TL;DR: Published tuition is roughly two thirds of what you actually pay in year one. At International School Manila, SY 2026-2027 elementary tuition is US$15,160 plus ₱479,600 (roughly US$23,900 combined at ~₱62 to the dollar), but a new student also pays US$700 application, US$4,500 matriculation and US$4,500 facilities enhancement, and the school bus runs ₱23,660 to ₱54,600 per quarter by zone. Nord Anglia Manila publishes an all-in annual figure for Year 7 of ₱1,535,938 that still excludes bus, uniforms and exam fees, plus ₱242,875 enrolment and ₱29,806 application for new students. Everest Academy in BGC is materially cheaper at ₱567,000 tuition plus ₱125,000 capital development for Grades 6 to 8. Build two budgets: year one, and every year after it.
Every fee schedule below was read from the school's own published document for the school year named. Where a school does not publish figures, this guide says so rather than filling the gap with a number from a directory site. That distinction matters more than it sounds: several of the aggregator sites that rank for these searches carry figures that do not match the school's own current schedule.
The Six Charges That Sit Outside Tuition
Manila international schools use different names for the same things. Translated into plain terms, this is what the tuition line leaves out.
1. Application or assessment fee. Paid before you know whether your child has a place, and non-refundable everywhere. ISM charges US$700 for applications submitted on or after 1 August 2026. Brent charges US$300 per applicant. Nord Anglia Manila charges ₱29,806. German European School Manila charges ₱10,000.
2. A one-time entrance charge. Called matriculation, entrance fee or enrolment fee depending on the school, and it is the single largest surprise in year one. ISM: US$4,500 matriculation for new students entering Kindergarten to Grade 12. Brent: US$3,000 matriculation for new Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 students. Nord Anglia Manila: ₱242,875 enrolment fee. GESM: ₱150,000 entrance fee. Everest Academy Manila: ₱55,000 matriculation.
3. A capital or facilities development fee. Frequently annual, not one-time, which is the detail people miss. Brent charges its US$1,575 capital development fee every year to every student. Nord Anglia Manila charges ₱197,999 a year. Everest charges ₱90,000 to ₱125,000 a year depending on grade band. GESM charges ₱40,000 a year. ISM's US$4,500 facilities enhancement fee, by contrast, is a one-time charge on new students.
4. A refundable deposit. Real money out the door for the length of the enrolment. Nord Anglia Manila takes ₱50,000, refunded on completion of Year 13. GESM takes ₱130,000, refunded on clearance, and adds 10 percent to the quarterly tuition if you do not pay it on time. Lycée Français de Manille takes ₱60,000 per family. Brent's US$500 wait pool payment is refundable; its US$600 seat reservation is not.
5. Transport. Almost never inside tuition. ISM publishes rates from its provider for SY 2026-2027 and they are not trivial:
| Zone (indicative areas) | Roundtrip, per quarter | Morning only | Afternoon only |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — SOMA, Infinity, Verve, One Uptown, Grand Hyatt | ₱36,400 | ₱29,120 | ₱23,660 |
| 2 — BGC generally, Serendra, Essensa, Forbeswood, Shangri-La BGC | ₱38,220 | ₱29,120 | ₱25,480 |
| 3 — North and South Forbes Park, Dasmariñas Village, McKinley Hill | ₱40,040 | ₱30,940 | ₱27,300 |
| 4 — Makati (Rockwell, Salcedo, Legaspi, Magallanes), Ortigas A, Valle Verde 1-5 | ₱41,860 | ₱32,760 | ₱29,120 |
| 5 — Alabang, Ortigas B, Corinthian, Eastwood Libis, Roxas Boulevard | ₱54,600 | ₱41,860 | ₱36,400 |
Four quarters a year means a Makati family sending one child roundtrip pays around ₱167,440 (about US$2,700) on top of tuition. Nord Anglia and GESM both run bus services and both bill through the provider rather than publishing rates; GESM says only that fees are calculated quarterly, vary by route and are reviewed annually.
6. Uniforms, exams, trips and clubs. Nord Anglia Manila states plainly that uniforms, examination fees, school camps and trips are charged separately, and that bus transport, individual instrument lessons and some extracurriculars are extra. Brent bills IB Diploma examination fees on receipt of the actual charges from the IB, and notes that a student who leaves the programme after the school has been billed still owes the full cost. Nord Anglia says the same about Cambridge and Pearson entry fees for IGCSE, A Level and BTEC. GESM flags additional examination fees at Grade 9 to 10, and says its Grade 11 to 12 rate covers basic IB fees only.
