Relocating to Wrocław with children: the twelve-month timeline that works

Why the school, not the flight, sets your calendar

Families who move to Wrocław smoothly all did one thing: they let the school calendar, not the employer’s start date, decide when everything else happened. The job can begin in any month. A child’s year begins on 1 September, Polish public recruitment runs on fixed city dates in spring, and private schools fill popular year groups long before summer. Work backwards from the first school week and the rest of the move falls into order.

This is a timeline for that. It runs from twelve months out to the first week of term, with the housing steps where they belong relative to the school steps, because that is the sequencing most families get wrong. It assumes you already know you are coming and roughly when; the paperwork side of arriving (PESEL, meldunek, residence) is covered in my relocating to Wrocław guide and the relocation checklist, so here I only say when to do it, not how.

Every fee, age and curriculum below is what the school publishes on its own site; where a school does not publish fees I say “on request”. The full comparison, with a map, is in the international schools in Wrocław guide.

T-12 to T-9 months: shortlist schools and visit

Start with the curriculum you want to leave with, not the one you arrive with. A child who may finish school elsewhere needs IB or Cambridge continuity; a family that may stay needs a route to the Polish matura. Wrocław has both. BISC runs Cambridge Primary to A Level for ages 5–18, IPS runs Cambridge from 2.5 to 14 and then IGCSE and A Levels at its upper-secondary campus, ASW runs an American programme with IB MYP and DP from age 1 to 18, WIS runs IB PYP and MYP for ages 4–15 with IHSW continuing to the Diploma on the same campus, and Cosmopolitan runs the English National Curriculum from 3 to 18. For a bilingual Polish route, ATUT (zerówka to grade 8) and Maple Bear (preschool and primary). The Wrocław page on InternationalSchools.net is a reasonable first filter; confirm everything with the school.

Private schools admit year-round, but “year-round” means there is no deadline, not that there is a place. Entry years and the first IB Diploma year fill first. Email three schools now with the child’s date of birth and arrival month and ask two blunt questions: is there a place for September, and what holds it.

Visit if you can: a long weekend at T-10 covers two or three campuses on a school day and the districts around them. If you cannot fly, ask for a video tour and a conversation with the year-group teacher, not only admissions.

T-9 to T-6 months: the public-school window (March and May)

If you want a free place, the calendar is stricter. Wrocław’s city recruitment for public kindergartens and first grade of primary typically opens in March; check wroclaw.pl for the exact dates each year, because they move by a week or two. Places are catchment-based, so the application needs an address inside the school’s rejon, which means a signed lease or a relative’s address by March, six months before you arrive. Most relocating families cannot manage that, start in a private school for the first year and switch later; a good plan, as long as you know it is the plan.

The public school most foreign families ask about is Primary School No. 108 in Nadodrze: grades 1–8 (ages 7–15), IB PYP and MYP, taught in Polish, free, and catchment-based. It is a real option if you can live in Nadodrze, Ołbin or Kleczków.

For teenagers the date is May. Liceum nr V (V LO) in Huby is a public liceum with IB MYP in the first two years and the Diploma in the last two; it has run the DP since 1997 and sets an English test for the MYP class. Applications go through the city’s recruitment portal, typically in May, for a September start. A teenager arriving in August has missed it; plan the move for the May before, or budget for a year at IPS Upper Secondary, EKOLA or IHSW first.

T-6 to T-4 months: accept the offer and pay the school deposit

By six months out you should have a written offer from your first-choice private school and know what it costs to hold. The one-time fees are published: BISC charges a 2,800 PLN enrolment fee; IPS charges 2,290 PLN (preschool) or 2,990 PLN (primary) admission, and its upper secondary adds an 800 PLN admission-process fee; ASW charges a 3,200 PLN registration fee for new students. WIS, IHSW, ATUT, EKOLA and Cosmopolitan quote on request, so ask for the whole first-year schedule in writing, including what is refundable if the posting falls through.

Then look at the annual numbers, because they shape the housing budget. BISC publishes 4,700 PLN × 10 or 4,200 PLN × 12 for Years 1–9 (47,000–50,400 PLN a year, 2025/26). IPS publishes 3,950 PLN × 10 for Grades 1–5 and 4,250 PLN × 10 for Grades 6–8 (2026/27), and 4,800–5,000 PLN × 10 for Grades 9–12. ASW publishes 2,300–4,900 PLN per instalment by stage without stating the period. Two children at a fee-paying school can cost more than the flat, which is the point at which many families reconsider the public route or a bilingual school. The cost of living guide puts those figures next to rent and utilities.

Get the acceptance in writing; some landlords in the school districts treat a confirmed place as evidence of a stable, long-term tenant.

T-3 to T-1 months: the flat search, and when to arrive

Now, and only now, the housing search. You know the campus, so you know the districts: the school map and my guide to Wrocław’s neighbourhoods narrow it to two or three. A good family flat in Krzyki or Grabiszyn is roughly 3,000–4,800 PLN a month for 2–3 rooms; a listing at that price near a school is typically live for a week, and in the last fortnight of August for two or three days.

That is why the arrival date matters more than the departure date. The best window to be physically in Wrocław viewing flats is June or the first half of July: supply is normal, landlords are not yet choosing between you and three university intakes, and you can sign for a 1 August start, which leaves a month to furnish and register before term. Arriving in the last week of August and hoping for a flat near BISC by 1 September is possible, but you pay for it in rent or compromise.

