How many British schools in Hanoi
Hanoi's British curriculum cluster is smaller than Ho Chi Minh City's, but the city still supports three British or British-led schools with full Year 1 to Year 13 progression. A fourth Cambridge-aligned school runs IGCSE and A Level at upper secondary alongside its bilingual primary programme. British International School Hanoi at Vinhomes Riverside Long Bien is the dominant Nord Anglia flagship and the city's largest single English National Curriculum cohort. TH School at Hoa Lac, on the western city fringe near Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, runs a British curriculum spine with an IB Diploma sixth form option. St Nicholas School in Long Bien delivers Cambridge International across primary and secondary, with the IGCSE and A Level pathway leading into UK and Australian universities. Wellspring International Bilingual School at Tay Ho draws on Cambridge Primary and Cambridge Lower Secondary frameworks alongside the Vietnamese national programme. Together these schools serve a British curriculum cohort of roughly 1,900 children across Hanoi. For the wider Hanoi market see our Hanoi city hub and the global British curriculum hub.
The BIS Hanoi anchor
British International School Hanoi, known across the city as BIS Hanoi, is the heart of the Hanoi British curriculum market. The school sits inside the Vinhomes Riverside township on the Long Bien side of the Red River, a deliberate decision when Nord Anglia opened the campus in 2012 to anchor the school in the family corridor that runs from Long Bien across to Tay Ho. BIS Hanoi follows the English National Curriculum from Year 1 to Year 11, with Cambridge IGCSE in Year 10 and Year 11. Sixth form runs the IB Diploma rather than A Levels in Year 12 and Year 13, a Nord Anglia house preference that aligns the cohort with the wider Nord Anglia global university outcomes. The school's Nord Anglia membership opens the Global Campus expeditions programme, the MIT STEM partnership and the Juilliard performing arts collaboration to Hanoi families, a draw for relocating British and Australian corporate parents.
Cambridge versus Edexcel boards in Hanoi
Cambridge International is the dominant examination board across the Hanoi British curriculum cluster. BIS Hanoi runs Cambridge IGCSE in Year 10 and Year 11 before its IB Diploma sixth form. TH School and St Nicholas both follow the Cambridge route through to A Level. Edexcel International is rarer in Hanoi than in HCMC, where it sits at Renaissance International School Saigon and at ISHCMC American Academy. The Cambridge IGCSE syllabus weights maths and sciences heavily, which suits the engineering and medical university pathways most Hanoi British curriculum families target, and aligns more cleanly with the Vietnamese national maths and physics tradition that many heritage Vietnamese families want preserved alongside the English-medium route.
BIS Vinhomes, or TH School at Hoa Lac?
Take our 5 minute school finder quiz. We shortlist three Hanoi British curriculum options based on your child's age, your district and your A Level subject preferences.
Fees and how Hanoi compares with HCMC
Hanoi British curriculum school fees sit slightly below the IB equivalent, with a wider spread between the British-led flagships and the Cambridge-aligned bilingual options. BIS Hanoi Reception runs at roughly USD 19,000 a year, with Year 1 to Year 6 at USD 22,000 to USD 26,000 and the IB Diploma at Year 12 and Year 13 at USD 35,000. TH School at Hoa Lac sits between USD 13,000 and USD 23,000 across stages, helped by its boarding option and out-of-city land use. St Nicholas Hanoi sits at USD 14,000 to USD 21,000 across primary and secondary. Capital or entrance fees of USD 3,000 to USD 6,000 fall at first entry across all three British-led campuses. In Vietnamese dong terms the headline range is roughly VND 330 million to VND 880 million. Comparable HCMC fees at the British International School HCMC are similar at the senior years and roughly 10 to 15 percent higher at primary. For the full fee picture see our Hanoi school fees guide and the cost calculator.
Illustrative example schools
The schools below are illustrative, not a ranking. Each holds a distinct identity in the Hanoi British curriculum market.
British International School Hanoi (Vinhomes Riverside, Long Bien) anchors the city's Nord Anglia presence. English National Curriculum spine, Cambridge IGCSE at Year 10 and Year 11, IB Diploma sixth form, and the full Nord Anglia Global Campus offer. The family base skews corporate British, Australian and Vietnamese diaspora returnee.
TH School (Hoa Lac campus) is the dual-stream Vietnamese owned British school on the western edge of Hanoi. Cambridge IGCSE and A Level alongside an IB Diploma option, a working boarding house, and significantly lower fees than BIS Hanoi. The cohort skews more domestic Vietnamese, with a smaller expat strand.
