Why I put tuition and rent in the same spreadsheet
Most families who call me about a flat near an international school have already chosen the school. Fewer have added the fee to the housing budget and looked at the total. That is a mistake, because in Wrocław the published tuition at a private international school is roughly the size of the rent on a family flat, and sometimes bigger. The two numbers belong on the same page.
This article does exactly that. I take the fees as the schools publish them (from the same data file that feeds my international schools table), the rent and utility ranges from my cost of living guide, and build three realistic monthly budgets: a public IB school in Nadodrze, one child at IPS primary in Krzyki, and two children at BISC with a house in Borek.
I only quote fees a school publishes on its own site; where a school says "on request", I say so too. Fee pages change every May, so check the source link before you sign.
What is actually published, and what is not
Of the twelve schools on my list, only two publish fees in a form that can honestly be turned into an annual figure:
- IPS International School of Wrocław (official site) lists monthly instalments and the number of instalments for 2026/27, from Pre-K to Grades 11–12.
- British International School of Wrocław (BISC) (official site) lists 2025/26 fees as either 10 or 12 instalments per year.
Every annual number below for these two schools is derived: the monthly instalment multiplied by the number of instalments the school states. The schools do not print a yearly total themselves, so if you see a different figure elsewhere, check which instalment plan it assumes.
Two more schools publish amounts but not the period. The American School of Wrocław (official site) fee page shows 2,300–4,900 PLN per instalment by stage for 2025/26 and does not say whether that is monthly, or how many instalments there are. Maple Bear Wrocław (official site) shows "from 2,802 PLN" for preschool and "from 3,442 PLN" for primary per instalment, again without stating the period. I do not multiply those out.
Five schools quote on request: Wrocław International School (WIS), the International High School of Wrocław (IHSW), ATUT Bilingual Primary School, the IB DP programme at Liceum EKOLA, and Wrocław Cosmopolitan School. EKOLA does publish a 200 PLN DP1 qualifying-exam fee and mentions a one-time wpisowe without an amount. For a side-by-side view of all these schools, InternationalSchools.net has a Wrocław page, but take fee figures from the schools themselves.
And two schools are free: Primary School No. 108 in Nadodrze (public IB PYP/MYP, taught in Polish, catchment-based) and Liceum nr V in Huby (public IB MYP/DP, with an English test for the MYP class). For a family that can live with Polish-language instruction, that is roughly 40,000–50,000 PLN per child per year saved.
Published fees by school and stage
All figures in PLN, exactly as the schools publish them, with the derived annual total where the instalment count is stated.
| School | Stage | Published | Annual (derived) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPS Primary | Pre-K | 3,350 × 11 | 36,850 | 2026/27 |
| IPS Primary | Kindergarten | 3,450 × 11 | 37,950 | 2026/27 |
| IPS Primary | Grades 1–5 | 3,950 × 10 | 39,500 | 2026/27 |
| IPS Primary | Grades 6–8 | 4,250 × 10 | 42,500 | 2026/27 |
| IPS Upper Secondary | Grades 9–10 | 4,800 × 10 | 48,000 | 2026/27 |
| IPS Upper Secondary | Grades 11–12 | 5,000 × 10 | 50,000 | 2026/27 |
| BISC | Years 1–9 | 4,700 × 10 or 4,200 × 12 | 47,000–50,400 | 2025/26 |
| BISC | Years 10–13 | 4,800 × 10 or 4,300 × 12 | 48,000–51,600 | 2025/26 |
| ASW | By stage | 2,300–4,900 per instalment | period not stated | 2025/26 |
| Maple Bear | Preschool / primary | from 2,802 / 3,442 per instalment | period not stated | current |
| WIS, IHSW, ATUT, EKOLA, Cosmopolitan | All | on request | — | — |
| SP 108, V LO | All | free (public) | 0 | — |
Note that the IPS figures are for 2026/27 and the BISC figures for 2025/26; expect the gap to move when BISC publishes its new page. Note also that the BISC 12-instalment plan costs more over the year than the 10-instalment plan.
Registration fees, and what tuition does not include
Every private school on my list that publishes anything also charges something to get in. These are one-time payments, due before the first instalment, and they are easy to forget when you are comparing monthly numbers:
- American School of Wrocław: registration fee 3,200 PLN for new students.
- BISC: enrolment fee 2,800 PLN, one-time.
- IPS Primary: admission fee 2,290 PLN (preschool) or 2,990 PLN (primary), one-time.
- IPS Upper Secondary: admission-process fee 800 PLN plus enrolment fee 2,990 PLN, so 3,790 PLN before the first tuition payment.
- EKOLA (IB DP): DP1 qualifying-exam fee 200 PLN plus a one-time wpisowe whose amount is not published.
