcare: Private clinics and hospitals are widely used by international families, with Interteach, Sapa Clinic and the various private wings at the major hospitals being the popular choices. Most employers provide private health insurance as part of the package. The public system exists and is available to residents but is not where most expats end up. Specialist procedures are sometimes referred to Astana, Istanbul or further afield.

Cost of living: A family of four in a good apartment in Bostandyk or Al-Farabi, running one or two cars and eating out a couple of times a week, should budget around USD 3,500 to USD 5,500 per month before school fees. That is significantly less than Dubai or Bangkok and roughly half what the same lifestyle costs in Singapore. Eating and drinking out is genuinely cheap by international standards. Imported goods are more expensive than you might expect.

Air quality: Flagging it again. Almaty sits in a basin and winter temperature inversions can trap smog for days at a time. Most international families run HEPA air purifiers in the bedrooms and main living areas through the cold months and check the AQI before scheduling outdoor activities. Schools take this seriously and adjust outdoor PE in heavy smog periods. It is the single biggest health-related friction point of the posting.

Transport: A car is useful but not strictly essential if you live in Bostandyk or central Almaty. Yandex Go (the local equivalent of Uber) is cheap, plentiful and reliable. The metro is small but expanding. School bus services cover the main residential areas for all the leading schools. Driving in Almaty is slower and more aggressive than Western European norms but rarely catastrophic.

Language: Russian is still the working language of business and most daily life in Almaty, although Kazakh is increasingly visible and signs are bilingual or trilingual. English is widely spoken at the international-facing end (schools, major restaurants, the international clinics) but not in most shops, services or public-sector offices. A few months of Russian classes when you arrive is one of the highest-return investments you can make.

Methodology

This is an editorial ranking, not a database query. We weighted the schools by academic outcomes where they are published, accreditation and inspection evidence (CIS, COBIS, NEASC, MSA), parent feedback we have collected directly, and operational signals like head tenure, faculty international mix and campus quality. We then asked what we would tell a friend moving to Almaty, and that is the order above.

We have not included every fee-charging school in Almaty. The market includes a large number of bilingual and Kazakh-medium private schools that are good schools but unlikely to be on a relocating expat family's shortlist. Where a school we have not ranked is mentioned briefly under "Other schools to know", that reflects an editorial judgement that the school exists in the market but is not a first-choice option for most international families. We have also not visited every school in person in 2026, and where we have relied on published information we have said so. Schools change. Treat this article as a starting point for a shortlist, not a substitute for visiting.

FAQs

Which Almaty international schools have the best academic outcomes? Haileybury Almaty is the most academically selective school in the city and reports university destinations at Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge. Kazakhstan International School is the longest-running IB World School and offers the full IB continuum. Miras International School was the first school in the country to offer all three IB programmes and continues to deliver credible Diploma outcomes. Published exam data is patchy across the market, so visiting and asking for the latest results in person matters.

Is there a good American school in Almaty? Almaty International School, run by QSI since 1993, is the established American-curriculum option. It runs an American programme from age 3 to 18 with Advanced Placement courses, holds MSA Systems Accreditation (2022), and is the natural choice for US families and embassy-linked households. The campus is in Nauryzbay at the western edge of the city, so plan your residence around that commute.

Do I need to live near the school? It is the easier choice. Almaty is large enough that cross-city school runs (Nauryzbay to Bostandyk, or Medeu to Al-Farabi) take 30 to 45 minutes in rush hour, and winter weather can extend that further. Most schools run bus services that cover the main residential clusters, but living within ten or fifteen minutes of your school by road removes a lot of daily friction. The southern strip along Al-Farabi Avenue and the central residential band through Bostandyk are the most school-friendly bases.

How early should I apply? Popular entry years at the leading schools (early years, Year 7 and Year 12) can fill up. Contacting admissions four to six months before your intended start date is sensible, and earlier if you are arriving for the August or September start of the academic year. Treat any waiting-list information you read on third-party sites as indicative rather than current and confirm directly with the admissions office.

Are there cheaper international schools in Almaty that still lead to recognised qualifications? Yes. Galaxy International School Almaty and Tamos Education Cambridge International School both run Cambridge IGCSE and A-Levels at fees materially below Haileybury. Miras International School runs the IB Diploma at fees below Kazakhstan International School. International School of Almaty (ISA) is among the lowest-fee IB schools in the city. Quality and class size will not match Haileybury or KIS, but the qualifications at exit are the same internationally recognised IGCSE, A-Level and IB Diploma.

What about air quality? Winter air quality is the most-cited downside of living in Almaty. The city sits in a basin and temperature inversions can trap smog for several days at a time. Most international families run HEPA air purifiers indoors and check the AQI as a matter of routine. Schools take it seriously and adjust outdoor activities during heavy smog periods. It is a real friction point but a manageable one, and most families adapt within the first winter.

Fees correct as of May 2026. Figures shown are USD equivalents based on fee ranges published by each school in Kazakhstani tenge. Exchange rates fluctuate. We work hard to make every figure, date and description on this page accurate. We don't always get it right. If you spot an error, a fee that's changed, a fact that's out of date, or something we've got wrong, please tell us. Use the feedback button above or email us directly. We'll check it and update the article.