Cities / Almaty / Haileybury Almaty
Haileybury Almaty
Kazakhstan's most academically selective British-curriculum school, opened in 2008 on Al-Farabi Avenue, with fees that include meals, activities, and EAL provision.
In brief
The British school of choice in Almaty, opened in 2008 as a licensed franchise of Haileybury in Hertfordshire and run as a not-for-profit by a group of Kazakh business families. Sits at the top end of the local fee scale.
IGCSE and A-Levels through to 18, with a route into UK and US universities that is the main reason most expat and affluent local families pick it. Boarding is available, which is rare in Almaty. Facilities and grounds are the strongest in the city.
English-medium with strong English language support for new arrivals, which matters because the intake is heavily Kazakh nationals. Fees are very high by local standards, around 9 to 19 million KZT, and parents who pay them tend to feel the school holds up its end. There is a sister school in Astana under the same operator.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Reception | 4 | KZT 8,840,000 |
| Year 1 | 5 | KZT 12,675,200 |
| Year 2 | 6 | KZT 12,675,200 |
| Year 3 | 7 | KZT 14,776,400 |
| Year 4 | 8 | KZT 14,776,400 |
| Year 5 | 9 | KZT 14,776,400 |
| Year 6 | 10 | KZT 14,776,400 |
| Year 7 | 11 | KZT 16,877,600 |
| Year 8 | 12 | KZT 16,877,600 |
| Year 9 | 13 | KZT 16,877,600 |
| Year 10 | 14 | KZT 19,189,600 |
| Year 11 | 15 | KZT 19,189,600 |
| Year 12 | 16 | KZT 19,189,600 |
| Year 13 | 17 | KZT 19,189,600 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Registration Fee | KZT 50,000 | |
| Guarantee Payment (refundable) | KZT 750,000 |
Reviews
The first British public-school satellite in Central Asia, opened in 2008 in association with Haileybury in England and now run alongside a sister campus in Astana. A-Level results sit at the top end of the city, with leavers placed at Cornell, Stanford, Caltech, NYU, Toronto, LSE, UCL and Warwick, and several million dollars in scholarships secured each year. The campus on Al-Farabi reads as the most polished British set-up in Almaty, with sports facilities that families single out. Fees are at the top of the market, communication with prospective parents draws repeated complaints, and the staff room has not been quiet.
Positives
- Academic results and university placement. A-Level grades cluster heavily at the top of the sheet, with about six in ten at A* or A in 2024 and eight in ten at A* to B. Leavers head to Cornell, Stanford, Caltech, NYU, Toronto, LSE, UCL and Warwick, with scholarship totals running into the millions of dollars each year. Older cohorts have also gone to Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Columbia.
- British heritage and curriculum. Licensed franchise of Haileybury in England, with the Houses, the IGCSE and A-Level pathway and the UK public-school structure carried across intact. The first school of its kind in Central Asia and still the reference point for a British education in Almaty.
- Campus and facilities. The Al-Farabi campus is the headline draw. Sports facilities, in particular the football pitch, come up again and again as the best of any school in the country. Parents describe a beautiful site with the full range of British school amenities.
- Teaching and pastoral approach. Discussion-led classrooms, the Haileybury Habits framing of resilience, curiosity, organisation and reflection, and a culture that treats mistakes as part of learning rather than failure. Alumni talk about a tight-knit community and teachers who stay involved beyond the timetable.
Considerations
- Fees and value. Tuition sits at the top of the Almaty market, in the region of 6 to 17 million tenge a year depending on year group, with first-year enrolment costs higher again. Parents describe the package as beautiful and expensive in roughly equal measure.
- Admissions communication. Prospective families talk about slow or unreturned responses to enrolment enquiries, with the school itself acknowledging the issue in public replies. Phone access has come up as a friction point too.
- Staff turnover and morale. Teacher-side voices flag a high rate of non-renewals, changes to working conditions including a longer day and the removal of the school bus, and tense exchanges between staff and management. The visible churn shapes how the school feels from the inside even as outcomes stay strong.
- Kazakh language and local identity. Alumni describe pulling away from Kazakh and Russian cultural moorings over years inside an English-medium environment, with Kazakh language treated lightly compared to the academic core. The pattern is common at the British end of the market, more visible here because the school sits in Almaty rather than abroad.
Leadership
Simon Mills
John Coles is the Headmaster of Haileybury Astana, where he emphasizes the importance of a balanced education that prepares students for global citizenship and academic excellence. He is committed to fostering a supportive learning environment that encourages personal growth and development.
Accreditations
- Council of International Schools 01
- COBIS Patron's Accreditation and Compliance 02
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges 03
Academic results
- University destinations Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge