International schools in Cambodia

Are you looking for an international school in Cambodia? Search for the best international schools in Cambodia; you can find a list of selected schools at the bottom of this page. Use the search filters to select only girls' or boys' schools, prep schools, senior schools or sixth forms; or you can search for schools that offer a particular curriculum, such as the International Baccalaureate, the UK or US national curriculum or the International Primary Curriculum.

A growing international school sector centred on the capital Phnom Penh and northern city of Siem Reap caters to the children of expatriates and local elites in Cambodia, as the country struggles to rebuild its public education system. 

Coeducational day schools predominate, with the vast majority teaching in English, and most follow the curriculum of Britain, the United States, or the International Baccalaureate Organisation. There is also a long-established, through-train French lycée. 

Cambodia has six IB World Schools, with all bar one offering the IB Diploma. The International School of Phnom Penh, Northbridge International School Cambodia, and Australian International School Phnom Penh and are authorised to teach all three stages of the IB programme.

Northbridge, which is part of the Nord Anglia Education group, also runs a performing arts programme developed with New York’s prestigious Juilliard School and a multi-disciplinary programme devised by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  

Parents are advised to check schools’ accreditation arrangements with bodies such as the Council of International Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. 

Education in Cambodia suffered severe disruption from 1969, when US bombing began, until 1991, when the Vietnamese occupation ended. Under the rule of the Khmer Rouge from 1975-79, schools were closed, teachers were killed and thousands of children grew up illiterate. Afterwards, the education system had to be virtually reconstructed from scratch. 

Efforts to create a modern public system modelled on that of Vietnam began in earnest in the late 1990s but have been hampered by poverty and corruption. Education, which is divided into pre-school, primary and secondary stages, is neither compulsory nor free.  

In 2019, net enrolment was 24 per cent at pre-school and 90 per cent at primary school, according to UNESCO. In 2020, net enrolment at secondary school was 50 per cent. A large private sector comprising at least 370 schools fills the gap.

If you are looking specifically for International Baccalaureate World Schools in Cambodia, you can find selected schools on our sister website: www.ibyb.org.