St Nicholas School Hanoi (Long Bien) is the smaller Cambridge specialist, delivering Cambridge Primary, IGCSE and A Level on a single Long Bien site. Lower headline fees and a tighter, family-feel campus suit Vietnamese diaspora returnee families and corporate expats on more modest school allowances.
Where British families live in Hanoi
British families in Hanoi cluster around two anchors that mirror the school geography. Vinhomes Riverside in Long Bien is the natural anchor for BIS Hanoi, with four-bedroom villa stock at USD 2,500 to USD 4,500 a month and a tight family network anchored on the school gates. The township was built around a school-and-family masterplan, with a community pool, golf course and parkland that read as familiar to British relocating families. Tay Ho, on the western lakeside, holds a parallel British family cluster that uses BIS coaches across the Long Bien bridge or sends children to Hanoi International School for the smaller IB route. Tay Ho villa stock runs USD 2,500 to USD 5,500 a month, with serviced apartments at USD 1,800 to USD 3,500. Smaller British family clusters sit in Ciputra International City and at Ecopark, the masterplanned township on the southeast city edge that fields BIS coaches at a 45 minute commute. For the residential map see our best Hanoi schools for expat families guide.
Admissions, Decree 86 and university outcomes
British curriculum admissions in Hanoi follow the standard British international school calendar, with the main application window opening in November for the following August intake. BIS Hanoi and TH School run rolling admissions for in-year transfers, governed by year-group capacity. Vietnamese Government Decree 86 caps the share of Vietnamese students at fully foreign-invested international schools at 50 percent of total enrolment at primary and at 50 percent at lower secondary. For BIS Hanoi and TH School, the binding constraint is the Vietnamese share at popular year entries such as Year 1, Year 3 and Year 7. Cambridge IGCSE and A Level results from Hanoi schools are accepted by all UK universities through UCAS, by Australian and Canadian universities through the standard admissions calendars, and by Vietnamese universities including VinUniversity and Foreign Trade University through the international student admissions route. For sibling-cluster context see our Hanoi IB hub and Hanoi American curriculum hub.
Frequently asked questions
How many British curriculum schools are there in Hanoi?
Hanoi has three British or British-led schools with full Year 1 to Year 13 progression: BIS Hanoi at Vinhomes Riverside, TH School at Hoa Lac and St Nicholas in Long Bien. A fourth Cambridge-aligned bilingual school, Wellspring International, runs Cambridge frameworks alongside the Vietnamese national programme. Together they serve roughly 1,900 children across the city.
Is BIS Hanoi part of Nord Anglia Education?
Yes. British International School Hanoi has been a Nord Anglia school since the group acquired the campus in 2012. BIS Hanoi families have access to the Nord Anglia Global Campus expeditions programme, the MIT STEM partnership and the Juilliard performing arts collaboration. The school runs the English National Curriculum to Year 11 and the IB Diploma at sixth form.
How much do British schools in Hanoi cost?
Hanoi British curriculum school fees range from roughly USD 13,000 a year at TH School lower primary to USD 35,000 a year for the IB Diploma sixth form at BIS Hanoi. In Vietnamese dong terms that is roughly VND 330 million to VND 880 million. Capital or entrance fees of USD 3,000 to USD 6,000 fall on first entry at the British-led flagships.
Can Vietnamese nationals attend British schools in Hanoi?
Yes, with Decree 86 limits in mind. Vietnamese Government Decree 86 caps the share of Vietnamese students at fully foreign-invested international schools at 50 percent at primary and at 50 percent at lower secondary. BIS Hanoi and St Nicholas fill expat allocations comfortably, so the Vietnamese share is the binding constraint at popular year entries such as Year 1 and Year 7.
Do Hanoi British schools follow Cambridge or Edexcel?
Cambridge International is the dominant board across all three British-led Hanoi schools. BIS Hanoi uses Cambridge IGCSE at Year 10 and Year 11 before its IB Diploma sixth form. TH School and St Nicholas follow Cambridge through to A Level. Edexcel International is rarer in Hanoi than in Ho Chi Minh City.
Where are British schools in Hanoi located?
BIS Hanoi sits inside Vinhomes Riverside township in Long Bien District, across the Red River from central Hanoi. St Nicholas School is a few kilometres away, also in Long Bien. TH School is at Hoa Lac on the western edge of the city. Most British families live in Vinhomes Riverside, in Tay Ho along West Lake, or in Ciputra International City.
