In this guide
The Taipei international school landscape
Taipei is a small market by Asian standards but a deep one in terms of quality. The two large international schools, Taipei American School (TAS) and Taipei European School (TES), between them account for over half of the genuine expat enrolment in the city, and both have decades of cohort outcomes behind them. Around the two anchors sit a useful set of smaller schools: Kang Chiao International School (KCIS) running both an English and a bilingual track, Pacific American School in the broader Taipei orbit, the I-Shou International School in southern Taiwan, and a small but growing number of bilingual elementary schools designed for international families who want Mandarin embedded in the daily timetable.
Three structural facts shape the market. First, Taiwan requires foreign passport status for the genuinely international schools, which limits the dilution by local Taiwanese families seen in some other Asian markets. Second, Taipei's expat base is broader than the financial services concentration in Hong Kong or Singapore, with significant numbers from diplomatic, technology hardware, semiconductors and academic postings; the schools reflect that mix. Third, the geography is forgiving. Taipei is compact and the school bus network is well developed, which means housing decisions can be decoupled from school decisions more easily than in larger cities.
The 2026 leading schools for Western families
Taipei American School (TAS)
The largest and historically dominant international school in Taipei, founded in 1949 and based in Tianmu since the 1980s. Strong American curriculum from kindergarten with a choice of AP and IB Diploma at high school. The deepest sixth form on the Western side of the market, with the broadest subject offering and the strongest university destination pipeline. The default first port of call for American families and a credible choice for other Western families on long postings.
Taipei European School (TES)
A multi-section school with British, French and German primary streams feeding into a unified IB Diploma at sixth form. The British section is the largest and runs the English national curriculum through IGCSE. TES is the natural choice for European families who want their child's primary education in the home language and a portable IB qualification at exit. Strong faculty stability and a credible IB record.
Kang Chiao International School (KCIS) English Track
KCIS has built out a serious English track over the last decade and now sits as the third credible option for Western families. American style primary feeding into IB Diploma at sixth form. Fees sit materially below TAS and TES, which makes it the natural value-tier choice. The trade is the location: Xindian is south of central Taipei and adds 25 to 40 minutes to a school bus run from Tianmu or central districts.
Dominican International School (DIS)
A long established Catholic American school in central Taipei. Smaller than TAS and TES, with a focused American curriculum and a credible AP cohort at high school. Particularly suited to families who want a Catholic education or who prefer a smaller, more central campus. The location works well for families based in Daan or Zhongshan and avoids the Tianmu commute.
Morrison Academy Taipei
A Christian American school with a smaller cohort and a focused community feel. Strong faculty retention and a credible American high school programme. Best suited to families who want an explicit Christian ethos alongside the American curriculum, or who are budget conscious and willing to accept a slightly thinner subject palette at sixth form.
Taipei Adventist American School (TAAS)
A smaller Seventh-day Adventist school with a focused American curriculum. The accessibility and the central Songshan location make it a workable choice for some Western families on shorter postings or those for whom the Adventist ethos is a positive fit. Smaller subject offering at high school is the principal trade.
Free Taipei shortlist help
Tell us your child's year, your target district and curriculum preference and we will come back within 48 hours with a personalised three-school shortlist, including honest culture-fit notes and indicative all-in fees. Free for parents, no sales follow-up. Request a Taipei shortlist or browse the full Taipei city guide.
Fees and the all-in number
Taipei's international school fees are quoted in Taiwan dollars and tend to be a touch below comparable Hong Kong and Singapore tuition. The all-in number sits 12 to 20 per cent above headline tuition once registration, capital levy, school bus, lunch, books, uniform, exam fees and activity costs are included. A Tier 1 school listing TWD 950,000 in tuition typically lands at TWD 1.1 million to TWD 1.15 million all-in per child per year, which is roughly USD 35,000 to USD 37,000.
