Nord Anglia International School, Manila

In Brief

NAIS Manila is a strong pick for families who want a small, high-performing British school and are based near Manila Bay or the south of the city. The fees are real - Year 12-13 runs to PHP 1.74M annually - but the exam results justify the price if your company is covering it.

NAIS Manila sits in a specific niche: it's the most academically selective small British school in Metro Manila, with around 265 students from 30+ nationalities on its Aseana Business Park campus near Manila Bay. The numbers are hard to argue with - 50% A*/A at IGCSE against a global average closer to 25%, and 59% A*/A at A-Level versus a world average of 36%. Class sizes cap at 22, and the 14:1 student-teacher ratio means your child is known. The school is part of the 80-school Nord Anglia network, which brings genuine extras: collaborative programmes with MIT, The Juilliard School, and UNICEF that you'd otherwise only find at much larger schools.

For families accustomed to larger schools, NAIS is noticeably intimate. The student community is small enough that children tend to know everyone in their year group within weeks, and the extracurricular range is better than the headcount suggests. The Aseana location - between Pasay and Paranaque - is practical for families in the Bay Area, Alabang, or the southern districts; it's roughly 20-30 minutes from Makati on a decent traffic day but can stretch longer during rush hour heading north to BGC.

The cost is the honest conversation. Pre-nursery starts at PHP 504K and fees climb steeply through secondary - Year 12-13 sits at PHP 1.74M annually, putting NAIS among the most expensive schools in the Philippines. One-time entry costs add roughly PHP 310K for new students (application, enrolment, and a refundable reservation fee). That price is defensible given the results and the intimacy of the school, but self-funding families should compare carefully against ISM and BSM before applying.