Madrid has a mature, well-developed international school market. The schools are genuinely good, the city is liveable, and you have more neighbourhood flexibility here than in many other expat postings.
The city
Madrid is straightforward to live in. It is large, well connected, has a good metro, and is significantly cheaper than London, Paris, or Zurich without feeling like a compromise. The climate is excellent most of the year (hot and dry in summer, cold but sunny in winter). Bureaucracy is real and mostly conducted in Spanish, but once you are set up, daily life is easy. Private healthcare is affordable and widely available, and most of the international schools can point you toward English-speaking doctors and services.
Spanish is not optional if you want a proper life here. You can exist on English in the northern suburbs and central international zones, but the administrative side of life - NIE registration, empadronamiento, bank accounts, schools admin, the GP - runs in Spanish. A few months of classes when you arrive will pay dividends for years.
The city has enough of an international community that you will not feel isolated, but it is not Singapore or Dubai where expat infrastructure handles everything for you. That is, broadly, a feature rather than a bug.
The schools
King's College, The British School of Madrid
King's College sits third in the Spain IB league table with an average Diploma score of 35.5 in 2025, five points above the world average. It is the most academically credentialled of the broadly accessible British schools in Madrid. Founded in 1969, it runs the English National Curriculum from Nursery through Year 13, with the choice of A-Levels or the IB Diploma at sixth form. It also has boarding from Year 7 upwards, which is not common in Madrid and matters if your travel schedule is demanding.
Located in Soto de Viñuelas, north of the city. Day fees run approximately €8,900-€13,200/year for primary and lower secondary (~US$10,300-US$15,300), rising to roughly €19,000-€20,000/year for IB sixth form (~US$22,000-US$23,100). Boarding is additional and substantial.
International College Spain (ICS)
ICS is a Nord Anglia network school in La Moraleja with 70+ nationalities across around 1,050 pupils. It runs the full IB continuum from age 3, entirely in English, and scored 35.2 at IB Diploma in 2025. The campus is large and well-resourced, with a 1:9 teacher-to-student ratio. It is the go-to school for families already in the IB system who want continuity, and its location in La Moraleja puts it in the heart of the traditional expat residential area.
Fees for 2025/26 run from €12,186/year for the youngest year groups to €25,635/year for Grades 11-12 (~US$14,100-US$29,600). There is a €1,000 application fee and a €3,000 enrolment fee for children joining from Grade 1 upwards.
Runnymede College
Runnymede is consistently cited as having the strongest IGCSE and A-Level results in Spain. It runs the British curriculum from Pre-Nursery through to Year 13, no IB. If your child is heading to UK universities and you want focused A-Level preparation, Runnymede is worth a serious look. Small class sizes and a straightforward academic culture. Also in La Moraleja.
Fees run from approximately €9,300 to €23,700/year (~US$10,700-US$27,400) depending on year group, with a one-off enrolment fee of €3,500. Lunch is billed separately at around €2,100/year.
American School of Madrid (ASM)
ASM in Pozuelo de Alarcón has been running since 1961 and is the main American-curriculum school in the city. It runs the US system Pre-K through Grade 12, with Advanced Placement courses and the IB Diploma as a sixth form option. Its IB average in 2025 was 34.5. It has the feel of an established American school community and has historically been the home of the US corporate and embassy population in Madrid.
Annual fees run €11,593-€23,878/year (~US$13,400-US$27,600). There is a one-off Capital Fee of €6,000 (private families) or €8,100 (corporate), plus a bus service fee of €2,324/year if needed.
SEK International Schools
SEK operates two Madrid day school campuses: Ciudalcampo in the north (near Alcobendas) and El Castillo in Las Rozas to the west. Both offer the full IB continuum from primary, both in English. IB Diploma averages in 2025 were 33.2 at Ciudalcampo and 33.0 at El Castillo, a step below ICS and King's but still above the world mean. The campuses are green and spacious. Fees run roughly €12,000-€18,500/year (~US$13,900-US$21,400).
SEK is worth considering if ICS or Runnymede do not have availability, or if you are living further north or west than the La Moraleja core.
Virtus College
Virtus is a specialist British sixth form in La Moraleja, taking students aged 15-18 for A-Levels only. Class sizes are capped at around ten students, university counselling is the explicit focus, and the results are strong: 96% of its 2025 cohort placed at their first-choice university, with around 42% A/A* overall. It is a very different environment from a full-campus school; more like a small university preparation college. Worth knowing about if you have a teenager arriving at 16 or if the IB sixth form at a larger school is not working out.
Annual fees run approximately €23,500-€26,550/year (~US$27,100-US$30,700).