Viewing remotely is a weak second best: Polish listings count rooms, not bedrooms (“3 pokoje” is two bedrooms), and photos hide the six-lane avenue outside. If you cannot come, have someone walk the flat and the school route at 07:45 for you. What to prepare before the first viewing, and what landlords ask foreign tenants for, is in my renting in Wrocław as a foreigner guide.

T-1 month: lease, handover and the school’s paperwork

Sign the lease only once the school has confirmed the place in writing; the reasons are in the mistakes section below. When you do sign, check four things that matter specifically to families: the term (a twelve-month najem okazjonalny is the standard form and gives you less flexibility, so negotiate the exit clause), whether the landlord will confirm your address for meldunek (you will need it for the children), whether a parking space is included or a separate charge, and who pays for heating and how it is metered.

At handover, photograph every meter and every scuff, and get the inventory signed. Then send the school what it has asked for: previous school reports, vaccination records (ask your current clinic for an English or Polish translation), passport copies and, if you have one, a proof of address. Most private schools also run a short placement assessment in English and maths in the first week; ask whether it can be done online before you fly.

Book movers for mid-month, not the end: August’s last week is when every student in Poland moves. Coming with a car? Check now whether the building has a space and whether the district runs a resident-permit zone.

Arrival to week three: PESEL, meldunek, health insurance, bank

The order in the first fortnight is PESEL and meldunek first, then everything else, because everything else asks for them. Register your address (meldunek) at the district office with the lease and the landlord’s confirmation; the PESEL number for each family member usually comes from the same visit. The school, the clinic and the city’s systems all key on the children’s PESEL numbers, so do not leave them off the form. Step-by-step instructions and the document list are in the relocation checklist.

Health insurance: if a parent is employed in Poland, the whole family is covered by the public NFZ system once the employer registers them, and that registration is what gets a child a free paediatrician and vaccinations on the Polish schedule. Choose a local clinic (przychodnia) and file the declaration in the first week; a private package through the employer adds speed but does not replace NFZ registration.

Bank: open a Polish account as soon as you have PESEL, because school fees, rent and the nursery’s lunch money all move by domestic transfer, and a foreign card is a monthly irritation. Bring passport, lease and employment contract, and set up standing orders for rent and school instalments before the first month ends.

The first school week

Polish school starts on 1 September or the first weekday after it, and private international schools in Wrocław generally start in the same week, with an induction day for new families a day or two earlier. The induction is where you learn what the website did not say: the drop-off door, after-school club hours, whether lunch is in the fee, and which WhatsApp group carries the information.

Test the school run on the induction day, not on the first morning. Leave at 07:45 and time it. If it is more than fifteen minutes door to classroom, work out now whether a different tram stop, a bike, or the school bus fixes it; a bad route in September is a bad route until June.

Expect a wobble in week two or three, not week one; teachers at these schools have seen hundreds of arrivals and will tell you plainly whether a child is settling. For a Polish-track school like SP 108 or ATUT, ask about the extra Polish-language hours the school provides for non-native speakers; it is a legal entitlement in public schools and usually offered in the bilingual private ones.

What, when, who: the timeline on one table

If you plan to buy rather than rent, the housing rows stretch: allow three to six months and read the buying service page first.

The two most common mistakes

1. Signing a lease before the school confirms a place. Every summer a family signs twelve months on a flat in Borek in July, then learns in August that the year group is full and the place offered is across the city. Polish fixed-term leases are difficult to leave early and the landlord need not release you. The fix is boring: get the school’s written confirmation first, and if the timing forces you to sign before it arrives, negotiate a clause that lets you withdraw with a defined penalty if the place is not confirmed by a date.

2. Choosing a flat on the wrong side of the river, or the railway, for the school run. The Odra is five channels and a dozen islands, and the railway west of the station is a second barrier with few crossings. A flat in Nadodrze is lovely and ten minutes from the Rynek, and it is forty minutes from BISC at 07:45 with two tram changes. The reverse is also true: a family at SP 108 should not be in Krzyki. Rule of thumb: live on the school’s side of the railway and the river, and on its tram line, not a parallel one.

A third, smaller one: renting a “3 pokoje” thinking it is three bedrooms. Families of five need “4 pokoje”, which are rarer, so start earlier. If you want the housing half of this timeline done with someone who has run it dozens of times, the rental service is where to start.

FAQ

When should I start applying to schools in Wrocław?

Twelve months before the move for private schools, which admit year-round but fill entry years early. For public places the city’s kindergarten and grade-1 recruitment typically opens in March and public liceum applications run in May, both needing a Wrocław address.

When is the best time to arrive in Wrocław to find a family flat?

June or the first half of July. Supply is normal, good listings last about a week rather than two days, and a 1 August lease leaves a month to register and furnish before school starts on 1 September. Late August is the most expensive, most rushed time.

Can my child go to a free school in Wrocław?

Yes, two public IB schools exist: Primary School No. 108 in Nadodrze (grades 1–8, taught in Polish, catchment-based) and Liceum nr V in Huby (IB MYP and DP, English test for the MYP class). Any public school is free, but recruitment runs on fixed spring dates.

Should I sign the lease before the school confirms the place?

No. Polish fixed-term leases are hard to leave early, and school year groups fill. Get written confirmation first, or negotiate a clause that lets you withdraw with a defined penalty if the place is not confirmed by a set date.

What do I need to do in the first two weeks after arriving with children?

Register your address (meldunek) and get a PESEL for every family member, including the children; then NFZ registration through the employer and a local clinic declaration; then a Polish bank account with standing orders for rent and school fees.