In this guide
Why Geneva is the global home of the IB
The International Baccalaureate Organization was founded in Geneva in 1968 and the city has never lost its central place in the IB story. The original Diploma Programme was designed at the International School of Geneva to serve the children of the diplomats, UN civil servants and international organisation staff who had been struggling to find a portable upper-secondary qualification. More than fifty years later the IBO is still headquartered in Geneva, the global research centre sits at Cardiff, and Geneva remains one of the densest IB markets in the world. For relocating families the practical benefit is unusual depth of choice across the continuum, with five schools running the full Diploma and several more offering one or more of the programmes for younger children.
That depth shows up in three practical ways. The first is teacher quality. Geneva is a destination posting for IB-experienced educators, particularly Diploma examiners and senior leaders moving between the most established IB schools. The applicant pool for each opening is unusually deep. The second is institutional knowledge. Several of the schools below have been running the Diploma for forty years or more, which means the internal assessment moderation, the Extended Essay supervision and the Theory of Knowledge programmes are mature in a way that newer IB markets rarely match. The third is alumni networks. Ecolint alone has more than thirty thousand alumni around the world, with strong representation at most of the universities Geneva families target. None of these are decisive on their own. Taken together they explain why the same families who could pick any city in the world for the Diploma keep picking Geneva.
The 2026 IB schools in Geneva
International School of Geneva (Ecolint)
The original IB World School and still the global benchmark. Ecolint runs three campuses (La Grande Boissière in Chêne-Bougeries, La Châtaigneraie in Founex and Campus des Nations in Grand-Saconnex) with around 4,500 students between them. The Diploma cohort across the three campuses regularly averages between 37 and 39 points with a large proportion taking the bilingual diploma. University destinations span Oxbridge, the Ivy League, ETH and EPFL, McGill, Sciences Po and the leading Dutch and Italian programmes. The first choice for IB-committed families relocating to Geneva.
Institut International de Lancy
A bilingual French-English school with the rare combination of Swiss Maturité and IB Diploma streams at sixth-form. Strong PYP and MYP feeders, well-resourced sixth form. Smaller cohort than Ecolint but with credible Diploma outcomes and a particularly strong language profile. Suits families who want their children to develop genuine bilingualism alongside the Diploma.
Collège du Léman
A large boarding and day school in Versoix with four parallel curricula at sixth-form: IB Diploma, US High School Diploma with AP, French Baccalauréat and British A Level. The IB cohort sits alongside the others rather than dominating, which gives the school a different feel from Ecolint. Particularly worth considering for families who value boarding optionality or whose children might switch curriculum mid-stream.
Institut Florimont
A traditional Catholic school running multiple pathways including the full IB continuum from PYP. Smaller and more focused than Ecolint, with a strong family culture and a particularly well-regarded primary section. The Diploma cohort is small but produces solid outcomes; the school's main strength is for families wanting a values-led environment with serious academics underneath.
Collège Champittet
The Nyon campus serves Geneva families directly and runs the IB Diploma alongside the Swiss Maturité. Older and longer-established than most of its competitors. The IB cohort here is the smallest in the city but the school has strong primary feeders and a long tradition of academic ambition. Best fit for families who value the Swiss-Catholic frame and the smaller cohort.
Mosaic International School
A smaller, more recent entrant offering the full IB continuum in a tight community setting. Strong educators, well-resourced classrooms, intimate cohort sizes through to Diploma. Worth considering for families who want continuity from PYP to DP without the institutional scale of Ecolint.
How to choose between them
The right Geneva IB school depends on three variables. First, where you will live. Ecolint and Florimont sit on the left bank close to Champel and Petit-Lancy families. Collège du Léman serves the right-bank corridor and the western suburbs, and is a natural fit for families in Versoix, Genthod and Bellevue. Institut International de Lancy sits next to Grand-Lancy and pulls from the central-southern half of the canton. Mosaic in Chambésy works for families in the north of the city and for those who want a more contained school feel.
Second, language. Ecolint's three campuses give you full English-stream and bilingual French-English options. Institut International de Lancy is structurally bilingual from primary. Florimont and Champittet run primarily in French with strong English support. If your children will arrive without French and you want them to bank serious French during their primary years, the bilingual schools (Lancy, Florimont) tend to deliver faster fluency than the English-dominant Ecolint streams.