The Global College
The Global College is a dedicated IB sixth form college in central Madrid, taking students aged 16-18. It is affiliated with IE University and focuses on the two-year IB Diploma Programme with strong university placement into UK and US institutions. Like Virtus, it is only relevant if you have a teenager coming in at 16. The campus is urban and deliberately collegiate in feel. Fees are approximately €10,000-€12,000/year (~US$11,600-US$13,900) for the two-year programme, though pricing is not prominently published and worth confirming directly.
British Council School
The British Council School in Pozuelo de Alarcón is independent and has no institutional link to the British Council despite the name. It follows the English National Curriculum in a bilingual English-Spanish environment for ages 3-16. It does not have a sixth form: students leave at GCSE and move on. That is the main thing to know before enrolling a young child. It is well regarded locally and fees sit in the mid-range at approximately €13,000-€18,000/year at primary level (~US$15,000-US$20,800).
A note on Spanish IB schools
Several Spanish private schools offer the IB Diploma alongside the Spanish bachillerato and produce excellent results. Mirabal (Boadilla del Monte) averaged 34.5 at IB Diploma in 2025 and Colegio San Patricio El Soto averaged 33.5. These are not international schools in the English-medium sense: the environment is primarily Spanish and the student body largely so too. But if your child is bilingual or near-bilingual, they are worth looking at, and fees are considerably lower than the English-medium schools.
IB results in context
The global IB Diploma average in 2025 was 30.5. Madrid's leading schools are well above that. For reference:
| School |
2025 IB average |
| King's College Madrid |
35.5 |
| International College Spain |
35.2 |
| American School of Madrid |
34.5 |
| Mirabal (Spanish private) |
34.5 |
| SEK Ciudalcampo |
33.2 |
| SEK El Castillo |
33.0 |
Source: IB-Schools Spain league table.
Where people live
Madrid has enough scale and a good enough transport network that you are not forced into one neighbourhood. That said, the school geography does pull people north.
La Moraleja and Alcobendas
The established expat cluster, north-east of the city. Gated urbanisations, detached villas, a strongly international community, and good road access to Barajas airport. ICS and Runnymede are both here, which is why a lot of British and international families land here first. It is the most expensive option: a family villa rents from €4,000 to €15,000/month depending on size and the specific development, and apartments within the urbanisations from around €2,500/month. If you work in or near the airport corridor or travel heavily, the location is practical as well as desirable.
Pozuelo de Alarcón, Aravaca, Las Rozas
The north-west corridor is the main alternative. More affordable than La Moraleja like-for-like: four-bedroom family houses typically rent in the €2,500-€4,500/month range. ASM is here, as are the British Council School and SEK El Castillo. La Finca in Pozuelo is the prestige address. Aravaca is well served by Cercanías trains into central Madrid, which matters if one parent is commuting in daily. Las Rozas is further out and more suburban but has good road connections on the A-6.
Salamanca district
The most desirable central district, if you want to live in the city proper. Broad streets, high-end shops, good bilingual private schools. A three-bedroom apartment runs €3,000-€5,000/month. Families here tend to be in Spanish private schools rather than the English-medium international schools, or have teenagers at The Global College or Virtus. Works well if both parents are working centrally and the school commute is manageable.
Chamberí
Quieter than Salamanca, genuine residential neighbourhood, popular with professionals. Not a natural base if you are commuting to the northern school cluster daily, but good if you are at The Global College or working centrally and are not school-run dependent. Rent is slightly lower than Salamanca.
On the commute question
Madrid is not a city where school proximity is an absolute constraint in the way it is in some other cities. The roads in rush hour can be frustrating, but most international schools run bus services that cover a wide geographic area, and the metro and Cercanías connect several of the suburban areas well. That said, a cross-corridor commute (north-east to north-west daily, or central Madrid to La Moraleja without using the school bus) adds up. Think about it, but do not let it dictate your decision entirely.
Practical notes
Getting set upThe NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is the first thing to sort. Everything else - bank account, health card, school admin - follows from it. EU citizens register for residency and get an NIE; non-EU citizens need a TIE card. Neither process is complicated but neither is fast. Start before you arrive if you can.
HealthcareThe public system works and is free once you are registered. Most international families also take out private health insurance (roughly €100-€200/month for a family) to access faster specialist appointments and English-speaking consultants. Hospital Quirónsalud, HM Hospitales, and Hospital Sanitas La Moraleja are the networks most used by the expat community.
Cost of livingA family of four in the northern suburbs, running a car, with private health insurance and eating out a couple of times a week, should budget around €4,000-€6,000/month before school fees. Eating and drinking out is genuinely cheap by northern European standards. Utilities and groceries are reasonable.
TransportMonthly metro pass is around €55. Central Madrid is very walkable. The northern suburbs need a car for most daily movement, although Cercanías trains serve Pozuelo and parts of the Alcobendas corridor.