For two children starting at BISC in the same year, that is 5,600 PLN in enrolment fees alone, landing in the same month as the flat deposit.
What the published fees do not include
The only exclusion stated explicitly on the pages I use is at BISC: public exam entries are charged extra. The other fee pages do not itemise lunch, school bus, external exams or trips one way or the other, which does not mean they are included. Before you sign, get a written answer to four questions: Is lunch in the fee? Is there a bus, and what does it cost? Who pays exam entry fees? What is the typical annual spend on trips and clubs?
Budget A: one child at SP 108 (public IB) and a 3-room flat in Nadodrze
Primary School No. 108 (official site) is a public, free IB PYP/MYP school for grades 1–8 (ages 7–15), taught in Polish, with catchment rules. Living in its catchment means Nadodrze, Ołbin or Kleczków, where renovated tenement flats with two bedrooms (a Polish "3-room") go for roughly 2,800–4,200 PLN a month. Utilities and other lines come from my cost-of-living ranges for a family.
| Line | Monthly (PLN, roughly) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Rent, 3-room flat, Nadodrze | 2,800–4,200 | Catchment address needed |
| Utilities (electricity, gas, water, heating, internet, mobile) | 450–1,100 | Heating is the swing line; see my winter heating guide |
| Transport | 220–320 | Family public-transport passes |
| Food (home plus modest dining) | 2,400–3,200 | |
| School fees | 0 | Public school |
| Total | 5,900–8,800 | Before healthcare, hobbies, buffer |
This is the cheapest IB route in Wrocław. The compromise is language: lessons are in Polish, so it suits young children or families planning to stay. Catchment is decided by your registered address, so the flat comes first and the school second; I explain the mechanics in my piece on where to live near Wrocław's international schools.
Budget B: one child at IPS primary and a 3-room flat in Krzyki
IPS Primary sits on ul. Drukarska in the Powstańców Śląskich part of Krzyki. Grades 1–5 cost 3,950 PLN in each of 10 instalments for 2026/27, a derived 39,500 PLN a year, plus a one-time 2,990 PLN primary admission fee. The surrounding districts, Powstańców Śląskich, Gaj, Huby and Borek, are dense, tram-served and full of new-build rentals; 3-room flats run roughly 3,200–4,800 PLN. You can read the school's profile on InternationalSchools.net for a parent-level overview.
| Line | Monthly (PLN, roughly) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Rent, 3-room flat, Krzyki | 3,200–4,800 | Many new-build rentals |
| Utilities | 450–1,100 | New builds usually sit at the lower end |
| Transport | 220–320 | Tram corridor |
| Food | 2,400–3,200 | |
| IPS Grades 1–5 tuition | 3,950 in 10 months of the year | 39,500 PLN a year; about 3,290 averaged over 12 months |
| Total in a fee month | 10,200–13,400 | Two months a year have no instalment |
| One-time in year one | 2,990 | Admission fee |
Compare the bold line with Budget A: one child at IPS primary roughly doubles the monthly total for a family in the same part of town. Tuition is about the same as the rent, and in a cheaper flat it is more.
Budget C: two children at BISC and a house or large flat in Borek
BISC is on Al. Akacjowa in Borek, a villa district on the Krzyki side with tram lines along Powstańców Śląskich. Two children in Years 1–9 on the 2025/26 fee page cost 4,700 PLN × 10 each, or 4,200 PLN × 12 each; I use the 12-instalment plan here because it matches a monthly rent cycle. For a house or 3-bedroom-plus flat I use my city-wide range of roughly 4,200–7,500 PLN. Enrolment is 2,800 PLN per child, one-time, and public exam entries are extra later on. The school's profile on InternationalSchools.net is useful for the curriculum detail.
| Line | Monthly (PLN, roughly) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Rent, house or 3-bedroom+ flat, Borek | 4,200–7,500 | Scarcer stock; longer search |
| Utilities | 450–1,100 | Houses sit at the top of the range in winter |
| Transport | 220–320 | Public transport only; add a car if you keep one |
| Food | 2,400–3,200 | Four people: expect the upper end |
| BISC tuition, two children, 12 instalments | 8,400 | 2 × 4,200; 100,800 PLN a year |
| Total | 15,700–20,500 | Every month of the year on this plan |
| One-time in year one | 5,600 | 2 × 2,800 enrolment |
On the 10-instalment plan the same two children cost 9,400 PLN a month for ten months and nothing for two, and 94,000 PLN for the year instead of 100,800. Either way, school is now the biggest line in the budget. Families in this bracket often look at buying rather than renting.