One genuinely useful counter-example: Brent gives two school uniforms free to families who settle the full school fees before 7 August 2026.
Published Tuition, School by School
Every figure is the school's own, for the school year stated.
| School | Location | Curriculum | Published annual tuition | School year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International School Manila | BGC, Taguig | IB World School, ACS WASC accredited | US$9,720 + ₱306,400 (Preschool) to US$19,660 + ₱623,800 (G11-12) | 2026-2027 |
| Nord Anglia International School Manila | Aseana, Parañaque | English National Curriculum, IGCSE, A Level, BTEC | ₱529,072 (Pre-Nursery) to ₱1,824,389 (Year 13) | 2026-2027 |
| Brent International School Manila | Biñan, Laguna | American programme plus IB Diploma | US$3,584 + ₱164,120 (Nursery) to US$9,680 + ₱444,496 (G9-12) | 2026-2027 |
| German European School Manila | Parañaque | German and European, IB Diploma and Career-related Programme | €2,710 + ₱245,000 (Kindergarten) to €7,520 + ₱683,000 (G11-12) | 2026-2027 |
| Lycée Français de Manille | Parañaque | French national curriculum, American International Section | ₱356,372 (Maternelle) to ₱778,556 (Terminale), family rate | 2026-2027 |
| Everest Academy Manila | BGC, Taguig | Catholic K-12, Cognia accredited | ₱384,000 (Kinder) to ₱616,000 (Grade 12) | 2026-2027 |
| Domuschola International School | Pasig | IB PYP, Cambridge, IB Diploma | ₱248,000 (Early Years) to ₱543,200 (IBDP), local rate | 2026-2027 |
| The British School Manila | BGC, Taguig | Adapted British curriculum to IB Diploma | Not published on the school's own site | — |
Two notes on that table. Nord Anglia's figures are tuition only; its published annual total also carries a ₱197,999 capital development fee and a compulsory ₱77,255 lunch fee, taking Year 7 to ₱1,535,938 and Year 13 to ₱2,099,643. And Brent International School Manila, despite the name, is in Brentville Subdivision, Biñan, Laguna, not Metro Manila. That is a commute decision as much as a fee decision.
Disclaimer: figures are transcribed from each school's own published fee schedule for the school year named. Schools revise them annually. SchoolFinderPH does not process admissions or collect fees.
Worked Example: One Child, Grade 5, Year One
Numbers converted at approximately ₱62 to US$1 (August 2026, approximate).
International School Manila, new Middle School student, SY 2026-2027
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee | US$700 |
| Matriculation fee (one-time) | US$4,500 |
| Facilities enhancement fee (one-time) | US$4,500 |
| Tuition, Grades 5-8 | US$16,520 + ₱524,600 |
| Bus, Zone 4 roundtrip, 4 quarters | ₱167,440 |
| Year one total | about ₱2,317,700 (~US$37,400) |
| Year two, same child | about ₱1,716,300 (~US$27,700) |
The gap between year one and year two is roughly ₱600,000, about US$9,700. That is the number that wrecks a relocation budget built from a tuition page.
Nord Anglia Manila, new Year 7 student, SY 2026-2027
Annual plan total of ₱1,535,938, plus ₱29,806 application, ₱242,875 enrolment and a ₱50,000 refundable deposit, comes to about ₱1,858,600 (~US$30,000) in year one against ₱1,535,938 (~US$24,800) afterwards, and that still excludes bus, uniforms and Cambridge or Edexcel entry fees.
Everest Academy Manila, new Grade 6 student, AY 2026-2027
₱567,000 tuition plus ₱125,000 capital development plus ₱55,000 matriculation is about ₱747,000 (~US$12,000) in year one and ₱692,000 (~US$11,200) afterwards. Roughly a third of the ISM figure, at a school in the same district. Our guide to affordable international schools in Metro Manila covers what you trade for that.
Currency Exposure Is a Real Cost
A school quoting "US$16,520 plus ₱524,600" has not given you a peso price. It has given you a peso price and a currency position you will hold for as long as your child is enrolled.
