Istanbul International Community School, Istanbul

The grande dame of Istanbul international schooling, founded in 1911 as the Robert College Community School and now a full IB continuum from PreK to Grade 12. Reserved by Turkish law for non-Turkish passport holders.

IICS sits on the Hisarustu campus near Robert College and runs the PYP, MYP, Diploma, and AP across roughly 450 students from over 75 nationalities. Accredited by the IB since 1996, CIS since 1997, and NEASC since 2002. Fees run roughly TRY 885,000 to TRY 1,882,000. The 6 to 1 student-teacher ratio sits at the lower end for Istanbul.

Families describe a tight, multi-year community where teachers know students well enough to write meaningful university references, and an individualised counselling track that delivers near-universal university placement. Diplomatic and corporate expat families default here when an IB continuum and a non-Turkish passport requirement work for them. Best fit for international families on three-to-six-year postings who want the most established IB option in the city.

Year level	Age	Fee
EY3-4	3	TRY 885,500
EY5	5	TRY 1,432,200
G1-G3	6	TRY 1,586,200
G4-G5	9	TRY 1,647,800
G6-G8	11	TRY 1,767,150
G9-G10	14	TRY 1,824,900
G11-G12	16	TRY 1,882,650

Year level

Age

Fee

EY3-4

TRY 885,500

EY5

TRY 1,432,200

G1-G3

TRY 1,586,200

G4-G5

TRY 1,647,800

G6-G8

TRY 1,767,150

G9-G10

TRY 1,824,900

G11-G12

TRY 1,882,650

Item	Age	Fee
Application Fee (non-refundable)		TRY 11,550
Registration Fee (non-refundable)		TRY 46,200
Capital Levy (Grade 1 and above, one-time)		TRY 308,000

Item

Age

Fee

Application Fee (non-refundable)

TRY 11,550

Registration Fee (non-refundable)

TRY 46,200

Capital Levy (Grade 1 and above, one-time)

TRY 308,000

IICS comes up across Turkey expat threads as one of the few genuinely international schools in Istanbul, alongside MEF, BISI and IIS, all four restricted to non-Turkish passport holders.
commenters describe IICS as American-style and sport-heavy. One ex-student of a Turkish private school called IICS the only school in the country where a middle-schooler would get an English-only education.
Location is a recurring complaint: one MEF graduate joked that IICS is "so far outside of Istanbul that we would joke and say it's in Bulgaria," referring to the Hisar campus near the Black Sea coast.
Parents praise small classes, 6:1 educator ratio across two campuses and a college-counselling team with a near-100 percent university progression record.
IB depth is unusual: one of the first schools globally and the first in Turkey authorised for all three IB programmes (PYP, MYP, DP), accredited by IB, CIS and NEASC.
Older online posts pin IICS to a US State Department fact-sheet circuit, and an ex-teacher list included it among schools paying into US Social Security.

Position in Istanbul's international circuit. Treated as one of four true non-Turkish-passport schools in the city and the default American-style choice.

Teacher quality and class size. Parents reference a 6:1 ratio and small classes, and dedicated teaching staff.

IB and accreditation. Full PYP-MYP-DP authorisation, with IB, CIS and NEASC accreditations behind it.

University outcomes. College-counselling team is cited as a strong point; near-universal university progression.

Nicolaas Mostert