Our mission
To be the most trusted source of independent information for expat families choosing an international school. That means three things:
Free for parents, always. Every school directory you can find online is either subsidised by school marketing budgets or charges parents for "premium" data. We refuse both models. The directory is free to search, the comparisons are free to use, and the consultations with our team are free for any family that asks.
Independent and unbiased. No school pays to rank higher. No featured listings. No commercial relationships influence our recommendations. When we say a school is excellent, we mean we believe it is. based on KHDA / ADEK / OFSTED / CIS inspections, IB DP results, A-Level outcomes, and verified parent reviews.
Built by expat parents, for expat parents. We're an independent team of education researchers and expat parents who've collectively relocated families across more than 30 countries. We know what works because we've lived it. And we've made every mistake worth making, so you don't have to.
Who's behind GlobalSchoolGuide
GlobalSchoolGuide was founded by two people who have lived the international-school decision from both sides. both attended international schools across several countries as children, and both have since chosen and paid for international schools for their own children abroad.
Former international-school student and expat parent. Focuses on curriculum choice, admissions timing and the true cost of international schooling.
Former international-school student and expat parent. Focuses on all-in cost comparison, paying fees from abroad and inspection-based quality assessment.
Meet the wider editorial team.
How we work
Our directory covers 10,000+ international schools across 50+ cities, with verified data refreshed quarterly. Every school listing is built from a combination of:
- Official inspection ratings from regulators (KHDA Dubai, ADEK Abu Dhabi, BSO British schools, ONESQA Thailand, NEASC and CIS, ISI UK)
- Verified fee disclosures sourced directly from school filings and government databases. never from school marketing materials
- Academic outcome data for IB DP, A-Levels and AP, where schools publish results or where we obtain them through public records
- Parent reviews. verified through email confirmation, posted with full editorial review, and never removed at school request
- Direct school visits by our research team for the schools featured prominently in our city pages
Who we serve
Three types of families use GlobalSchoolGuide most:
Diplomatic and corporate-relocated families. typically arriving with corporate education allowances and 3-6 months of decision pressure. We help them shortlist quickly, navigate waiting lists, and avoid the most expensive surprises (capital levies, debentures, registration fees).
Lifestyle relocators. families moving for quality of life rather than career, often using digital nomad visas (Spain, Portugal, Panama), Gulf golden visas, or Asian retirement visas. They typically need help understanding what their budget actually buys in different cities.
Globally mobile career families. already abroad, considering their next move. We help them weigh up curriculum continuity, university targeting, and whether the next city has the school their child needs.
What we will never do
We will never accept payment from schools to rank them higher. Our entire business model is to be honest with parents. Selling rankings would destroy the only thing that makes us valuable.
We will never recommend a school we haven't validated. Recommendation requires either inspection rating evidence, verified parent reviews, or first-hand visit. We'd rather tell parents we don't know than guess.
We will never sell parent data. When parents subscribe to our newsletter or use our school finder quiz, that data stays with us. We don't share it with schools, agents or third parties.
How we're funded
We're funded primarily through three streams: a small team that provides paid research and shortlist consultations to families who want deeper help (the basic service is free), affiliate partnerships with relocation services (banks, insurance, moving companies. never schools) for our Relocate Hub, and the occasional sponsored guide on topics like banking and insurance. always clearly labelled.
None of this funding influences our school recommendations. We deliberately keep school content separate from any commercial revenue stream.
Get in touch
If you're researching a school we don't yet cover, considering a city we don't yet have a page for, or have feedback on a listing. please tell us. We add new cities and refresh data quarterly, and parent input is the single most valuable input to that process.
If you're a family in the middle of a relocation and need help, we run free 30-minute consultations with our research team. Most families find that 30 minutes saves weeks of their own searching.