Kazakhstan International School

In Brief

If the IB continuum from Early Years through to the Diploma is important - and your child's English is already solid - KIS is the right school. It is the only school in Almaty offering PYP, MYP, and DP under one roof, with a genuinely international community.

Kazakhstan International School has been doing this longer than anyone else in the country. Founded in 1998 as a Montessori kindergarten, it became Kazakhstan's first IB World School and now runs the full PYP to Diploma continuum from age two through Grade 12. For families who have done IB elsewhere and want curriculum continuity, KIS removes a real complication from an already complex relocation.

Around 615 students attend, with 47 percent from outside Kazakhstan. That proportion sets KIS apart from most Almaty alternatives, and 64 foreign faculty teach 15 Diploma courses. The school holds CIS and MSA accreditation alongside IB authorisation. Fees are quoted in USD but payable in KZT at the KASE exchange rate, running from roughly KZT 3.9M for toddler programmes to KZT 13M for the Diploma years, plus a KZT 600K admission fee.

KIS is not the cheapest option on the avenue and the facilities are functional rather than spectacular, but the IB track record and the genuinely multinational student body justify the cost for families who need curriculum continuity. If your child has been in an American or British curriculum school, the IB switch takes real adjustment. Ask the school directly how they handle entries from outside the IB framework.