Fees vs rent: where the money actually goes
Put the three budgets next to each other and the pattern is clear. Rent for a family flat in the school districts varies by roughly 2,800–7,500 PLN depending on size and street, a spread of about 4,700 PLN. Tuition varies from zero to 8,400 PLN a month, a spread of 8,400 PLN. The school decision moves your monthly total more than the housing decision does.
So do not over-optimise the flat. Saving 500 PLN a month two tram stops further out is real money, but small next to the difference between schools. Choose the school first, then pick the neighbourhood where the commute is short enough that the saving does not cost you an hour a day.
The reverse also holds: with a public IB school, the 40,000–50,000 PLN a year you are not paying in tuition is the difference between a 3-room tenement flat and a house.
For a wider budget, including healthcare, hobbies and a buffer, start from the family column in my cost of living guide and add the tuition line from the table above. Health cover is its own line, covered in my health insurance guide.
Employer tuition contributions and how to negotiate them
Many of the families I house in Wrocław are here on a corporate relocation, and a share of them have part or all of the tuition paid by the employer. Negotiate before you accept, not after the children are enrolled. What works:
- Bring the published numbers. HR abroad rarely knows what a Wrocław school costs; the table above with source pages is a stronger basis than "international schools are expensive".
- Ask for the annual figure, not a monthly cap. A monthly cap set on the 12-month average under-pays in the ten fee months.
- Include the one-time fees. Registration or enrolment of 2,290–3,200 PLN per child, plus any exam entries, should be named in the policy explicitly or they will fall on you.
- Ask about the tax treatment. Tuition paid by an employer is usually taxable income for you in Poland. Ask for it to be grossed up.
- Link it to the housing allowance. Show the combined budget; a total-cost view often unlocks a rebalancing that line-by-line talks do not.
If nothing is offered, ask whether the company has a relocation partner in Poland; they sometimes hold places or discounts that appear on no fee page.
Timing the payments: 10 or 12 instalments, and what to ask about deposits
The instalment plan changes both your cash flow and the total you pay. BISC's published page is the clearest example: Years 1–9 cost 47,000 PLN a year on 10 instalments of 4,700 PLN and 50,400 PLN on 12 instalments of 4,200 PLN. Spreading the same school year over twelve months costs 3,400 PLN more. The 10-month plan is cheaper; the 12-month plan buys predictability for a price.
IPS uses 10 instalments for Grades 1–12 and 11 for Pre-K and Kindergarten, which is why a Pre-K year is 36,850 PLN even though its instalment of 3,350 PLN is the lowest on the list. Always multiply out the year yourself before comparing two schools.
On deposits: the fee pages I rely on list registration, admission and enrolment fees, not refundable deposits, so ask each school directly whether a deposit is required, when it is returned, and what happens to the enrolment fee if you withdraw before September. Then line it up against your flat: landlords usually ask for one or two months' rent as deposit plus the first month, which I cover in my guide to renting with me. In the arrival month a family at BISC with two children can face 5,600 PLN in enrolment fees, 9,400 PLN in first instalments on the 10-month plan, and a flat deposit plus first rent of roughly 8,400–15,000 PLN at the same time. That is the month to plan for. If you are weighing a purchase instead, my notes on buying as an investment cover the mortgage timing side.
FAQ
How much does an international school in Wrocław cost per year?
Where published, 36,850–51,600 PLN a year per child: IPS runs 36,850–50,000 PLN for 2026/27 and BISC 47,000–51,600 PLN for 2025/26, both derived from instalment times number of instalments. Five schools quote only on request, and the two public IB schools are free.
Is school tuition in Wrocław more than rent?
Often, yes. A 3-room family flat near the schools rents for roughly 2,800–5,000 PLN a month, while one child at IPS primary costs 3,950 PLN in each of 10 months and two children at BISC cost 8,400–9,400 PLN a month depending on the instalment plan.
Which Wrocław schools publish their fees?
IPS and BISC publish instalments and the number of instalments, so an annual figure can be derived. ASW and Maple Bear publish per-instalment amounts without stating the period. WIS, IHSW, ATUT, EKOLA and Wrocław Cosmopolitan School quote on request; SP 108 and V LO are public and free.
What one-time fees should I budget for?
ASW charges a 3,200 PLN registration fee, BISC a 2,800 PLN enrolment fee, IPS Primary 2,290 PLN (preschool) or 2,990 PLN (primary), and IPS Upper Secondary 800 PLN plus 2,990 PLN. EKOLA charges a 200 PLN DP1 exam fee and an unpublished wpisowe.
Is a 10- or 12-instalment plan cheaper?
At BISC the 10-instalment plan is cheaper over the year: 47,000 PLN against 50,400 PLN for Years 1–9. The 12-month plan spreads the cost to match monthly rent and salary but costs 3,400 PLN more. IPS uses 10 instalments, or 11 for Pre-K and Kindergarten.