Third, breadth. Ecolint's scale gives the widest IB subject choice at Diploma level, including the rarer HL combinations that smaller schools sometimes cannot timetable. Collège du Léman's multi-curricula model gives flexibility for children who might end up on AP, A Level or the French Bac rather than the Diploma. The smaller schools (Mosaic, Champittet, Florimont) offer narrower subject choice but more individual attention and tighter community.
A fourth variable worth thinking about is the social profile. Ecolint's three campuses each have their own personality. La Grande Boissière sits closest to the United Nations and tends to attract diplomatic and international civil service families. La Châtaigneraie in Founex is the right-bank campus and pulls more from corporate and banking households. Campus des Nations is the youngest and most diverse, with a noticeably broader mix of nationalities. Collège du Léman's boarding population gives it an international school feel even at day level. Institut International de Lancy and Florimont have a stronger Swiss and French-speaking presence among the parent body, which suits some families and not others.
Compare Geneva IB schools side by side
Use the comparison tool to put up to three Geneva schools next to one another on fees, IB averages, campus, language stream and admissions cycle. For the broader curriculum view see the IB curriculum hub. Families weighing IB against alternatives should also read best international schools in Geneva and our IB versus AP university outcomes piece.
Fees, scholarships and value
Geneva IB schools sit in three rough fee bands. Ecolint, Institut International de Lancy, Collège du Léman and Mosaic cluster between CHF 28,000 and CHF 45,000 per year at upper-secondary, with primary fees running CHF 22,000 to CHF 32,000. Institut Florimont and Collège Champittet are typically CHF 5,000 to CHF 8,000 below those numbers at equivalent year groups. Capital levies are modest by Asian or Middle Eastern standards but add CHF 2,000 to CHF 6,000 in the first year of enrolment, depending on the school. Bus services and lunch programmes are charged on top and can add CHF 4,000 to CHF 7,000 per child per year.
Scholarship provision in Geneva is more limited than in some other IB markets but is not absent. Ecolint runs an academic scholarship programme for Diploma entrants with a deadline 12 to 18 months before entry. Several schools offer sibling discounts of 5 to 10 percent on the second and third child. Most international organisations and multinational employers pay tuition either directly or as part of a package; for families on personal terms the published fees are usually the effective cost. The international school fees in Geneva piece covers the wider picture.
Value, as always with the Diploma, is not the same thing as price. Geneva's premium IB schools cost roughly what a comparable Singapore or Hong Kong school would cost, but the Diploma outcomes at the top of the Geneva market are among the best in the world. A 37 average across a cohort of two hundred Diploma candidates, year after year, is genuinely rare. Families who treat the choice as a long-run investment in their children's options at the end of secondary tend to find that the price difference between the upper and the lower tier in Geneva is modest set against the gap in average outcome. Families with shorter time horizons or smaller cohorts to support sometimes find better value at one of the smaller schools.
Admissions timing and entry points
Geneva IB admissions follow a fairly predictable rhythm. Ecolint, Lancy and Collège du Léman open applications around 15 months before the August intake. Florimont, Champittet and Mosaic typically open 12 months out. The most competitive entry points are Year 1 (the first year of PYP), Year 7 (start of MYP) and Year 12 (start of Diploma). Each of these is structurally over-subscribed at the top tier. Year groups outside those entry points usually have some availability inside the calendar year, although families targeting a specific campus or language stream should still apply early.
Assessments at the top schools combine an in-person interview, a written task in the language of instruction and a review of prior school reports. Most schools want to see at least two years of recent school reports, evidence of any standardised testing where applicable, and a teacher reference. Families relocating mid-academic year often find the schools willing to bridge with a January or April start rather than holding the place for August. For the broader admissions context see our admissions timing by city guide.
Where to go next
If you are in the early stages of a Geneva move, the most useful next steps are to draw up a shortlist of three or four schools, contact each one directly through the admissions office, and request a campus visit on your scoping trip. Most schools will arrange visits at short notice for serious applicants. Layer the visit alongside a neighbourhood tour so you can map school commute against housing realistically. For broader Geneva relocation logistics see moving to Geneva with kids and the Geneva city guide.
The single most common mistake Geneva families make is leaving the application too late and ending up at a school that was the third or fourth choice rather than the first. Ecolint and Lancy especially do not hold offers past their stated deadlines and the waitlists at the most pressed cohorts move slowly. Apply early, accept early, and treat the housing decision as a consequence of the school decision rather than the other way around. Families who do this almost always end up with the school they wanted; families who do it in the other order often find they have to compromise on one or the other. The Diploma is a long programme. The opening choice matters.