International schools in Uganda

Search for the best international schools in Uganda; 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 national curriculum, a US-style model or the International Primary Curriculum.

A small but well-established group of English-medium international schools around the capital Kampala cater for the children of expatriates and Ugandan elites. Influenced by Uganda’s colonial legacy, most follow the National Curriculum of England and Wales or International Baccalaureate programmes, while some offer a combination of the two systems. 

There are four IB World Schools in Uganda, of which three offer the IB Diploma. These are Kampala International School Uganda, the Aga Khan High School, Kampala and International School of Uganda, with the latter also authorised to offer the Primary Years and Middle Years Programmes.  

The number of boarding school places in Uganda has been increased by the opening in 2013 of GEMS Cambridge International School – Kampala, which is run by the Dubai-based international education group GEMS Education. It admits boarders from age seven to 16.

Virtually all international schools in Uganda are coeducational. Parents are advised to check schools’ accreditation arrangements with a body such as the Council of International Schools or the Association of International Schools in Africa. 

Education is compulsory for seven years from age six to 12 inclusive. A programme of universal free primary education was launched in 1997. In the public system, seven years’ of primary schooling is followed by four years’ of lower secondary and two of upper secondary.

Students must pass the Primary Leaving Examinations to enter secondary school, where they take O-levels in at least eight subjects in lower secondary and A-levels in upper secondary. 

School enrolments rose from three million to seven million from 1997 to 2004 and the net primary enrolment rate was 94 per cent by 2013. Gross secondary enrolment was 24 per cent in 2015, while gross tertiary enrolment was five per cent in 2014. Education spending in Uganda accounted for just 2.2 per cent of GDP in 2014.

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