Peterson Schools
Key Stats
Annual Fees: US$6K - US$14K
Curriculum: Bilingual · IB · Montessori
Age Range: 2-18
Students: ~1,800
Location: Santa Fe, Mexico City
Updated April 2026
In Brief
Peterson is the best-value IB-pathway school in the Santa Fe and Cuajimalpa corridor. If you're in Lomas de Chapultepec or Santa Fe and want a genuine bilingual 50/50 programme with a clear IB exit, it's the obvious call.
Santa Fe and Cuajimalpa families end up at Peterson partly by geography and partly by design. It sits at the lower-to-mid end of international school fees while offering a full Montessori-to-IB arc that few schools in the city can match without charging ASF or Greengates prices. The non-profit status matters: there's no shareholder extracting margin, and that's reflected in both fees and campus reinvestment.
The Cuajimalpa (Bosques) campus is the main K-12 site; families living in Polanco or Roma looking at Peterson should account for the traffic on the Periferico towards Santa Fe at school run time - it's 45 minutes or more from the centro on a bad day. Teachers who have worked there mention a warm community and genuinely bilingual environment, with the Montessori ethos felt through primary even as secondary shifts to a more conventional structure.
Secondary fees are not published publicly - primary tuition at Cuajimalpa sits around MXN 187,450 a year, which is competitive, but families should ask for the full secondary and IGCSE/IB-year schedule before committing. The four-campus network (Cuajimalpa, Lomas, two Pedregal sites) means sibling logistics are manageable for most of the city's western suburbs.
What parents value
- –Non-profit structure with fees competitive against other IB-pathway schools. Full Montessori-to-IB progression on one main campus.
- –Bilingual 50/50 English-Spanish programme from day one, with Montessori preschool conducted entirely in English.
- –First Google Certified School outside the US and UK. Multiple accreditations: Cambridge, IB, COGNIA, SAIS.
- –Active parent community with formal Parent Association; school bus service available from Cuajimalpa campus.
Points of consideration
- –Secondary and IGCSE/IB-year fees are not published. Request the full schedule before comparing against Greengates or Churchill.
- –Santa Fe traffic is punishing at rush hour. If you're coming from Polanco or Roma, the Cuajimalpa campus adds serious commute time.
- –The Lomas and Pedregal campuses are preschool and primary only - families entering at secondary will need to be on the Cuajimalpa route regardless of where they live.
Annual Fees
| Year Group | Age | USDTotal Annual Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten (2-3 yr) | 2 | NaN |
| Primary (age 6+) | 6 | NaN |
Fees converted from MXN. For the most up to date and accurate figures please double check with the school.
Additional Fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual enrollment fee (Primary) | NaN |
| Initial contribution (one-time, Primary) | NaN |
| Parents Association (annual) | NaN |
| Admission test (one-time) | NaN |
Academic Results
Peterson runs a coherent sequence from Montessori preschool (entirely in English) through IPC in elementary, Cambridge Lower Secondary and IGCSE in Middle and High School (grades 9-10), and IB Diploma in the final two years. The 50/50 bilingual model means classes shift between English and Spanish depending on the subject and level.
The school holds Cambridge International, IB, COGNIA and SAIS accreditations. It was the first Google Certified School outside the US and UK, and has a Design Technology Lab with 3D printing. University placements from the IB Diploma class track to the US and Mexico.
Extra Curriculars
Facilities: Design Technology Lab with 3D printing · Google Transformation Center · Sports courts · Library · Cafeteria
Extracurricular options at the Cuajimalpa campus include sport (athletics, inter-school competitions including the annual Legends Cup and Viking Run), arts, music and academic enrichment. The IB CAS component is embedded in Diploma years. Peterson International Day and International Career Day are annual community events. School bus service is available from the Cuajimalpa campus.
The Montessori preschool structure means the youngest children follow an extended-day format with self-directed learning periods. For elementary and above, the school day runs on a conventional timetable with bilingual subject rotation. Uniform is required across all campuses.
Inspections & Accreditations
Inspection
No published inspection details are currently available.
Accreditations
Accreditation details are not publicly listed.
Memberships
Membership details are not publicly listed.
Student Body
Around 1,800 students across four campuses (Cuajimalpa, Lomas, two Pedregal sites), with the main Cuajimalpa campus serving K-12. The student body is predominantly Mexican, drawn from the Santa Fe, Cuajimalpa and Lomas corridor, with a proportion of internationally mobile families seeking a bilingual IB route. The community leans more Mexican than ASF - families should not expect a majority-expat social environment.
The 50/50 bilingual structure means children develop genuine English-Spanish academic fluency. The Montessori ethos in preschool creates a student culture around self-directed learning that carries forward into elementary. Teachers who have worked at the Cuajimalpa campus describe the children as engaged and the parent community as active.
Leadership
Ken Peterson
Director General of Peterson Schools, overseeing the four-campus non-profit institution since taking the role from the founding Peterson family.