GESM is the most explicit about the mechanism. Its fee policy says the split between euros and pesos is set each year by the General Assembly of the German School Association Manila, and that families without euro access may pay the euro portion in pesos at a rate GESM sets to cover exchange costs, adjusted quarterly. Lycée Français de Manille uses the Bangko Sentral rate as of the first day of the billing month for foreign-currency payments.
Practical consequences:
- Convert every school to one currency on the same date, and write the date next to the number.
- Ask what happens if the rate moves mid-year, and whether the school fixes a rate or floats it.
- If your employer pays in pesos and the school bills in dollars, you are the one carrying the risk, not the school.
Where the Money Actually Differs
Once you strip out the presentation, three tiers emerge in Metro Manila for 2026-2027.
Above ₱1.5 million a year, all in. Nord Anglia Manila from Reception upward, and ISM once the dollar and peso components are combined. British School Manila belongs here on the strength of the annual PhilSTAR Life survey, though the school itself publishes nothing.
Roughly ₱700,000 to ₱1.2 million. GESM once the euro component is converted, Brent's Lower School, and Lycée Français de Manille's upper years including the corporate rate.
Under ₱700,000. Everest Academy Manila, Domuschola International School, and LFM's Maternelle and Élémentaire on the family rate. These are accredited or curriculum-bearing schools, not compromises, but the class sizes, facilities and staffing models are different and you should look at all three in person.
Non-Fee Costs of the Same Decision
Two things sit next to the fee schedule and change the total.
Where you live. The ISM zone table is effectively a map of what your address costs you. A family in Zone 1 inside BGC pays ₱145,600 a year for roundtrip transport; a family in Alabang pays ₱218,400 and their child spends far longer in a bus. Rent differentials between BGC and Alabang can more than offset that, so run both together rather than separately.
Immigration. A child on a dependent visa, a Special Study Permit or a study-adjacent status has a paperwork cost and a timing cost. Start with our guides to the Special Study Permit and to SSPs for children specifically, and if you are moving on a work visa read 9(g) worker dependents and schooling. Retirees should read SRRV dependents and schooling. Nord Anglia's own fee schedule confirms schools may charge a service fee for handling an SSP.
How to Get a Number You Can Trust
- Ask for the complete written schedule for the school year you will enter, not the current one, and not a verbal quote. Schools revise annually and several publish the new year only in spring.
- Ask which fees recur. Capital development is annual at Brent, Nord Anglia, Everest and GESM. Facilities enhancement is one-time at ISM. Same category, opposite treatment.
- Ask for the bus rate for your actual address, not the cheapest zone.
- Ask what the exam fees have been in the last two years for IB, IGCSE or A Level, since these are billed at cost and no school can quote them in advance.
- Ask for the refund and withdrawal policy in writing before paying a deposit, and note the withdrawal notice deadlines.
- Multiply by the number of years you plan to stay, and ask for the school's actual fee-increase history rather than assuming a percentage.
For a broader look at the market, our international school fees guide covers Cebu as well, and the best international schools in the Philippines starts from curriculum rather than price. If you are weighing an international school against a strong local private school, private versus public schools in the Philippines and the Philippine education system guide explain what the local alternative actually is. Term dates matter too: see the DepEd school calendar for 2026-2027. You can also browse schools by area on our Metro Manila page.
Two related guides in this set: ISM versus British School Manila versus Brent compares the three flagships directly, and international schools in BGC and Taguig covers the cluster you can walk to.
Disclaimer: fee schedules change every school year and every figure above is tied to the school year named. Verify with the school before making any financial commitment.
Sources
- International School Manila — School Fees, SY 2026-2027
- International School Manila — School Bus
- International School Manila — Accreditation
- Brent International School Manila — School Fees 2026-2027 (PDF)
- Nord Anglia International School Manila — Tuition Fees
- German European School Manila — School Fees and Fee Policy Document (PDF)
- Lycée Français de Manille — Tuition fees and financial regulations 2026-2027 (PDF)
- Everest Academy Manila — Annual Fees for AY 2026-2027 (PDF)
- Domuschola International School — Admissions and Fees
- PhilSTAR Life — LIST: Tuition fees in top international schools in PH for A.Y. 2026-2027 (25 May 2026)