That puts Taipei at the cheaper end of Tier 1 East Asian cities. Hong Kong and Singapore Tier 1 schools are USD 40,000 to USD 55,000 all-in. Shanghai and Beijing Tier 1 are USD 38,000 to USD 45,000. Taipei sits in the same band as Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur but offers a stronger university destinations record. For a campus-by-campus breakdown, see our Taipei international school fees piece and the fees explorer tool.
Neighbourhoods that match the schools
Tianmu is the historic expat heart of Taipei and remains the natural base for families at TAS or TES. The district sits in the northern Shilin area, with leafy streets, a strong cluster of family-friendly cafes and restaurants, and good access to Yangmingshan National Park to the north. Daan and Xinyi, the central business districts, are the natural alternative for families on a financial services or technology posting who accept a longer school bus run to Tianmu. Songshan and Zhongshan also work for families at DIS or TAAS, both of which sit in or near the central corridor.
Xindian, south of central Taipei, is the catchment for KCIS and is meaningfully cheaper than Tianmu or central districts for family housing. The trade is the commute and the distance from the dense expat services in Tianmu and Daan. For the full district by district picture, see our best areas to live in Taipei piece.
Bilingual and Taiwanese international options
For families willing to step partly into the Taiwanese system, a growing set of bilingual and Taiwanese international schools offer credible English language teaching alongside Mandarin immersion. These include the international divisions at Kang Chiao, Tsai Hsing, Wesley Girls' and a small set of newer bilingual elementary schools designed for international families. Most run a Taiwanese national curriculum with a meaningful English component rather than an American or IB programme, which is a different proposition from TAS or TES but a useful option for families wanting genuine Mandarin fluency by exit.
The Taiwanese system is high quality, particularly in maths and sciences, and the bilingual options are increasingly visible to Western families. For curriculum framing, our IB curriculum overview, American curriculum overview and British curriculum overview are the starting points for cross-system comparison.
Admissions timing and waitlists
Taipei runs on an August to June academic year. The realistic application window for an August start is the previous October to April. TAS in particular runs active waitlists for popular year groups (Kindergarten, Grade 6, Grade 9) and accepting students through the year is often constrained. TES runs separate admissions processes for the British, French and German sections, and capacity is tighter in the British section. KCIS, DIS, Morrison and TAAS typically have rolling availability with shorter waitlists.
Documentation requirements are reasonable. Expect to provide the child's passport, recent two years of full school reports, a letter of good standing from the prior school, immunisation records and an academic assessment (in person or remote) before a place is confirmed. Foreign passport status for either the child or a parent is a structural requirement at the genuinely international schools.
How to choose between them
The honest version of the Taipei shortlist conversation runs in four steps. First, set the curriculum. American families typically anchor to TAS, with DIS or Morrison as smaller alternatives. European families typically anchor to the relevant section of TES. Mixed Western families with an IB Diploma in mind have the strongest set of choices at TAS and TES, with KCIS as the value-tier alternative. Second, set the district. Tianmu and central Taipei produce a different daily rhythm to Xindian. Third, set the academic profile against the child. TAS is academically demanding; Morrison and TAAS run more pastoral programmes. Fourth, visit. A 90 minute tour and a short conversation with a head of section will tell you more about culture than a year of brochures.
For a side-by-side on fees, curriculum and outcomes, the school comparison tool lets you pull up to three Taipei schools next to each other. Pair it with our moving to Taipei with children guide and the Taipei city page for the broader picture.
One last note. Taipei has a quieter virtue that newcomers often underestimate. The city is safe, the public transport works, healthcare is excellent and the rhythm of family life is gentler than in Hong Kong, Singapore or the mainland Chinese mega-cities. The schools reflect that. Families that arrive expecting a finance-style pressure cooker tend to be pleasantly surprised by how much room there is for childhood. That observation should not be confused with academic softness; both TAS and TES produce strong outcomes year on year, and the IB Diploma averages at TES sit consistently above 33 points. But the daily experience is closer to a European capital than to a Tier 1 Asian financial centre, and that is part of why family postings to Taipei are usually extended once families arrive.